Applying theory activity - Case study 2

Moral panic:

- A moral panic is a crisis within society induced often by a supposed threat to society. An example of this in Shank is the general post-apocalyptic London as a threat to society as it resulted in stealing and violence, therefore creating a moral panic. 

Youth sub-culture:

- Individual or underground groups with the youth culture, a subsection of a culture therefore a sub-culture. In Shank, there are several gangs within the collective group of teenagers and young people; The Papercha$ers, The Souljahz, The Slaughter Gurls. 

Repetition of realism and sameness:

- The culture industry perpetuates the idea of uniform stereotypes or "sameness" through all media formats. This is seen as a continuation of real life. The use of costumes such as hoodies, short-hand language and the location of the Heyweather Estate creates a sense of realism and echoes reality.

Folk devils:

- A group of people condemned by society and seen as a threat, often folk devils create a moral panic. In Shank, The Souljahz are a specific gang that embody negative stereotypes of teenagers and adult fears enforced by the media. They are involved with crime and violence, seen as feral and anarchistic. 

ISA (dominant ideology):

- The theory that institutions, often run by the dominant group, enforce ruling class values to condition society into accepting the dominant ideology. The young people in Shank still respect most adult authority as they go to them for advice and seek help. Without the adults The Papercha$ers would not have access to the information they need. Whisper is integral to their scheme and he embodies the dominant group as he is a white, middle aged male with power.

The reinforcement and paradox of individual or collective identity:

- Stereotypes are drawn from collective groups and weaken individual identity. The papercha$ers are part of the collective group of young people, gangs etc. This takes away or weakens their individual identities such as pacifists. 

Osgeby:

- Media represented youth crime, violence and sexual license as indicators of social decline. Sex and drugs are particularly used in the film and given the apocalypse, emphasises social decline.

Giroux:

- Young people can experiment with different identities. Junior's struggle with taking revenge shows his struggle to conforming with stereotypical representations of teenagers and to rejecting it and being the pacifist/non-violent gang member he was in the beginning.