‘Reality Check’ is a TV drama produced by TVB that was aired in February to March 2013. The story revolves around TV producer Summer Ha and his family’s issues and conflicts. This review will focus on the first three episodes of the drama, which are about the filming of a reality show by Summer that captures the rural life experience of a Hong Kong teenager. In these three episodes, it demonstrates the stereotyped representation of Post-90s, or also referred to as ‘Hong Kong kids’, in Hong Kong . Post-90s is commonly stereotyped as lazy, ignorant, selfish and heavily relies on technology.
In ‘Reality Check’, the teenager Sky is portrayed as a spoiled kid who is addicted to video games, impolite, ungrateful, and always feels annoyed by his father’s presence. For example, he blocks the way of a villager that he dislikes, causing the villager’s animal feed to fall into the river and runs away recklessly afterwards. In addition, he could not stand the rural life so he steals instant noodle from the crew and borrows a smartphone to play games. It can be seen that he is shown as a Hong Kong kid that could not live without urban products. According to Lippmann’s ideas regarding stereotype, it is a short cut that allows simple representation which is easily understood, while also able to summarize many complicated information and implication (Dyers 2000, p. 246). When referring to Post-90s or Hong Kong kids, it is easy for most people to quickly relate to teenagers that have poor attitudes and lifestyle. Besides, it implies this generation’s relationship to older generations and their status in the society. In the drama, the crew members have said a number of times that Hong Kong kids are spoiled and have not lived the bitter side of life. They automatically put Hong Kong kids and the alleged characteristics in an equal relation. Also, when they speak of Hong Kong kids, it implies the older generations despise people of this age group and how Post-90s has a lower status in the society.
Another idea by Lippmann is ‘the expression of values’ which suggests that stereotypes invoke a consensus that there is a general agreement regarding a social group (Dyers 2000, p. 247). Additionally, people gain ideas about particular social groups from stereotypes, and this idea and consensus are mostly apparent rather than representing the reality (Dyers 2000, p. 247). In some scenes of ‘Reality Check’, the crew members, who are Post-60s to Post-80s, gather to watch footages of Sky. They all express Hong Kong kids’ behaviours are improper. This shows that there is a consensus among the older generations that Post-90s is the least nurtured social group. However, the crew members’ impression is shaped by their general idea regarding the age group and they have not looked into what kind of person Sky really is and what invokes his behaviours in the beginning of the drama.
In conclusion, these episodes of ‘Reality Check’ demonstrate teenagers with negative attributes that are stereotyped as Post-90s or Hong Kong kids. It also shows the tension between different age groups, as Summer and Sky have different values because of growing up in different eras. The media representation of Post-90s is generally in line with the common views within the society but it might give a false impression to viewers that the stereotype in question is true.
References
Dyers, R 2000, ‘The role of stereotypes’, in P Marris & S Thornham (eds), Media studies: a reader, New York University Press, New York
TVB 2013, Reality Check, TVB, accessed 6 April 2013, http://programme.tvb.com/drama/realitycheck/.
By: Cheung Man Kit, Stephanie (10520440 / 21048929)
A well-formulated article with some sharp observations on the use of stereotypes in the selected TV drama, particularly the typical features of “Post-90s” group that gains a lot of attention nowadays. Specific examples have been cited to illustrate your arguments as well.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to include a few more episodes in your analysis, as the narrative of the story actually undergoes changes and transitions afterwards. In my point of view, the real intention of the dramas is to challenge the cultural meanings associated with the stereotypes/ negative labeling, and to reconstruct a more positive (and fluid) image of teenager.