Compare and Contrast the Approaches of Cohen Et Al. to the Role of Media in Relation to Social Disorder
Compare and contrast the approaches of Cohen and Hall et al. to the role of the media in relation to social disorder.
Media is a form of communication through which information is represented and shared with society via a number of ways. Social issues such as disorderly conduct within society have been reported on and highlighted through newspapers, radio stations, television programs and the Internet. Cohen and Hall et al look at how the media report on and exaggerate violent and anti-social behaviour, and the effects this has on public perception.
Anti-social behaviour can be defined as behaviour that has no consideration for others and has the potential to cause damage or unrest within a society. People who are classed as anti-social appear to go against the norms of society in terms of personal conduct and chose to ignore the laws established by local and national government. Heather Shore (reference) a historian provides evidence that the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are the point in history where the way crimes and offences were recorded changed. Offences started by being giving definitions and then used as terms to define someone’s character, e.g. thief and hooligan.
The term ‘mugging’ was first introduced into British society by the media as a way of describing the violent street crime that happened during the 1960’s and 1970’s. In the space of thirteen months between 1972 and 1973 the media reported on over 60 cases of muggings. At the time there was an increase in moral panic as street crime had never been so violent. Cohen (Cohen, 1972, cited in Silva E. 2009 pg 363) studied the public reaction to the media coverage in his 1972 study Folk Devils and Moral Panic. His study involved looking at the perception that the media highlights behaviour, which is seen as socially unacceptable to society, and shows a lack of respect to others. The term folk devils was used during this study as a way of describing people who are blamed for crimes
Media is a form of communication through which information is represented and shared with society via a number of ways. Social issues such as disorderly conduct within society have been reported on and highlighted through newspapers, radio stations, television programs and the Internet. Cohen and Hall et al look at how the media report on and exaggerate violent and anti-social behaviour, and the effects this has on public perception.
Anti-social behaviour can be defined as behaviour that has no consideration for others and has the potential to cause damage or unrest within a society. People who are classed as anti-social appear to go against the norms of society in terms of personal conduct and chose to ignore the laws established by local and national government. Heather Shore (reference) a historian provides evidence that the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are the point in history where the way crimes and offences were recorded changed. Offences started by being giving definitions and then used as terms to define someone’s character, e.g. thief and hooligan.
The term ‘mugging’ was first introduced into British society by the media as a way of describing the violent street crime that happened during the 1960’s and 1970’s. In the space of thirteen months between 1972 and 1973 the media reported on over 60 cases of muggings. At the time there was an increase in moral panic as street crime had never been so violent. Cohen (Cohen, 1972, cited in Silva E. 2009 pg 363) studied the public reaction to the media coverage in his 1972 study Folk Devils and Moral Panic. His study involved looking at the perception that the media highlights behaviour, which is seen as socially unacceptable to society, and shows a lack of respect to others. The term folk devils was used during this study as a way of describing people who are blamed for crimes
References: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/anti-social-behaviour/ http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/viewpost.php?post=63532 Cohen (1972) cited in Silva, E. ‘Making disorder on the street’ in Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S., Clarke, J., and Bromley, S, (eds) Making Social Lifes, Milton Keynes, The Open University Hall et al. (1978) cited in Silva, E. ‘Making disorder on the street’ in Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S., Clarke, J., and Bromley, S, (eds) Making Social Lifes, Milton Keynes, The Open University Huesmann et al. (2003) cited in Silva, E. ‘Making disorder on the street’ in Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S., Clarke, J., and Bromley, S, (eds) Making Social Lifes, Milton Keynes, The Open University Self Reflection How confident are you now feeling about your study skills? I’m feeling a lot more confident in my study skills. Things are slowly coming back to me! I’ve started using mindmaps to plan my essays and feel this is helping me plan my essays better although this still needs a lot of work. I’m still enjoying the course! What aspects in particular do you feel you need to improve? I think I need to improve on my essay planning and writing. I feel this essay has been the one I’ve been most prepared for, and understood what I am writing about. Time management is still something I’m weak at.