How society and the media perceive teenagers does not necessarily represent reality. Not

all texts are designed to tell the real story but to cater for the dreams of a target audience.

Whether fiction or non-fiction, teenagers are similarly presented as rebellious uncontrollable and unstable. Some texts do show teenagers as heroic in themselves, whether achieving great feats or just surviving the trials of ordinary life. Unfortunately these texts are rare, although many have proved popular with teenagers and adults alike. Two such pieces are Lionheart (Martin & Gannon 2000) and Looking for Alibrandi (Marchetta 1992) at the other end of reality are two television series, Dawson's Creek and Heartbreak high. Taking a middle line is the movie Stealing Beauty, showing a realistic reaction to a contrived, or at least extremely unusual situation.

What are the reasons for unrealistic representations? It generally comes down to money and target audience. People generally read/watch for entertainment and want to read/see something, which is more glamorous, exiting and or dramatic than their own lives. Even

biographies / documentaries can 'highlight' the truth to gai

teens as adults, with emotions and vocabulary beyond that which most adults would never use in everyday situations. It is shows like these that make teenagers feel like they are able to do more because they see twenty something actors playing sixteen year olds and dealing with situations that do not in any way represent reality. Heartbreak High, on the other hand, is at least Australian so it's not as commercialised as Dawson's creek, but that is the only real difference. There have been many important issues tackled on both shows, but even these are often made unreal by the 'unreal' situations of the characters. Many teenagers are attracted to these shows as they can identify with some of the problems. There are few happy moments in either program, just good old teen angst.

Martin,J & Gannon,E. 2000. Lionheart. Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Some common words found in the essay are:
Stealing Beauty, Americanised TV, Looking Alibrandi, Jessie Martin, TODAY'S SOCIETY, Alibrandi Marchetta, Heartbreak Taking, Dawson's Creek, dawson's creek, Sydney Marchetta, Martin Gannon, teenagers feel, target audience, looking alibrandi, stealing beauty, dawson's creek heartbreak, television series, marchetta 1992, represent reality, creek heartbreak, perceive teenagers,
Approximate Word count = 1110
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)