Merchants of Cool

Watching “The Merchants of Cool” helped me to realize many things about the marketing and advertising toward teenagers. I thought it was really interesting that teens control the economy and what our culture considers to be “cool” today. Thousands of advertisements are directed toward teens because of this.

There were several things that I did not like about the documentary. I thought that the actual program was really well thought out and intriguing, but I did not always agree with what they people in the interviews were saying about teens and marketing. They spoke as if teenagers are unaware of what is going on around them. I think that young teenagers and pre-teens can be really susceptible to advertisements and fall for things that they see on television easily. But people in their mid and late teen years aren’t as vulnerable to the media. In middle school, I remember watching TRL and all the teen movies like “Cruel Intentions.” Thinking back on high school, though, I can’t name a single person who watched TRL when they got home from school or really cared what was on MTV.
This program is a few years old, so maybe things were different for other generations of high schoolers.

I agree that teenagers are a “stubborn demographic” and that they don’t really respond to what is considered to be traditional advertising. But at the same time, teenagers are not ignorant to the fact that they are being marketed to. All different groups of people are subject to advertisements, no matter what the age group or social status.

Television shows and MTV do a good job of marketing to young people. I had not actually realized that MTV was one giant commercial after another. Not all of the shows are like that, but a lot of the channel is one thing after another. I still watch MTV, but I think it has changed a lot since the TRL and spring break days. Now there are actual shows that I watch. I’m not saying that these shows are educational or inspiring, but they are definitely entertaining to watch. “The Merchants of Cool” brings up a good point that MTV has created characters that don’t necessarily speak for teens or bring up issues important to them, but that cater to teen entertainment. The “mook” and the “midriff” are characters that I can say I have met in real life, but I have never made the connection between them and Tom Green.

I liked how “The Merchants of Cool” recognized that teens often reject popular culture and try to find things on their own. When I was a teenager, I was very much indifferent to what was cool with the media or with television shows. My friends and I kind of fed off of one another and decided what was cool on our own. My younger sisters are sixteen years old, and they like what they like without referring to MTV or Sprite.

I think that everyone has their own perception as to what is cool. There is not just one cool, but many, and that’s where cliques and groups of friends come in. People don’t need the media to think about what is cool. I did think it was true, though, that a lot of teens reflect what they see on television and that television reflects what teens do.