book review

As part of the research and development work for the Enquiring Minds project that I am participating in, I was asked to read and write up a book review. I chose to read Youth Media by Bill Osgerby.
This book explores youth culture at almost every stage and sub-stage from 1900 through to 2005. Much of the history of and description of youth we will all recognise and understand. The book explores the positive and the negative depictions of youth culture. It also explores in detail the economical (youth = money making opportunities), political and media influences and encourages the reader to view these representations with a certain amount of common sense doubt. As the book summarises: "Unless adequate attention is given to all the dimensions of this circuit - production, identity formation, representation, consumption and regulation - it is impossible to grasp the full cultural meanings and significance of pop music, fashion, film, video and the full panoply of 'youth media' "
How is this useful in terms of Enquiring Minds? In two ways-
It is a useful reminder that 'youth' is a development stage in a person's life that is targeted by market forces. And when pupils begin to explore and research their own lives - we need to instill in them a healthy skepticism as to how they are represented by others.