Introduction:

In the government’s efforts to prevent young black people from entering the criminal justice system, it recognises that preventing criminalisation lies in social justice and not criminal justice. By focusing on issues like drugs, poverty and the lack of positive role models, these social issues have fallen harshly on the black youths of today. Our contemporary society has portrayed today’s black youth as a corrupt group of minorities.
The media’s part in this representation has caused a moral panic where black youths are seen today as troublemakers. ‘8% of young black people arrested were remanded in custody, compared with 4% of young white people. Overall, black people are five times more likely to be jailed.’(1) According to Timothy Shary, recent films have concentrated on serious youth issues like never before. “Coach Carter,” “Mysterious Skin” and “The Ballad of Jack and Rose,” all released in 2005, tackled such topics as the value of education among athletes. “These are films that show young people confronting issues about race, religion, body image, romance, drugs, parents, friends, sex, sexual preference and crime, and they explore these issues with a mature attitude while still allowing their characters to explore their youth,” (2) However it is important to take in consideration the accuracy of these representations.






(1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2103754,00.html
(2) ‘Teen movies: American youth on screen by Timothy Shary