The Merchants of Cool

When watching the video “Merchants of Cool” I was shocked to see how much of teens culture is made up by corporations and media. Teens really do not have their own culture that is established by them for them. Their clothes, style, music, appearance is all dictated by these corporations out the make the next big buck. The corporations spend so much money to study the teens of today and sell back to them what is their idea of cool. From both sides I can see what and why they respond the way they do. The corporations are focused on making the greatest amount of profit, no matter how low they have to sink to make it. This just goes back to the idea that bigger is better. The business world has turned in to a dog eat dog world that you must stay afloat to win the game. The teens are just reacting to what they see everyday of their lives. How could they not when they are consumed by hours and hours of media that show how the typical happy teen lives their lives. Both sides create a circle that will continue to go round and round never finding an end. They both need each other to function or both would collapsed and not know what to do.

I believe the most interesting part of this video was the way that corporations reached their consumer by telling or showing them that “I am just like you”. One example was when sprite teamed up with the hip hop scene and used that culture as a catalyst to shoot them to the top. Hip hop was a very smart tool because it reaches a population way greater than the African American population. Hip hop as been the stereographic as a “cool” scene that all ethnicity should join in on. It has become a product rather than a culture. Corporations have taken away the culture that unites people and turned it in to a source of profit.

Another idea that really interested me was the way MTV went in to average every day young men’s homes and asked them questions about their everyday life. School, clothes, girls and used this information to sell products back to them. All this data created the idea of a “mock”, a loud, obnoxious male that is sex and enjoyment driven. Is this really what teen boys are like?

This video really opened my eyes about how my world is shaped by media and corporations. I notice myself going in to stores and looking for brands that are familiar. I will purchase a pair of jeans that were I guess titled “cool” even if they cost more than a weeks pay at work. This all just goes back to the idea that teens this day have a lot more freedom when it comes to their spending habits. Parents no longer can and do not dictate how and where their kids money should be spent. This is a very scary thought.