The Seven Areas Of Representation (AGE)

DEFINITION OF AGE - The period of time that a person, animal, or plant has lived or is expected to live 

STEREOTYPES ASSOCIATED WITH THE AGE - There are many stereotypes in age;l most of these lie within the 'teen' age bracket. A variety of ages are found within all programs and all genres. Mise – en – scene plays a key role to represent age: teens wear hoodies; adults dress smartly; old people wear dated textured clothing and children dress immaturely in bright colours that don't co ordinate.Most perceptions of different ages are true – except some are unfair. Like not all teenagers are ‘chavs’ and intimidating, and not all old people are clumsy and short.Feelings have changed over time, especially within teenagers who are now represented in a much more negative light to years ago. 

A SELECTION OF TV DRAMAS THAT INCLUDE THE STEREOTYPE, AGE - There are many different kinds of shows on television today and these are able to present different kinds of images. Some shows present news and current affairs stories, trying to report on actual events in a realistic way. Other shows will create fictional drama or comedy situations that are designed to reflect real life. Commercials are made to sell products to specific groups or target audiences in society.
All of these types of television can use stereotypes as part of their presentation. Some of the main kinds of stereotypes used on television include:

• Gender
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Disability

Stereotypes can be used in positive or constructive ways, however there has been research that shows many people base real life opinions on how different groups are shown on television. An example of a stereotype in a TV programme is Corination Street.

ANALYSIS OF HOW THE STEREOTYPE'S ARE REPRESENTED - People organise their knowledge about the world around them by sorting and simplifying received information. Therefore, they create cognitive schemes, which are certain representations of the reality displaying its most typical and fundamental elements and properties. These schemes are responsible for defining the essence of our worldview and have a significant influence on social cognition – understanding, anticipation, situation and emotion control.

IMAGES FROM THE TV DRAMAS YOU USE TO ILLUSTRATE YOUR POINTS -

ISSUES OR PROBLEMS THAT ARISE FROM THE REPRESENTATION OR THE STEREOTYPE INVOLVED - One of the main issues that is brought up with the representation of age, especially among the younger generation, is that if the writers stereotype too much then many people could take offence and complain to the producers and writers of the show. This means that when writing very stereotypical characters you shouldn't go too far into that representation to cause offence and starting to generalize about what the majority of the population is like at a certain age.