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How realistic is the representation of British youths in ‘Kidulthood’?

In the 1940’s we saw the legend Elvis Presley shaking his pelvis at the audience, in 1955 we saw James Dean as a rebellious teenager in ‘Rebel without a cause’ and most recently in 2006, we see ‘Kidulthood’ with its underage drinking, drug taking, sexually active, violent British youths. Over a number of years, the ways in which youths have been represented in the media has developed and changed to a great extent, it is arguable that all a innocence has been taken away from the term ‘teenager’ and instead is left with nothing but a delinquent label, a drastic rise in teenage pregnancy, underage binge drinking and drug taking. Today, Britain has arrived at a society where teenagers are seen as a threat to many. Or, is this all simply the effect of the repeated use of negative stereotypes and the magnification of the group through sensational reporting, leading to moral panic as Jock Young and Stan Cohen would suggest.

‘Kidulthood’ (2006) directed by Menhaj Huda is a low budget, independent drama based on two days in the life of a group of fifteen-year-old teenagers from a school in West London. The first thing we see in the film is a playground full of drug taking, sexually active, delinquent teenagers, this juxtaposition instantly subverts all traditional connotations of a playground and sets the audience up for what is to be shown in the rest of the film. After being bullied by fellow classmates, a white, middle- class teenage girl commits suicide and as a result of this, students are given a day off school to reflect. The audience would expect this to be a day where the students mourn for the loss of their classmate however, activities the group take part are the complete opposite. Clearly, the film is presenting to the audience, a negative representation of teenagers throughout however, critics argue the...