The Frontline piece “In Search of the Cool” states that whatever is in fad, what’s cool, and what’s in demand by teenagers is sought out by companies, then driven into the ground until it no longer becomes ‘in’. While the basis of their story is true, I found the entire video documentary on how trends emerge rather revolting, from their twisted depiction of teen idol Britney Spears and rap sensation Fred Durst to the dissection of the underground crowd and their anti-everything attitude. The video aims to credit companies with finding fads before they are such, and using that leverage to profit off of the teenager, whom they apparently think has money to burn.
Frontline repeats time and time again that research teams of teenagers and post high school trendsetters are hired to tell them what’s in fashion. However, what they fail to focus on is how their research groups are made up of post trendsetters, as in past, not of current, no longer of now. The majority of one populace, in this case the teenagers decide fads. If one person is sporting pink clothes, and another person likes them and buys pink clothes, but a variation to suit their own style, then another person and another and another…we now face the beginning of a fad. The media and these ‘research groups’ then get started and say “Wow! Pink is the new orange!” And so, every company who gets wind of this idea begins a mass market of pink clothes, backpacks, and other paraphernalia. The research teams and the company that hired them didn’t start the fad, the populace did. The company is just jumping on the metaphorical bandwagon by trying to cash in on the fad, and in the process running it into the ground.
But enough of this stupid high school definition rubbish that the video was using. In the real world, these companies ruin everything, not just fads and high school “Oh my god, I gotta have it!” When a music artist releases a new CD, if one of the songs shoots to the top, radio stations take advantage of this, thinking that everyone wants to hear the song (which they do want, just not every five seconds). Therefore, they play the number one song, and then they play it again, and again and again. Then they play it ten minutes later until everyone gets so sick of the song if they ever hear it again it’ll be to soon. The same thing happened when it was announce when Star Wars’ Episode I: The Phantom Menace would be released in theaters. The media took a much-anticipated movie, hyped it up, and blew it up more than the Goodyear blimp. Companies stamped the faces of the characters on everything from cheap plastic wind-ups to Pepsi cans. When was the last time you saw someone sporting a Phantom Menace T-shirt? Or carrying an Episode I backpack? Or drinking from a Pepsi can with JarJar Binks on the side? As soon as everyone got sick of Episode I since it was everywhere you looked, companies turned to the next big ‘thing’ and ran that into the ground right along with everything else they stamped on the products they previously pushed.
The overall of the video was good. The idea and the message they were attempting to display was interesting, however the narrators comments and especially his opinions should have been left out, since it left me disliking the narrator and hence the video too. His attempt at witty jargon and clever puns and jokes failed miserably, instead it left me wondering how cool he was in high school. After all, he seems so anti-trends and death-to-the-fads I cannot help but wonder what clique he moved with in high school.
One good point the video did bring up however was the unbelievable fact that seventy five percent of teenagers have TVs in their rooms, one third of teens have personal computers and spend an average of two hours online each night. While these figures may not seem to shock the average person, who just assumes the computer was bought by mom or dad whom work, one might forget to point out that computers of today go out of style just as soon as they’re sold. A person who buys a computer today will be appalled at the fact that the exact same version will be thirty percent off tomorrow and have a newer version out in a week which will sell for half the price you paid. Teenagers, in an effort to keep on top of the latest technology and trends, will sell, trade or simply box up old computers, TV’s, VCR’s and DVD players and go out to buy new ones as soon as it becomes available. Not to mention the staggering truth that digital cameras, scanners, printers, camcorders, palm pilots and other ‘toys’ are so very popular right now also possess the same buy ‘n’ bag complex as computers. Teenagers may not actually have the ways or means to buy all of these lavish toys, but apparently, they are finding a way.
The video also points out that teenagers today are given ‘guilt’ money. When their parent or guardian cannot spend time with them, they instead feed the teens’ desire for attention with money and in the process creates a very dangerous combination…a teenager with power. Money brings its possessors power if they know how to accurately execute the opportunity, and in this case, teenagers of today have done just so.
Today teenagers are faced with many choices that teenagers only ten years ago wouldn’t have dreamed of having to deal with and all the while, they struggle with their peers. Teens know exactly what they like, they know what they want, and they go after it. Those that have not yet reached the level of individuality and independence from their peers simply follow along with others, which leads to in-crowds, fads, trends and all of those other colorful words. The video tries to tell the viewer that the average teen will eat up a trend and spit it out, accepting it as fact, but teens nowadays aren’t that dumb, after all, the companies who claim to have the power are the ones jumping through the hoops for the teenagers.