How far does the representation of a particular social group change over time?

Over time the representation of youths has changed. This change can be quite clearly be seen through the comparison of movies such as Rebel Without A Cause and Y2K films such as Kidulthood. In these films, the Rebel culture is the culture which is being shown as having changed. Instantly the differences are very clear through both mise-en-scene and dialogue. James Dean, in Rebel Without A Cause, is well spoken and shows respect to who he is talking to. He also dresses quite smart in and out of school. James Dean even hangs around with the character who is not seen to be 'cool' or in the in-group. Only later on in the film does he wear a red jacket with the collar up which was in those times seen as a rebels style of clothing. Females are seen as part of the group in Rebel Without A Cause but are not seen as rebels themselves. However in Kidulthood the females have a group of their own, not hanging around with the male rebels but instead creating their own female rebel group. The clothing also differs in the Y2K film. The clothing which the 'rebels' wear are hoodies, jeans and trainers for the males and low cut tops, short skirts and other revealing styles of clothing. Even when in school uniform, instead of dressing smart, the rebels would wear hoodies or hats over their school uniform to show that they are a part of this culture. The dialogue also differs from that of Rebel Without A Cause. While James Dean and the other rebels spoke quite respectfully and formally, the youths in Kidulthood use alot of colloquialism in their speech when communicating as well as alot of swearing. The topics of which they speak are also quite adult and permiscuous usually including sex. If not sex then violence. This shows their rebellious culture through their speech as well as their actions where as in Rebel Without A Cause all of the trouble which they got up to was a lot more playful and troublesome.

The social class differs between the rebels in RWAC and the rebels in Kidulthood also. In RWAC James Dean is of the middle to upper class which explains why he is well spoken and dressed, where as in Kidulthood all of the characters are of the lower to working class, living in flats and on estates. In RWAC education and going to school is seen as a positive and more of an achievement as the rebels wanted to go somewhere in life. In Kidulthood school and education is more seen as hastle to the rebels and none of them really care for their future, getting pregnant at young ages and getting involved with criminal activities such as guns and drugs. The more disrespectful the characters are in Kidulthood, the more respect they gained from their peers putting them in the in-group, while those who tried to not be disrespectful or keep 'bad company' was part of the 'out-group' and were generally picked on or bullied. In RWAC those who wished to just keep their business to themselves were left alone and went by unnoticed. In RWAC, when James Deane was alone with the girl, the most that they done was hug one another and go to sleep in one anothers arms, in Kidulthood the youths were having sex and getting pregnant.

To conclude, the representation of the rebel social group has changed significantly overtime. These changes include dress sense, their behaviour and the way in which they communicate. Instead of just raising their collar, rebels now use hoodies or bandanas with trainers, usually concealing their identity. Their behaviour is a lot more serious now than it was back in the times of RWAC also as the events which take part in the rebels lives are alot more serious than they were. In the times of RWAC the biggest fear on a parents mind was their child being arrested or being escorted home by the police while in Kidulthood the streets and lifestyles of the rebels are alot more serious and dangerous. Also explicit topics are alot more openly spoken about as well as actions such as sex. All of the actions which were seen as rebellious in RWAC were taken in Kidulthood and were seen as acceptable such as smoking, carrying weapons and so on, while other actions which are alot more serious were committed also. The idea of the 'in-group' and 'out-group' was seen in both films however which backs up Henri Tajfel's social identity theory. When the audience sees one group from another character's viewpoint, their opinions on other characters and groups within the film are swayed because of the way the groups have been represented to us.