The construction of youth in American teenage series: A case study on the representation of youth in the series ‘One Tree Hill’

Research concerning youth and the representation of sex in the media has increased in the year 2007 (see Mazzarella, 2007; Hirst & Harrison, 2007). According to Ralph, Brown, & Lees (1999) teenagers spend more time in front of the television and computer at the age of eighteen than any other activity during the day, other than sleeping. The growing amount of teenage series and the time spend in front of the computer and television have an impact on our real life view and identity construction. Popular teenage series can be seen as a virtual tool kit of many different identities, whereby teenagers use these discourses critically to form their own personal and social identity. However, before we can explore this, we have to be acquainted with the content of the teenage series they watch. Media are important representational machines in the everyday lives of these youngsters and can be seen as elements of the socialisation in relation to sexuality and gender norms for example. In our paper we focus on the representation of adolescents in ‘One Tree Hill’, a popular American teenage series. Using discourse analysis and by studying current (sub) cultures, we will analyse the gender representation with a specific emphasis on the relation with sexuality and subcultures. This research is expounded with the central idea of identity construction. The construction of a self identity is a life long process, and our youth are at a crucial period in that construction process. Television is a day dream machine, which can make it sometimes difficult to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction.Research concerning youth and the representation of sex in the media has increased in the year 2007 (see Mazzarella, 2007; Hirst & Harrison, 2007). According to Ralph, Brown, & Lees (1999) teenagers spend more time in front of the television and computer at the age of eighteen than any other activity during the day, other than sleeping. The growing amount of teenage series and the time spend in front of the computer and television have an impact on our real life view and identity construction. Popular teenage series can be seen as a virtual tool kit of many different identities, whereby teenagers use these discourses critically to form their own personal and social identity. However, before we can explore this, we have to be acquainted with the content of the teenage series they watch. Media are important representational machines in the everyday lives of these youngsters and can be seen as elements of the socialisation in relation to sexuality and gender norms for example. In our paper we focus on the representation of adolescents in ‘One Tree Hill’, a popular American teenage series. Using discourse analysis and by studying current (sub) cultures, we will analyse the gender representation with a specific emphasis on the relation with sexuality and subcultures. This research is expounded with the central idea of identity construction. The construction of a self identity is a life long process, and our youth are at a crucial period in that construction process. Television is a day dream machine, which can make it sometimes difficult to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction.C