Christmas essay task- Youth representation in Qaudrophenia

How does media represent youth in the media text Quadrophenia?

Quadrophenia is a British film set in 1960’s England which focuses on the violent disputes between two of the rival sub-cultures of the time, Mods and Rockers.  The protagonist of the film is Jimmy a young Mod who struggles with the heavy stigma that his subculture creates.    The media text provides the viewer with a unique insight of the way that the youth of the 60’s were shaped through their need to rebel against society in their subcultures a cultural issue which is still taking place in the world today in varying ways.

The representation of the youth in Quadrophenia is heavily biased. The biased nature of the depiction of youth is explicitly portrayed in the way in which Jimmy is treated by his parents specifically in the way that they call his behaviour “unnatural” at the start of the film and his father later goes on to accuse him of being “schizophrenic”.  The derogative, harsh and insulting tone of the comments make Jimmy feel isolated from the conformist society which he lives in and heightens his need to fit into the false family network which he finds in the mods.  

The intense desire to fit into a sub-culture can be seen in Hebdige’s theory of youth being fun/youth being trouble.  The theory is largely centred around the idea that subcultures can rebel against society through a sense of unique style.  This rebellion through style can be see frequently in Quadrophenia through the way in which both the Mods and Rockers dress.  The Mod subculture features smart clothes and mopeds however both of these social acceptable items have been personalised to stop them from conforming to societies ideals.  On the other hand Rockers present themselves in leather outfits with motorbikes this makes them appear to be threatening to society leading to people fearing them.  The unique style choices of both groups serve to create a type of tribal false family amongst the subcultures as well as a primal sense of rivalry and a desire to fight the opposing subculture.

The desire to fit in to his subculture combined with the negative views of the adults around him also links to Wilkins theory the Deviancy Amplification Spiral .  Wilkins theory states that the more the deviant group is presented in a negative way and are as a result alienated by the conformist society the more likely the deviants are to act in a way which the conformist society deems to be more negative for example taking part in more crime or illegal activities.  Jimmy’s Deviancy Amplification Spiral is presented to the audience in the way that after he attends the riots at Brighton he develops a desire to become the idealised Mod that the media has created in the form of Spike.  This spiral leads him to being kicked out of his house, quitting his job, buying a large amount of drugs, losing his friends and losing his romantic interest before getting on a train to Brighton where upon realising that his idol Spike is working at a hotel and is subsequently not living out his wild fantasies of Mod rebellion.  After discovering the facade of his idol Jimmy steals Spikes moped and proceeds to drive it off of a cliff destroying the moped as well as everything which it symbolises for Jimmy.

The theory of deviancy amplification spiral can be directly linked to Cohens theory.  Cohens theory states that deviant groups can be viewed as folk devils whom present a threat to public order and conformist social values.  The negative stigma which surrounds Jimmy as a result of violence between Mods and Rockers leads Jimmy to refuse help to an old friend of his, Kevin who is being attacked by Mods after a gang of Rockers attacked a Mod friend of Jimmy’s named Spider.  

In conclusion societies negatively biased views of youth creates folk devils which subsequently leads to deviancy amplification spirals which ultimately leads to a negative impact of the psychological state of the youth leading to problems in their later lives.  These points are clearly illustrated in the time line of Jimmy’s events in the media text Quadrophenia.  This is clearly presented in the way that Jimmy’s behaviour visibly worsens after every instance that he is represented negatively by the adults in the film.