The spectacle of Columbine: Alienated youth as an object of fear

This dissertation is a study of the media construction of youth alienation following the school shootings at Columbine. Based on extensive content analysis of media discourse, I conclude that late 20th century American suburban and rural school shootings were framed in terms of novel forms of youth alienation. Out of these media frames emerged a dominant set of meanings about new white, male, middle-class youth alienation that generated a spectacle of youth in terms of their fundamental difference and estrangement. The spectacle of Columbine in particular produced new modes of objectification in which youth were categorized and classified as "alien" objects, in the form of monsters and demons, for media audiences to fear. This media construction is situated within, and contrasted to, an examination of contemporary social and cultural forces generating white male youth estrangement. In particular, I explore the underlying historical and cultural bases of youth identity crises within the current era of spectacular, mediated social life. This investigation is a contribution to understanding the phenomenon of post-industrial youth alienation, youth violence, and educational inequality, and the dominant media discourses pertaining to these phenomena. It also holds significance for comprehending larger questions of identity and difference in a contemporary spectacle society of interconnected forms of human and social estrangement.