Blackboard Jungle: Film Analysis and Societal Impact Report

This report analyzes the film 'Blackboard Jungle,' examining its depiction of youth culture, juvenile delinquency, and social commentary. The film, released in 1955, is explored in terms of its historical context, its impact on teenage audiences, and its portrayal of urban schools. The report considers the film's relationship to rational choice theory and its role in the media's coverage of youth crime. It references scholarly articles and analyzes the film's contribution to the understanding of the teenage market and the social issues of the time. The analysis includes the film's influence on popular culture and its reflection of the societal concerns about youth behavior and media representation.

1. Blackboard Jungle:
“Blackboard Jungle, American social-commentary film, released in 1955, that highlighted
violence in urban schools and also helped spark the rock-and-roll revolution. Blackboard
Jungle was based on a popular 1954 novel by Evan Hunter. The film hit a nerve with its
unusually brutal depiction of the social conditions of urban schools, and the music and the
theme made the movie hugely popular with teenage audiences. Fights and riots broke out in
many towns in England where the movie was shown.” (Pfeiffer, n.d.)
“The examination suggests that the 1950s concern about juvenile delinquency was legitimate,
that rational choice theory appeared to be the film’s preferred explanation for crime, and that
the film was unfairly blamed as a cause of crime.” (McCarthy, 2007)
2. Selling of Youth Culture and Dwight Macdonald:
“Media pay disproportionate attention to youth crime, both with respect to the facts and in
comparison to other youth topics (Clark et al., 2008; Wayne et al., 2010). This coverage is
the result of a journalistic production process, embedded in our current media landscape
with an increasing number of media providing news (Strömbäck, 2008; Strömbäck and
Esser, 2014).” (Ruigrok, n.d.)
“Teenagers are the most assiduous moviegoers in the population, and their tastes are taken
seriously in Hollywood. To some extent, the teenage market—and, in fact, the very notion
of the teenager—has been created by the businessmen who exploit it.” (Macdonald, 1958)

Reference List:
Pfeiffer, L. (n.d.). Blackboard Jungle. Retrieved July 21, 2019, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Blackboard-Jungle
McCarthy, Kevin E. (2007), "Juvenile Delinquency And Crime Theory In Blackboard
Jungle", Albany.Edu (McCarthy, 2007). Retrieved July 21, 2019, from
https://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol14is4/McCarthy.pdf
Macdonald, D. (2017, June 18). “Inventing the American Teen-Ager”. Retrieved July 21,
2019, from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1958/11/29/inventing-the-
american-teenager
Ruigrok, Dr. Nel, "Media And Juvenile Delinquency", Vanatteveldt.Com (Media and
Juvenile Delinquency, 2019) http://vanatteveldt.com/p/journalism_youthcrime.pdf