The “Cool-Hunters” & TrendSetters

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Recently, in my Visual Studies class we watched a 90s video version of a dysfunctional society called “The Merchants of Cool”. Here’s my lovely rant of a still corrupted and dysfunctional society made by yours truly.

In “The Merchants of Cool” video, I noticed a few things the marketing world has come up with that is completely absurd. It’s true that the marketing industry is targeting teenagers because they have the most “disposable income”, interested in the most recent trends, and trying to be like the “cool” kids. In high school, I was able to tell who the “trendsetters” or “cool” kids were in a crowd just by their appearance. Marketers, or “cool-hunters”, can figure out the same thing by just observing a crowd of teenagers. The people who are most popular and dress the most unique are these type of kids that everyone else wanted to be, so marketers pinpoint them out of a crowd and get to know them, or know what they want anyways. It is so absurd to me because marketers will go to extreme measures just to find out what the newest trend(s) should be. Undercover “cool-hunters” would snap pictures of trendsetters and interview them through casual conversation. Also, marketers will manipulate teenagers by getting inside their head and convincing the teens that the marketers care about their needs. In all reality, the marketers only care about the teenagers’ wants so they can display these wants as trends throughout media. The only thing marketers care about is income. If marketers actually cared about the well-being of teenagers, then maybe these teens wouldn’t be as rebellious as they are today. The media is only interested in sending messages that appeal to teens because they are the easiest to convince that doing these things are good, fun, and enjoyable in their most vulnerable stages of life.

MTV became popular with teens because they began producing shows that display these trends as good, fun, and enjoyable by displaying real teens that are actually doing these things. The saying, “Actions speak louder than words” is very relevant to marketers, so they display shows that display real teenagers with the latest trends. “The Merchants of Cool” video brought up the idea of a feedback loop, that is when media produces something that is “cool” and teens begin mimicking this idea or trend in their lifestyle. This begins to be a problem for teens because of the recent shows like, “16 & Pregnant” or “Naked Dating” and many other absurd reality shows that display inappropriate behaviors, all of which was discussed in our group discussion. If teenagers are going through their rebellious stages in life and are exposed to these shows they will more than likely act like these shows. Society wonders why these generations are messed up, increasing the crime rates, and becoming disrespectful children, after they produce raunchy TV shows that display these inappropriate behaviors. If society wants healthy lifestyles in the future teens, then they need to take a look at the bigger picture and make changes in the lives of the younger generations.

A few other things the video displayed are the trends like rage rock, “sex sells”, wrestling, and partying. Rage rock became popular because teenagers would listen to it, and then they began to act on it because of the rebellious stages and frustrations they were going through in their life. When you think of teenagers you think of adolescents that begin to see things differently because of the changes that are going on in their life. Most teenagers feel, misunderstood, outspoken, and lonely, all of which lead to frustration and anger. This is why rage rock became as popular as it did. Also, rage rock was displayed on MTV during the time that it was most popular with the teen audience. Wrestling became popular for the same reason as rage rock, and that is because the music is aggressive, and helps one let out all of their frustrations. Wrestling evolved into the idea that the less clothes, the more the intimate body parts are revealed, which also helped marketing industries come up with the idea that “sex sells”. Another reason why being sexy was so popular is because teens were flaunting their bodies to be more like celebrities and also to look more mature. The teen male audience is more attracted to the look of younger women because they are around the same age as they are and their bodies are still fit and hip. This became an instant running trend in a variety of companies for an outcome of a larger income. TV shows began displaying intimate, romantic and “sexy” TV shows, so teens would be attracted to these shows and become the main audience. The thought that “sex sells” is from the idea that the most hormone crazed people are teens and the most common topic behind teen conversations is sex. This is because it is dangerous, fun, exciting, new, and is introduced in today’s teen communities. Sex and alcohol began to fall into one category, partying. Partying is associated with the idea that “sex sells” because people only party to “get some” or get “wasted” and then hopefully “get some”. Marketing companies decided to take this idea to their advantage and brought the idea of partying to the world of television, thanks to MTV. Sex and partying were categorized, which then led to the idea that rage rock and wrestling should join the same category to reach out to a wider audience for marketers.

In our discussion we brought up the fact that this video is outdated, but still relevant to today’s trends, and marketing industry. This is because marketers are still trying to reach the teen audience for money and the people of higher power still have authority over how trends are produced, good or bad. In this video, marketers are considered “culture makers” because they are interacting and changing the way culture is perceived to society. Therefore, marketers do not set a good example as role models or culture makers, because teenagers are absorbed in these TV shows, commercials, and other advertisements. As teenagers continue to follow through with rebellion, and inappropriate behaviors, so do marketing companies. This video proves that companies will go to extreme measures, even if it means corrupting the innocent minds of teenagers, to get what they want and that is money. Max Haiven represented the idea that money and power create a very corrupt society. Marketers created power by observing the idea that the trends they produced were imitated by young teenagers, so now marketers profit from the fact that teenagers follow anything that is displayed throughout TV shows, advertisements, and many other trending things. The crazier the better is what motto the marketers are now following. This creates a very corrupt society and because the younger generations are the hope for this world, then there is no hope, except for we as artists to follow through with the idea of culture makers. If we as artists move up the totem pole we could have the potential to move culture just as much as these marketers do, just in a different better way. With this idea in mind, there is hope for this world to become something wonderful. If the right people take power, we can create an actual heaven on earth and creatively solve problems throughout this now corrupted society. Just like Steve Lambert said, people rely on emotions and motivation to live their life and that is exactly what art does to people. We have the motivation and emotion to be world changers, now we just need to pursue it and touch as many lives as we can.

Renew

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Hello! So here’s a little about myself. My name is Danika (not like the race car driver) and I have been a Christian about my entire life, but until now I have never really been an active participant in my religion. I am new in the blogging world, but I intend to deliver my testimony, challenges, advice, and many more compelling pieces to you through this blog. Also, I will write a little bit about my point of view from when I was an inactive Christian versus now, as an active Christian. I plan on publishing more pieces that will give anyone a sense of what it is like to be a writer/artist for God in a fallen world. There are struggles that challenge my faith every day and make me feel like a tiny sunflower seed in between the cracks of the sidewalk. Back to the idea of this blog, I would like to say that if it wasn’t for the wonderful Christian Fellowship group that convinced me to be a part of their chapter, I wouldn’t be the trying person I am today. As a college student, it is extremely easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. God is willing to talk to you even when you don’t feel like listening or when you’d much rather binge watch Netflix and eat popcorn, he is always there for you. To this day I have a hard time praying out loud or in front of crowds, but the feeling of belonging to such a loving crowd of people in InterVarsity has really helped me branch out of my hermit shell. While it is easier to stay in your own bubble and just go through the motions of your daily schedule, he wants to open you up and make a better life for you. So, listen to God because he is always listening when you need him.

God is Good!