Question

Choose and work on a cultural phenomenon that involves the representation of young people e.g. Neets or “Buddha-like youngsters” , etc. You MUST include specific cultural text or cultural artifact in your analysis i.e. a song or a film or a YouTube video or Facebook messages. Discuss in what ways the text/ artifact represents the chosen group of young people and examine how the representation marginalizes /affirms young people in society. Conclude your paper by reflecting on how media representation shapes viewers’ imagination of contemporary young people. (maximum 500 words)

Answer 1

Cultural phenomenon that involves the representation of young people in Buddhism are :

Buddhism was a religion which included the young but somehow was mistaken for a religion belonging only to the elderly. For example, some people will use "Wait till I am old"
as an excuse for not learning Buddhism. They seem to think that Buddhism is a religion that belongs to the aged only, and you cannot become a Buddhist unless your hair has all turned grey and all your teeth have fallen out. Some people even think that Buddhism belongs only to the dead, because sutras are always being chanted in order to free the souls Of the dead from suffering in their next life. All these are misunderstandings. In Buddhism we can see that from Buddha Sakyamuni to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Manjusri, Samantabhadra and Ksitigarbha, etc. all were young people. Buddhism is a Young people's religion.

Three main conepts of Buddhism expects from young people and what young people must do to become the pillars which defend Buddhism are:

1. Purify ourselves with sila and Dharma.
2. Benefit all sentient beings with altruism and happiness.
3. Secure ourselves in dhyana and wisdom.

1. Purify ourselves with sila and Dharma :

If Buddhist youths want to help themselves and others and to become the pillars of Buddhism, they must be compassionate and be ready to strive for the ideals of life.
They must be self- conscious and have will-power. The basics of all these come from the purification of ourselves with the Buddhist precepts and the Dharma.
If we don't purify ourselves, how can we expect society and other people to be purified? Thus, the priority for young Buddhists is to observe the precepts and to practice the Dharma. The contents of the precepts are voluminous. The precepts observed by lay disciples are different from those observed by ordained monks and nuns. Lay disciples may take the five precepts, the eight precepts or the Bodhisattva precepts. The five precepts are the basis for most of the other precepts.

They are the following :

- Abstain from killing.
- Abstain from stealing.
- Abstain from sexual misconduct.
- Abstain from false speech.
- Abstain from taking intoxicants.

If we want to have a harmonious and happy society, we all should observe the five precepts. Today, many Buddhist believers want to have a long life, and yet they kill the innocent. They want to be rich, so they steal and bribe. They want to have a harmonious family and yet they violate the peace of other's families. They want to be famous, yet they speak falsely of others. They want to be wise, and yet they always do stupid things.

2. Benefit all sentient beings with altruism and happiness:

For Buddhist youths, just observing the precepts, understanding the Dharma and purifying one's self is not enough. The spirit of Buddhism is not only to save ourselves.
We have to save others as well. We have to benefit ourselves and others. We must attract and convert all sentient beings with altruism and happiness.
If we cannot be of any benefit to others in this world, our existence here is meaningless. Thus, ever since I started propagating the Dharma, I have been following the teaching of Master T'ai Hsu. I emphasize the preaching of the original spirit of Buddhism and pay special attention to the preaching of humanistic and living Buddhism.
Buddhism is not a religion of empty talk. We have to start by improving people's lives. We cannot aim too high and forget about the fundamentals. We have to be realistic.
Just talking about truth is not enough. We have to benefit everyone and make them happy. How can we benefit others? How can we bring happiness to others? The establishment of orphanages, senior citizens' homes, schools, hospitals, Buddhist museums, libraries, cultural centres, celebration parties, Sunday schools, language classes and all sorts of social activities such as performing marriage and funeral ceremonies are all beneficial to the general public. From now on, Buddhism
will not only build monasteries and perform rituals, but will also follow what the Buddha taught and bring a new life-style to people. I feel that it is the responsibility of today's Buddhist youths to benefit and bring happiness to all sentient beings. The load is heavy and the road is long and winding. If we do not take the responsibility, who will?

3. Secure ourselves in dhyana and wisdom :

Today's society is in a confused state. People always feel uncertain and anxious. The worst thing of all is not knowing where to place one's body and mind.
For example, some people work at a job they do not like, yet if they do not work they feel bored. If they watch television all day or gamble, play, eat and wander around all the time, the emptiness within makes them feel hopeless. Thus, settling our body and mind is of utmost importance. In Buddhism, repeating the name of Buddha
can ease our body and mind. Ch'an meditation is also a good method of relaxing ourselves. The former helps us to focus our mind on the Buddha's name, while the latter helps us to use true wisdom to dwell in the pure state of dhyana. In order to meditate we have to go through a stage of fundamental training. it is just like learning to swim as the first stage of becoming a life-guard. After we have trained our body and mind and are experienced in meditation, we will be able to feel the joy of Ch'an. We not only meditate when we are sitting, but also when we are eating, sleeping or working. There is a Chinese saying which states, "The moon outside the window is the same as usual, it is the plum flower that makes the difference." If we Buddhist youths have the experience of Dharma, regardless of whether we are walking, sleeping or sitting, or whether we are studying or practising, we can feel the beauty of life and be at ease with ourselves.

- Neet refers to a person who is unemployed, not in school or vocational training. The classification of a person as NEET originated in the United Kingdom,
but its use has spread, to varying degrees, to other countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada and the United States. In North America, however, it is still unfamiliar enough that the term generally requires the acronym to be explained when it is first invoked because most people will not know the meaning of it. The equivalent, common term used in Canada and the US is simply "unemployed" by convention, people who are involved in training or education are understood not to be "unemployed", regardless of their activity in wage earning, making the NEET acronym redundant and unnecessary.

Cultural Text & analysis :

Cultural texts are those objects, actions, and behaviors that reveal cultural meanings. A photo is an image, but is also a cultural text, a picture with cultural information beyond just the picture itself. Food and clothing also suggest cultural information, and it doesn't stop there.

Analysis to evaluate messages and images of different types of text reflecting different culture :

- Understand how the specified cultures live.
- How the people in the specified group communicate each other.
- Learn the symbolism of their culture.
- Be aware in every detail such as artifact, language, and symbolism.

cultural artifact & analysis :

Cultural artifact or artifact is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans. which gives information about the culture of its creator and users. Artifact is the spelling in North American English; artifact is usually preferred elsewhere.

They are important because they comprise primary evidence for scholars to understand what happened in the past. To appreciate primary evidence,
it is helpful to know what secondary evidence is.

Some of the examples are:

include stone tools, pottery vessels, metal objects such as weapons, and items of personal adornment such as buttons, jewelry and clothing.
Bones that show signs of human modification.

- Cultural Artifact in Cultural objects can usually be found in disciplines such as architecture, sculpture, painting, music, photographs, textiles, etc., as well as digital media, but are susceptible of being created within any discipline or activity.

Films are representing a vast diversity in cultural text and artifacts :

Film is popularly described as a mirror of culture. It plays a pivotal role in facilitating intercultural dialogue in our global village. World cinema helps us understand and appreciate each other’s cultural identity, and promotes harmony across different cultures in our pluralistic society.
It introduces us to the life of “the other” in an entertaining yet engaging fashion, creating cultural bridges that foster a sense of unity in the midst of our diversity.

There are the five ways the text/ artifact represents the chosen group of young people :

- Start paying attention to what you say. Most people already know to avoid generalizations and stereotypes.
But most of us are still guilty of using language that causes offense even if we don’t mean to. Commonly used words like “gay,” “crazy” or “lame” are actually exclusionary,
offensive and derogatory.

- Be willing to accept correction. Even the most well-meaning people make mistakes and have misunderstandings about others. When someone points out your errors,
offer a sincere apology and be ready to learn from the experience. It will earn you much more respect than responding with defensiveness or anger.

- Be intolerant of intolerance. Are you willing to confront derogatory and hateful speech online? What about in person? What if the person is a friend or relative? The risk of staying silent is sending the message that discrimination and intolerance are values that you are willing to tolerate.

- Seek out marginalized voices and perspectives. Go online and look for activists, bloggers, authors, artists and other voices from marginalized communities.
Their personal stories and experiences will greatly inform your point of view. If you have the opportunity to spend time with someone from a marginalized group, your most important job is to listen to them and learn.

- Educate your own community. Your voice is most effective within your own group since you are in the best position to confront its stereotypes and misunderstandings, some of which you may have overcome yourself. You also have a special access to them as an audience that other communities do not. Use it!

Marginalizes /affirms young people in society :

Marginalized young adults are very likely to have low incomes and experience economic hardships, and they are disproportionately likely to be disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities. Many of them are parents, quite often raising their children without another parent. They are likely to have disabilities, trauma histories, and mental health and substance abuse problems. To engage in risky behaviors and to become victims of physical and/or sexual violence.

Most marginalized young adults enter adulthood with limited education and work experience. And many are estranged from their families or have problematic family relationships and few positive adult connections on which to rely. They often face the consequences of stigma and discrimination. Many, particularly those with a history of justice system involvement and unauthorized immigrants, are ineligible to receive assistance that is routinely available to similarly situated young people.

There is considerable population overlap across the programs that serve marginalized young adults. For example, young people in the corrections system often spent time in foster care and/or frequently have mental health disorders, many former foster youth have disabilities and/or receive Supplemental Security Income, young Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients often have contact with child protective services, and many homeless young adults have had experience with the child welfare and corrections systems and/or are parents.

- Marginalized groups exist nearly everywhere. They are people who, for whatever reason, are denied involvement in mainstream economic, political, cultural and social activities.Targeting or ignoring one group can ultimately affect the whole society.

Media that reflect society and young people :

Media reflects society because it shows us what's important to people. TV shows demonstrate fads and hot button issues. News media report what they think is important in the world, and what they think people want to hear about. The media is a mirror, showing us the good and bad of what we are. Young people can begin to cyberbully another peer; this can lead to many things such as depression and suicidal thoughts. Some youth are easily influenced so they may feel the need to change their physical appearance by comparing themselves to the next person they see in the media.

- A significant feature demonstrated in a number of the above studies is their engagement with visual imagery and/or at a within their methodological frameworks.
Recently this interest in the study and use of images (for example, drawings, photography and video) to understand the social world is becoming ore common in the social sciences as reflected in a small, but growing of body of literature on visual research method. Within recent years a number of studies have utilised creative research methods in order to explore attitudes and understandings held by audience members. The adoption of such techniques has arisen as a direct response to the perceived limitations
of, and dissatisfaction with, established research methods.