Main Issues Raised by Sket

Issues Raised

• Gang Culture - This is the main issue raised as the film is based around the main characters sister being killed by a gang leader, and the main character herself joining a sort of gang.

• Drugs - This was recurrent throughout the film. There was constant use of drugs and trafficking of them.

• Prostitution - The main drug dealer was using people to sell his drugs, and when they couldn't get the money for him; he suggested prostitution.

Language Used

• Sket
• Shank
• Cockney Slang

Theorist Case Study

Theorist/Theory	Case Study
Antonio Gramsci - Hegemony Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci (1881-1937). He emphasised that the control of society by one group or one set of political ideas was not necessarily achieved by force or control of arms, but by persuasion and ‘consent’ – the basis of democracy. The rulers manage to convince the mass of the population that they are ‘better off’ accepting current government policies. Maintaining hegemonic control is thus a process of constantly reinforcing the message and developing the argument. The concept of hegemony allows for substantial change in ideas over time, even though the same groups remain in power. These groups constantly adjust their ideas and find new ways to gain the consent of those they dominate. In media terms the Mass Media both perpetuate cultural hegemony and are a cultural hegemony in themselves in that a relatively small number of big companies, e.g. News Corp., The BBC, Time Warner, Sony etc., control most of the world’s media, and this in turn allows them to control most of what we see, hear and know. This, in turn, allows them to control what we think, selecting only ideas that serve its interests, i.e. bourgeois capitalism. This is known as a ‘Top Down’ model of dominant ideologies.
David Buckingham “A focus on identity requires us to pay close attention to the diverse ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life, and their consequences for both individuals and for social groups”
Mikhail Bakhtin  The Russian philosopher Bakhtin believed that individual people cannot be finalized, completely understood, known or labeled. He saw identity as the unfinalised self meaning a person is never fully revealed or known. This ties in with the idea that identity is a fluid concept, a life-long project that is never complete.
Stan Cohen  Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972)
David Gauntlett  'Identities are not 'given' but are constructed and negotiated.'
Michel Foucault  (French thinker 1926-1984) For Foucault, people do not have a 'real' identity within themselves; that's just a way of talking about the self -- a discourse. An 'identity' is communicated to others in your interactions with them, but this is not a fixed thing within a person. It is a shifting, temporary construction. Power is something which can be used and deployed by particular people in specific situations, which itself will produce other reactions and resistances; and isn't tied to specific groups or identities.  Power outcomes are not inevitable and can be resisted. (The power in our instance would be MASS MEDIA)
Henry Jenkins - Participatory Culture He celebrates these kinds of 'participatory' media and argues that a 'participatory culture' is one in which members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another. Participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement. Links to the idea that social media can empower young people and bring about change.

SKET Film Analysation

The film follows the life of one girl who has moved from Newcastle to London. After her sister is murdered she sets out for revenge and plans to kill Trey - the murderer of her sister. She acquires the help of four other girls who have helped her previously in the film. The girls are extremely violent and after Kayla (the main character) joins the gang, the audience gets the feeling that Kayla will actually take her revenge. However, when she has the chance to she doesn't and the leader of the gang ends up doing it.

I was expecting a film that would identify youth culture really well, but i was mistaken. The film did not relate to me at all, or most other youths. The acting was terrible and the plot was far fetched. Overall i think it was a very bad film that did not portray youth culture very well at all.

SKET Poster Analysation

In this poster we see five females, dressed in hooded clothes and acting rather violently. This relates to the theme of the film which is an action/drama. The red and pink colour scheme could also relate to the theme of the film; the red could portray anger and violence and the pink could relate to the female characters. The character in the centre of the poster may be the main character as she larger than the rest and the only one that is holding a weapon.

The title of the film is in bold letters and the font relates well to the urban feel of it. 'SKET' is a slang word insulting women for possessing the qualities of a prostitute. This relates to the film being very female orientated.

Article from The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8630533/Riots-the-underclass-lashes-out.html

In this article the people who took part in the London riots are labelled 'underclass' and 'feral kids'. This is generalizing all of the participants of the riots as the same stereotypical underclass youth, but this wasn't the case. Although the rioters were mainly 17-25 years old, there were still older people taking part. People up to the age of 40 were even rioting. However, it does mention the 'suspicious circumstances' under which Mark Duggen was shot. This shows that the writer of this article is not completely against the rioters, but also the police as she goes on to say 'One question now hangs over London’s battle-torn high streets. How could this ever happen? Among several obvious answers, one is a failure of policing'. Here she recognizes the somewhat feeble attempts at the restoration of peace by the Metropolitan Police which were criticized heavily.

London Riots and the Media

In this video it is mentioned how many people have came together to help out with clearing up the streets after the riots. One "young man" blames the government for people rioting because of the spending cuts to the educational system. However, he does recognize that people are looting and rioting and does not condone the violence, but says there is a "knock on effect" from the spending cuts.
The fact that so many have came together to help out shows a good side to youths after the bad side of rioting.

London Riots and the Media

In this report Darcus Howe, unlike many others, defends the youths of England and says that the government wasn't listening to them. In an attempt to twist his word the report asks 'does this mean you condone the violence' to which he replies of course not. This shows that he believes the youths should have been listened to, but does not condone what has taken place during the riots. He does not stereotype like many others.

Stan Cohen - Moral Panic and Deviance Amplification

Moral Panic

Stanley Cohen is the author of Folk Devils and Moral Panic. A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. People who threaten the social order are described as 'folk devils' by Stan Cohen.

Deviance Amplification

Deviance amplification is a process, often performed by the mass media, in which the extent and seriousness of deviant behavior is exaggerated. The effect is to create a greater awareness and interest in deviance which results in more deviance being uncovered, giving the impression that the initial exaggeration was actually a true representation.