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?
The way in which British Youth have been represented in this trailer is quite different to how British Youth were represented in the film 'Quadrophenia'.
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?
The way in which British Youth have been represented in this trailer is quite different to how British Youth were represented in the film 'Quadrophenia'.
- In the trailer for 'The Young Ones' the main character 'Nicky' (Played by Cliff Richard) seems to be a respectable and responsible young man, who doesn't smoke, doesn't swear and his main priority is to save the youth group that he and his friends go to.
- In comparison, the main character from Quadrophenia, 'Jimmy' (Played by Phil Daniels) is a bad mouth drug taker who's only ambition in life is to ride his Lambretta, party and beat up any rockers who cross his path.
- British Youth is portrayed throughout Quadrophenia as people who go around causing anarchy, for example on Brighton pier, where the mods and the rockers took part in riots in shops and cafes.
- British Youth in The Young Ones however, are portrayed very differently. The trailer shows a performance in which the audience members are all youths, they are all sitting down, being very civilised and all wearing school uniform, showing that British
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