I was just wondering what everyone thought of "The Merchants of Cool." In my opinion, the documentary put our generation in a bad light and presented our behavior in a very exaggerated fashion. I understand that there are people who only care about there appearance and who want to be, as the movie put it, a "midriff" by wearing only a third of an outfit- but I think that we deserve a little credit since a large majority of teenagers do not act, or even think, in such a way. Perhaps, we have just become blind to our culture though, the movie was based in the nineties so maybe what was outrageous then has just become a part of our everyday lives. Basically, I thought that the movie was full of generalizations and stereotypes about "kids these days."
I thought that it was an interesting point that as soon as "cool" is found the trend setters move on to something new. I also thought it was interesting that there are studies on what is cool for just our demographic, although what is cool in one place might not be somewhere else. Also, as an interviewer, how would you be able to know which teenagers are in that top percent of people who can determine what is the new fashion? Anyway, I would like to know what everyone else thought of the movie- maybe I just live in a bubble and just haven't realized just how much the media and marketers been shaped by our culture.
-Kelsey
4 comments:
I agree with you that the researchers seemed to be generalizing the young generation into one category. I thought parts of the movie were quite demoralizing (like when they showed the 13 year-old girl and how she had to look good for others, etc), and even though those weren’t really a shock, I think watching them kind of made the reality harder to accept without questions. But even though some of the labels and stereotypes given were unfitting at times, it was probably necessary for them to do so, since their purpose was to satisfy the majority and not the entirety.
I think the marketers have established a mutual relationship with the popular culture in that, like you’ve said, what the people want determines the market production, but at the same time, it’s also the media broadcasts that have been shaping our ideologies and creating those desires of ours. We first perceive what we see on the streets or television and utilize the ideas provided to form what defines us – thus ‘setting trends.’ And like the movies had pointed out, today's teens are ‘generally unresponsive’ to traditional-brand marketing messages and instead they respond to ‘something cool.’ Consequently, the marketers, in order to stay in business, have to go with the current and note the latest trends to create more products that can capture their customers. So to me, this is like a continuous cycle in which old ideas are revived to generate new ideas.
I can't really remember the last time i bought a sprite just because the company threw some party that they paid people to go to or the last time i wore a gas mask around cause some trend setter thought it was cool.
Maybe its just that i don't identify myself with every aspect of urban culture, but i found it hard to relate to the movie.
It seemed to me that the movie really only focused on teens from the city.
When they actually interviewed someone who was from rural new jersey i think it was really obvious that the kid was nothing like any of the other teenagers they had talked to, other than the fact that none of the teens interviewed in the movie talked that much.
Yes, being cool is probably appealing to most (not all) teenagers, but i don't think its the central focus of most kids and therefore does not play into every decision we make in our lives.
- Mike Bass
While I agree with you that most of the time when you are buying a soda you dont care about how "cool" the commercial is, think about it this way: You are in Wawa and you really know you want a lemon-lime soda. Now you see two sodas next to each other one is the generic brand Lemon-lime soda while the other is Sprite. Chances are you are going to buy the Sprite because you have heard of it before, and why have you heard of it? Because you have seen their commercials, or their billboards, or one of their other various advertising outlets. While the Sprite is probably the more expensive soda you still are more comfortable in buying it rather than the store brand because you recognize it. Even though when buying these products our immediate thoughts are not about the commercials they still do affect us subconciously. Thats why these big companies are willing to spend a ton of money on advertising because they want their product to be recognizable to the common man. So I would agree with you that they are not trying to be "cool" but they are definetely trying to make sure you know about their product.
-Tyler Harris
The movie stereotyped teens as people who always follow the trends without stopping to think about what they're doing. While I realize many people follow the trends--I'd like to believe that most teenagers aren't like that. Then I stop and think about why I buy what I buy. Is it because I like it? Or because I've seen it so much that I just think I do. That is how advertisers "get you". They're not outwardly saying "This is cool, buy it". It's by seeing the brand and the clothing so frequently that you become accustomed to it and decide you like it. People go with what they know, so while they're shopping they will be more likely to buy a brand they saw on a commercial rather than one they've never heard of before.
-Sammi
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