ATS2457 Chapter Notes -Murder Of James Bulger, Stranger Danger, Binary Opposition
20 Jan 2017
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Media constructions of children: tragic victims or evil monsters. Tendency to see children and young people as possessing similar capacities of reasoning and knowledge as adults. Sums up widespread fear of individuals and groups who appear to pose a significant threat to order or to individuals" personal safety. Principle that children under a certain age are incapable of understanding the difference between right and wrong, and therefore cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions. Postmodern version of folk devils whereby media, politicians and legal discourses intersect to construct serious offenders in essentialist terms as absolute others and beyond the normal values that bind the moral majority together. Suggests collective identity based on, and encompassing attitudes to, class, gender, lifestyle and nation. Social, political and economic forces resulting in many young people having to delay the rites of passage that have traditionally marked the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
