The Youth Market

This interview with Tim Bowden was recorded for the website From Wireless to Web, produced in 2005.

Tim Bowden is a broadcaster, radio and delivision documentary maker, oral historian and author. You can view his full biography at From Wireless to Web

The website is a selective history of broadcast media in Australia. Decade by decade, from radio and newsreels to TV and the internet, this history shows how the Australian broadcast media developed and shaped the way Australians see themselves.

From Wireless to Web is a Film Australia production in association with Roar Film.

Students evaluate Australia’s pluralist society and explore the responsibilities of young adults in contributing to to a socially cohesive, democractic community.

Students define, exercise and evaluate rights and responsibilities associated with being a young adult including the concept of working together for the common good.

Students have the opportunity to evaluate ways in which individuals, groups and governments use the media and ICT to shape opinion and manage controversy.

In the 1953 Hollywood classic The Wild One, Marlon Brando plays a character called Johnny Strabler, a sexy, surly, self-centred young man who loves jazz and hates authority. At one point in the film he gets asked the question, “Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?” Famously he replies, “Whattya got?” The answer said it all. Johnny was against anything and everything. And with that, Johnny defined an attitude that young people took to heart.

During the post-war years and the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s, youth became identified as a distinct social grouping, and 'teens’ were targeted as consumers with unique preferences.

Often teenagers defined themselves by rejecting the values, tastes and choices of their parents. Trends associated with the rebellion included the rejection of institutional marriage traditions, recreational drug use, and a general questioning of the supremacy of the monarchy, the church and the nuclear family. Demanding their individual rights, many grew their hair, and with compact transistor radios close to hand they embraced the rebellious sounds of rock’n'roll.

1. Brainstorm words that are currently used to describe groups of various ages (for example, seniors) in our community, and in particular young people (for example, kids, baby, teenager). Where do these words come from? Who/what creates them? Why? Why do some descriptive words suddenly appear and others disappear? How useful/fair is it have such words describing various groups according to age?

2. Using the video clip, the internet and other sources, when did the ‘teenager’ group emerge as part of our language? Who created it? Why? How do students feel about being labelled into this group? Do you think it is possible or desirable to identify teenagers as one particular group?

3.List as many music shows that you can think of that are on television today. Who do you think they are aimed at (their target audience)? What in particular makes you think this is their target audience? How do you think they represent their audience or viewers? Look at the clothes they wear, the content of the music, how they act and what actions there are to appeal to a particular audience? Do you think this representation is fair?

4. As a now well-defined and well-targeted group and to some extent an isolated group, discuss the issues associated with teenagers contributing to a socially cohesive, democractic inclusive community.

Go to From Wireless to Web for more about the history of broadcast media in Australia.