Let's go back in time to 1961, just 3 years before the media in Britain represented its youth as being violence driven hooligans who were a threat to the very fabric of society.
1961 saw the release of the film 'The Young Ones' starring, amongst others, Cliff Richard.
The story is about the youth club member and aspiring singer Nicky (Cliff Richard) and his friends, who try to save their club in western London from the unscrupulous millionaire property developer Hamilton Black, who plans to tear it down to make room for a large office block.
The members decide to put on a show to raise the money needed to buy a lease renewal. The twist in the story is that Nicky in reality is Hamilton Black's son, something he keeps keeps secret from his friends until some of them try to kidnap Black senior to prevent him from stopping the show.
Although he is fighting his father over the future of the youth club, Nicky can't allow them to harm him, so he attacks the attackers and frees his father. In the meantime, Black senior has realised that his son is the mystery singer that all of London is talking about, after the youth club members have done some pirate broadcasts to promote their show.
So, although he's just bought the theatre where the show is to take place, in order to be able to stop it, the proud father decides that the show must go one. At the end, he joins the youth club members on stage, dancing and singing, after having promised to build them a new youth club.
TASK
Here is the trailer for the film.
How is the representation of British Youth different here to what you have previously seen?
British youth within the trailer for 'The Young Ones' in 1961 are portrayed a lot differntly to the youth of the mods and rockers of 1964 in the fact that the your within the 'young ones' sing and dance to pass their time compared to the violence and damage that the mods and rockers take part in. One example is the actor Cliff Richard who is one of the main actors within the film, he highlights a clear difference in the way that he performs his music for hundreds of people. he also has a very traditional and stylish fashion with the full suits that he appears to wear which a large majority of the actors are wearing in both upper and middle class showing that there is no divide between the youth of 1961.
Another way in which a clear difference is highlighted is through the behaviour and attitude of the youth for example there is hardly any conflict or aggressive behaviour throughout apart from when the actor Robert Murleys has an argument with some of the youth over the use of the land and the cancelling of the show. this shows the difference in attitudes to the mods and rockers as they result to conflict, however the 'Young Ones' are all very calm and collected and resolve their problems by hosting a show in which they sing and dance in order to save their youth club.
British youth within the trailer for 'The Young Ones' in 1961 are portrayed a lot differntly to the youth of the mods and rockers of 1964 in the fact that the your within the 'young ones' sing and dance to pass their time compared to the violence and damage that the mods and rockers take part in. One example is the actor Cliff Richard who is one of the main actors within the film, he highlights a clear difference in the way that he performs his music for hundreds of people. he also has a very traditional and stylish fashion with the full suits that he appears to wear which a large majority of the actors are wearing in both upper and middle class showing that there is no divide between the youth of 1961.
Another way in which a clear difference is highlighted is through the behaviour and attitude of the youth for example there is hardly any conflict or aggressive behaviour throughout apart from when the actor Robert Murleys has an argument with some of the youth over the use of the land and the cancelling of the show. this shows the difference in attitudes to the mods and rockers as they result to conflict, however the 'Young Ones' are all very calm and collected and resolve their problems by hosting a show in which they sing and dance in order to save their youth club.
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