Thoughts on "Merchants of Cool"

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Image result for hyped items
In the “Merchants of Cool” documentary we watched in class this week they people discussed the advertising market for teens.  Robert McChesney is a media critic, and in the documentary he gave his opinion on the effect the media has on our emotions. He states “Well, it really promotes the sort of world in which you don't think anything matters, unless it serves your material gain. Why be honest? Why have integrity? Why care about other people? That's for chumps. It's all about taking care of number one. The dominant institutions in society, the values they send out is, ‘We're just here to make money off of you. We're just here to take advantage of you.’ The message that goes out to everyone in that system is, ‘Yeah, everyone should be everyone for themself. Just take care of number one. Why should I care about that other person, you know? What's in it for me?’” (McChesney).  As a teenager I feel like our society has been changing to this materialistic world. Reflecting on McChesneys opinion ten or so years later I feel that it to some extent it is coming true.
Teens are really focused on what everyone is wearing.  For example, on red carpets they ask women what designer they are wearing, the street wear culture has been boosting in popularity selling one thousand dollar shirts and other items.  Pop culture idols have a huge impact as they endorse to their hundreds of millions of followers whatever overpriced item companies give them to make it a must have in everyone’s wardrobe.  Teens spend hundreds of dollars on shoes, and judge others if they wear fakes or knock offs. In this regard I feel like our society has shifted to become materialistic, but I disagree that we can’t honest, or caring.  Yes some teens are centered around materialistic items, but not all. Even those who have a love for spending the big bucks on the hyped items aren’t necessarily any less honest or caring. Teens still understand the bigger picture in life for the most part.
*Update: Link to Photo
https://hypb.imgix.net/image/2017/10/2017-fall-winter-most-hyped-items-0003.jpg?w=1600&q=90&fit=max&auto=compress%2Cformat

Comments

  1. Ian GardinerMay 23, 2018 at 2:58 PM

    I agree with you Emma. The amount of media that is solely devoted towards the appearance of celebrities, almost always women, who appear on such plateforms as the red carpet is quite astonishing. Unfortunately, this effects todays youth causing teen girls to try and make themselves appear like the women they see on TV. This causes teens to compare themselves to an unhuman and frankly impossible standards.

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  2. UnknownMay 24, 2018 at 7:11 PM

    I would agree. I honestly am shocked to see the prices of designer clothes and brands, as I could never imagine myself spending more than $20 on a shirt. Though celebrities "need" fancy and trendy clothing to stand out, I could never bring myself to buy anything overpriced. It is insane to me that designer companies can charge $500 for a simple white shirt with an iron in transfer image, when I could make something like it for $5 (exaggerating obviously, but you get the point).

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