After spending about a week discussing this PBS documentary in class and after ploughing through the set of questions, please articulate in writing, what is ONE important idea that you have learned from the video?
From the media's perspective, the primary concern is their commercial interest. The PBS documentary has illustrated an example of how Sprite promotes its brand through unethical methods such as offering money to log-on to chat rooms and throwing party. Maximise the public's awareness to their brand appears to be the sole concern of Sprite, as it was clearly prioritised over ethical issues such as the respect for individual's privacy.
"Mooks" and "midriffs" both have various connotations in different contexts, hence there is rarely a direct equivalence of the mook/midriff in between different countries. For example, in liberal countries such as the US, the general public and media accepts the way mooks/midriffs permeate the society. So widespread is the existence of mooks/midriffs that even MTV broadcasts programmes featuring their springbreaks and road trips. However, in such a conservative society like Singapore's, springbreaks are more uncommon and less wild, hence the extremeness of the mook/midriff is scaled down. Even so, there exists groups of people in every country similar to the stereotypical mook/midriff.
From the documentary, we can see that what the media portrays of ‘cool’ makes up what society perceives of ‘cool’. Also, very often, coolness dies out once everyone starts following a certain trend, and then the search for the "next cool thing" begins all over again.
As we are highly influenced by the various forms of media in our daily lives, be it the advertisements or programmes, there is also a high tendency that our thoughts and perceptions are swayed by them. Hence, it is important that we have a mind of our own, and not take in all information provided by the media without processing. After all, it should be us (the teens) who should be defining ‘cool’, and not them (the merchants, media).
The pervasive presence of the media has shaped our generation’s culture, and with such powerful and far-reaching influence, it is inevitable that our needs, wants and lives have been changed by it in one way or another. Therefore, it is essential for the young consumer today be to media literate, to be able to “access, analyse and evaluate” (Wikipedia.org) what their senses are being fed, which will enable him or her to make critical and valued judgments. This will help the consumer refrain from blindly following the supposed trend that has been put forth by the marketers, whose main purpose is to profit off the impressionable teenage consumer. Hence to avoid being exploited as such, youths today should not strive to keep up with the Joneses, but instead exercise discretion and take everything with a pinch of salt. One must remember, the media may try to dictate our lives, but we always have the final choice.
The biggest takeaway that our group has gotten is that the search for cool forms a big feedback loop, where the teens and the merchants share a symbiotic relationship and in this case, no one in specific can really define cool. This feedback loop causes teen culture to not be unique to themselves as it is now shaped by not only the teenagers, but also increasingly by the merchants and media. Most teens are unaware of this and are blindly following the "cool" culture that the media is packaging and reselling back to them, which might cause them to be misled and to emulate the morally wrong actions portrayed by the media.
This leads us to wonder if there is still any originality in the current trends and cultures. Is it still possible for us to create unique sense of styles, or is it even possible for us to break out of this giant feedback loop? We feel that ideally, teens can try to distance themselves from the loop by avoiding mainstream media, yet essentially, we need to bear in mind that the media is all around us and inevitably influencing our thoughts and decisions consistently. Furthermore, since it is human nature to keep up with and be aware of the latest trends portrayed by the media, it is nearly impossible to break out of the giant feedback loop without segregating ourselves from the rest of society.
As such, our group thinks that one needs to be more discerning and media-literate when exposed to the constant influx of mass media. We need to sieve out crucial information from advertisements and the media and be aware of the manipulative techniques employed by the marketers to reap profits.
contributed by: yiyue, tao tao, shimin, rachel and limin 09S03K
The media was portrayed in the video as a hindrance to the expression of youth identity, and as a reluctantly accepted villain of the society. The media has constantly interfered with youth culture to fulfil the desire of monetary gains, and in so doing, has disrupted the youth's process of expression. For example, the exposing of 'cool' trends by 'cool-hunters' that make these trends outdated and in-authentic. It's interference may have led to the extinction of various youth and popular cultures, but has indirectly led to the development of new cultures. As such, we feel that the media is the entity that defines culture, thus allowing it to be (reluctantly) accepted in society.
We have also come to realize that things would be little different if the mass media did not exist at all. This is because, either way, cultures would still be created or developed. It is only a matter of time where youths or people themselves realize that culture has become outdated, and thus, decide to create new cultures.
To conclude, we have learnt from the video that the media is as responsible for the killing and hindrance of youth expression, as it is for aiding the progression of culture.
The media, has slowly overtaken parents as one of the biggest influences in teen decision making today. Their insidious and cunning methods have permeated almost every strata of society leaving media illiterate teens helpless and open to exploitation.
We think that the media has shown great intelligence in the way that they market things. But at the same time they're so desperate for teen input that they'll grab just about anything teens tell them so you can tell them anything and they'll believe you and package it to sell to someone else.
In conclusion, the media is all about packaging, it advocates nothing but sales. Teens however, have repeatedly and constantly been exploited at the expense of the media and its goal.
This Post was by Abigail Kang, Timothy Tan, Zhang Zhefei and Wong Sze Waiy 09S07A
In this materialistic world, there is only a thin line between what is morally right and wrong. Media giants are merely companies which want to leech money out of teenagers. 'Money' is what the media company worships. The only person the media has to answer to is the boss. No one cares about the decay of morality among teenagers...
As such, we teenagers have to make an informed choice when choosing the right form of media. While we cannot control the contents presented by mass media, we have the power over our own actions. In order to break out of the media monopoly, we have to understand the roles played by companies who are in charge of the media. What are their motives? Why are they influencing teenagers rather than adults? Would they still promote 'systematic rebelliousnes' if no one accepts such a culture?
The moral of the story is... Think twice before you act!
One important idea that our group has learned from the documentary is that there is a vital need to be media literate in our media-saturated world of today.
Through the documentary, we have seen the immense scope of influence the media has on society and how it can permeate our lives in a manner so subtle that we do not even realise it. In addition, the documentary’s deconstruction of the media infrastructure has showed how the media has evolved into a colossal commercial juggernaut, banking upon a manufactured popular culture to further their business interests. As such, our group believes that it is crucial for the individual to be able to critically analyze the various information and ideas he encounters through the media, and not mindlessly accept whatever he sees or hears.
Indeed, media literacy prevents the individual from being an unsuspecting pawn of commercialization. A media literate person knows how to use the media for their own advantage and not be taken advantage of. Utilizing a documentary example, a media literate person probably would regard Sprite’s venture and attempted assimilation into hip-hop culture as a marketing gimmick and also understand that Sprite, as a firm with commercial interests, cannot possibly be a manifestation of authentic culture.
Furthermore, being media literate allows the individual to maintain his own principles and not succumb to the overtly hedonistic attitudes prevalent in the media. When confronted with the media, he can distinguish what is right or wrong, what is real or manufactured and thus make informed decisions about what he sees or hears from the media. For instance, when seeing a show with plenty of violent and sexual content on TV, a media literate person would know that the sex and violence are just constructions of reality, manufactured by the producers to satiate and gratify the taste buds of the masses. This awareness will definitely prevent him from being negatively influenced by the explicit content shown and will also allow him to lead a life based on his own principles and not those gleaned off from others.
As seen in the video, the media has indeed a very strong influence on us today. Companies and media giants captures teenagers attention by using various tactics, such as under-the-radar marketing to draw teenagers to their products and the “lifestyle” that comes along with it. While most of us may think that we are smart enough to tell whether or not we are being exploited by these companies, the fact remains that most, if not all of us are still falling prey to these gimmicks used by the media giants. Therefore, many of us are actually willing victims of these companies whose sole purpose is to make the most profit out of us ignorant youths. The main reason, as we found out from the video, is due to the ingenious tactics that these companies uses through the media that convinced many youths to become an addict of this “style” that the company introduces.
Another very interesting thing we noted from the video was the giant feedback loop, in which the companies and media giants copy the style from the teenagers, repackages it and sells it back to the teenagers and the teenagers in turn, copy their style from the media which was actually from themselves. This had led us to think about the times when we thought that following a new trend which is portrayed in television by the stars were cool when it was actually copied from ourselves. Thus, the video has shown us the insights of how the media actually works which is completely different from our naïve view on what the media is. Our group feel that the only way to break out of this giant feedback loop is to be more informed about how the media actually operates and to be more critical of any messages sent by the media to the audience. Therefore, we do not blindly follow the lifestyle that the media is encouraging but instead, take time to ponder whether what the media shows is actually correct before deciding whether we should follow them.
Thus, we feel that the solution to all the problems shown in the video is just media literacy on the part of us youths. We need to be able to differentiate the factual information in advertisements and the media from the exploitative and manipulative techniques used by the companies and media giants for their own monetary profits. It is only through unbiased and sensible consideration that we can correctly judge whether we are doing a fair deal with these companies by following their ideas or simply being exploited as easy victims.
Done by- Eileen, Shi Hua, Samantha, Vincent, Lin Bo 09S07A
I learnt how to analyse media and its impacts on teens like us after the exercise. It was a good way to look at media stereotypes and the strategies they use to attract teens and how various brands compete to get to the frontier of what's cool. I've realised the definition of cool and how media adapts to it in order to market its product and get a message across. It was truly an exciting and enriching exercise.
I am also more aware of the influence media has on teens and the fact that we are really very vulnerable to what the portray. The link may seem weak, but we are actually interlinked in this world.
Before this exercise, I never really thought much about the media and how much it influenced us. But only after the exercise did I truly realise how much media shapes our society and our lifestyle such as our everyday choices. I think I have benefited from this course on media literacy as I am now more skeptical and critical towards the media. I certainly view the world in a new light now.
MEDIA LITERACY is the most important thing that we have learnt, as can be seen from the reasons below. The five media powers have a great influence over us and our lives, thus it is up to us to filter out the right info so as to prevent blindly following trends and then end up committing acts of folly. We are also shocked at how the mooks and midriffs are so exaggeratedly portrayed in the media, which is why we should all the more exercise medi literacy to differenciate what is real and what is not. And the "under the radar marketing" show us that things that are not what they seem can also be portrayed as what you want them to be, given the right marketing techniques, therefore we must all the more be discerning and choose to believe in what we know is right. Next time if a friend casually introduces a product to you, why not try asking if he/she has been paid to do it? haha :) fangting, minjia, kim, bryan cai 09SO3K
With the media becoming so pervasive nowadays, it is relatively easy for companies to reach out to teens and market their products without the teens themselves realising it. Teens are being influenced greatly by media as they look to the media for definitions of 'cool'. However, as the media starts to market different identities that teens can take on - such as the 'midriff' and the 'mook', what the teens get from the media is in fact an identity that does not truly reflect who they are. At times, expressions of such identities are frowned upon by their parents (esp of Asian heritage). Yet, by constantly throwing the identities of the 'mook' and the 'midriff' at the teens, it is difficult for them to hold steadfast to their values and not to join in the trends set by the media.
From this, we came to a conclusion that media literacy is actually very important to teens, especially when they are constantly being exposed to some form of media pressure. Being media literate allows them to pick out the various concealed marketing strategies, as well as the different teen identities created to appeal to them. This way, us teens will be able to prevent ourselves from being victims of the media and marketing firms.
Done by Marvin, Xiaodi, Charmaine, Genevieve and Nicole 09S03K
The greatest learning point after watching the documentary would be to know about the impact that the media has on teens today. A key idea in the documentary, that was constantly emphasized, was that of how the media has come up with more and more sophisticated methods to influence teens and to get commercial benefits out of them.
This fact makes us more aware of the motives of media and to be more careful in following trends that are deemed cool. The media very much has control over what is “cool” and the paradox of the media killing what it finds to be cool seems to suggest to us that teens have been exploited. The teens come up with something new and yet from there the media takes over and sells the idea back to them. Yet what we find disturbing is how the media can resort to means like hiring teens to advertise in chat rooms and during parties. It is after watching the documentary that we have come to realize that the media has been integrated into all parts of our lives and is not confined to the television or newspapers. Therefore, to be media literate is the best, if not the only way to free ourselves from the undesirable influences that the media has on us.
One of our greatest takeaways from the documentary, "Merchants Of Cool", was probably the information regarding the extent of impact that the media has over the teens, and vice versa.
The giant feedback loop is an interesting perception of the relationship between the media and the teenager, and it is interesting to note how the media watches teens so closely, just to sell back an image of themselves straight back at them, and how the teens lap up this image of themselves from the media. It’s almost like propping up two mirrors and facing them against each other, you get an infinite number of reflections, but they really are just about the same thing.
But perhaps one of the most perceptive ideas presented to us in the video, was the fact that deep down inside, nobody really feels cool enough, and that something is probably what the media latches onto to keep marketing their products to the youths of today and tomorrow.
And really, its alright not to feel cool, and its alright to feel that you're not cool enough? Why? Because everyone around you probably feels the same.
After watching the documentary, we were shocked and mildly disgusted, but also extremely enlightened. It really showed us a different perspective of media that we never knew of or took time to notice. The trueness and reality of it all really intrigued us, as we had the misconception that the media only marketed what the public liked to see and hear, and thus the public would be attracted to such marketing. It had never occurred to us that it could actually be the opposite happening. The media actually twisted and modified the non-mainstream, then re-packaged it and marketed it to the youth, causing the youth to think that such forms of media are widely-accepted and thus start to like it, in order to blend in with and conform to "popular culture". Is it the youth today that are obsessed about sex, drugs and gore, and the media is simply publicising it to suit their demands? Or is it the media that has publicised it, making youth think it is perfectly normal and socially acceptable to have sex or take drugs at their age? Although it may not seem so, these questions are actually crucial to our current society and allow for much room for thought. This documentary has undoubtedly allowed us to ponder even deeper into such troubling issues and questions that we were not aware about at first. By watching the documentary, we are definitely very enlightened but also saddened at the true, behind-the-scenes problems that mass media has brought to the world.
After watching the documentary, we were shocked and mildly disgusted, but also extremely enlightened. It really showed us a different perspective of media that we never knew of or took time to notice. The trueness and reality of it all really intrigued us, as we had the misconception that the media only marketed what the public liked to see and hear, and thus the public would be attracted to such marketing. It had never occurred to us that it could actually be the opposite happening. The media actually twisted and modified the non-mainstream, then re-packaged it and marketed it to the youth, causing the youth to think that such forms of media are widely-accepted and thus start to like it, in order to blend in with and conform to "popular culture". Is it the youth today that are obsessed about sex, drugs and gore, and the media is simply publicising it to suit their demands? Or is it the media that has publicised it, making youth think it is perfectly normal and socially acceptable to have sex or take drugs at their age? Although it may not seem so, these questions are actually crucial to our current society and allow for much room for thought. This documentary has undoubtedly allowed us to ponder even deeper into such troubling issues and questions that we were not aware about at first. By watching the documentary, we are definitely very enlightened but also saddened at the true, behind-the-scenes problems that mass media has brought to the world.
After watching the documentary, we realised that the media is a very powerful marketing tool. It can influence our lives and redefine what we think is "cool".
We discovered the motives behind the creation of 'mooks' and 'midriffs', and the techniques used by marketers to promote their products such as 'cool hunting' and 'under-the-radar marketing'. Through such techniques, a new 'cool' emerges through the media and is mass marketed. When the trend dies down, 'cool hunters' have to search for a new 'cool' again, creating a giant feedback loop which we are all caught in.
The documentary was a rather accurate picture of how the media reaches out to teenagers like us. Media pressure influences our thoughts in many ways, hence being media literate would allow us to deal with those money-minded marketers appropriately, making morally right and sensible choices rather than just blindly following what we see and hear through the media.
Although our group gleaned many significant insights from the "Merchants of Cool" videos, perhaps the most noteworthy of them all could be summed up in one phrase: The media is all-pervasive.
We learnt about how the media creeps unknowingly into our everyday life to latch onto our latest definitions of 'cool'. Media giants and independent syndicates send cool-hunters to document a typical teen's life in order to strike the iron while its hot by packaging our cool-tags and sublime lifestyles into their personal products.
In addition, we then learnt about the various forms of advertising and broadcasting that these media giants employ. Again, the "media is all-pervasive" motto is demonstrated here as the products (and lifestyles they imbue) are advertised over many forms of media, most of which the average teenager is often connected to.
Moreover, we also got to know the interesting and yet grotesque creations of the media and the MTV, which were namely the mook and midriff. We see how cultures and lifestyles (e.g. springbreak) in the media could influence us in our daily activities (i.e. teenagers acting like mooks on TV). Again, media here infiltrates our lives such as to radiate their creations through our actions, behaviors and emotions.
Finally, we learnt about the Giant Feedback Loop - the consequence of an all-pervasive media in search of cool to advertise their products. We learnt that we are trapped in the vicious cycle of the Giant Feedback loop. Our minority lifestyles are brought into the light of the media, and through its aggressive advertising the lifestyles are adopted by the majority, and on it goes.
Learning about the input, process and output that is part and parcel of the all-pervasive nature of media naturally gave our group a final parting gift: the knowledge that we must be armed with media literacy. Media literacy allows us to make value judgments, to see through the appealing look and cast economical votes upon the buying and selling of products. Media literacy gives us the ability to recognize the misogynistic, violent and warped mindsets that come with the products. Media literacy allows us to reject these cultures, and instead cultivate our own refined moral values that are not easily swayed by the standards of media.
Done by: Bryan Cai, Kimberly, Min Jia and Fang Ting 09SO3K
I think while it is true that media literacy is important, we should also realise that the media is actually using social loopholes to manipulate our mindsets and lifestyle. for example, the media is fully aware that some people may not have access to advertisements, shows etc or may not buy what they say. that is why they are using people's behaviour, conversations and majority power to convince the minority. that is what we have all been doing, or most of the teens have been doing: we were made to do certain things due to peer pressure. this is why the media has been marketing what the most influential teens have been doing, the top 20% who have peer admiration and trust. In a way, this makes our whole world more and more untrustworthy. i think often teenagers are confronted with the dilemma of whether to fit in, or to be unique and face possible rejections or judgement by their peers. that's why media is using all their power to tell us what we should do so as to gain popularity and recognition.
Merchants of Cool The very first topic of discussion for GP so far. I guess this video was really quite enlightening in a way. My group members and I discussed this over break today, where do trends come from and how do they change and develop? Before watching the video, we already did know that the media does influence trends... But the video really showed us how it comes about in detail.
It was interesting to note how media actually ATTEMPTS to copy our trends to sell their products. Besides for the fact that it makes us feel almighty and powerful, it also made us realise how big an impact we actually leave on the world. We teens don't just influence the market, we influence the environment, the psychology of all age groups and how things are done. Now that I have shamelessly self-praised our generation, let's move on to how evil we are.
Teenagers have surprisingly immature politics which can be quite similar to world politics. It made us realise the impact of setting a trend and trying to make everyone follow it suppresses many peoples' individuality. Only people like me can't be bothered by trends - ok maybe I do think its interesting and follow it once in a while. I am sure all of us has had moments where we think something is totally uncool, but just because everyone is doing it and you don't want to be left all alone like "person I shall not name A", you just follow it to make sure you don't end up a loner like "person I shall not name A".
But throughout the video, I noticed some funny things. Especially when they showed the cool-hunters hunting for the cool people. I did not think the people they ran after were cool, I thought they were plain confused people. Grp A - girls with tank tops so short they look like sports bras. Grp B - guys with so many tattoos I thought I jus saw mystique from X-men. Grp C - people with so many piercings they looked like pin cushions. (talk about spongebob pinnedpants). Grp D - Wannabes. Fullstop.
Do you really think they are cool? I think not, I think they are wannabes who don't understand what cool is and overdid it, joining the cool grp called "losers". These people were the cool people of their era and are supposed to look for the cool people of the next era. Besides pointing out the fact that they were in fact the losers of their era, adults have a completely thwarted view of us. And because of the publicity of what they think is cool, the media may actually be the reason why we teens seem to be becoming more and more wild. But if we continue on discussing that, we may go too far off track so I will be back to talk abt that another day. So moving on.
And then you have the mooks and the midriffs. The media got it all wrong!!! Do they have any idea how much we gossip about these sluts behind their backs (or in their faces as a matter of fact)? They keep saying all these sexual themed shows exist because they got it from us, but hello, sluts are not popular amongst girls, and mooks are laughed at; and not along with. It is only when they started commercialising the wrong message to all of us that we started feeling like American Beautys. That has thus far led to the many scandals you hear in JC such as "scandal A in 6th floor toilet between the fishball boy n satay stick girl!" (bad inspiration, eating fishball now. sorry.)
And so, the trends we follow are no longer a sign of development/advancement of society, they are more like forced upon us by the big corps as they try to take advantage of our "follow the cool crowd so as not to be marginalized" mentality to make profits.
Now THOSE are our thoughts. Even though it challenges the points pointed out in the video, we do not disagree with the video, it was the video that actually make us think about all this. In all, cool to me is to be well-liked and yourself. Not wild/slutty/stupid. Take note cool-hunters.
Disclaimer: All characters, analogies, metaphors and other forms of literary devices were but imagination and similarities with the things we see in real life are purely coincidental.
By: Seng henk With: Yi Xin, Joel Tai, Ming Mei and Jia Han
THE films served as a powerful revelation of the pervasiveness and influential might of the media in our contemporary society.
The media wields the power to deftly manipulate our thinking and mould it into a uniform one - the ideas it conveys are unquestionably accepted as gospel truths.
For example a particular trend, such as baggy pants, is blindly followed most of the time without much consideration of one’s personal style. Once this trend is continually perpetuated through the various forms by the media, it may be come accepted as the new norm.
Trends are thus seen as superficial and of little substance as it stunts creativity and individuality. Furthermore we have realised from the video how, ironically, overexposure of a particular trend kills it as it loses its appeal. This is counter productive for the media who is thus on a never-ending search for the next concocted meaning of “cool “
Little do we unsuspecting victims know, despite us being conscious of the harmful influences the media can inflict on us, that the media is sublimely at work through now more devious underhanded means. For example Sprite has adopted means such as paying youths to boost their popularity at chatrooms.
These new powerful weapons of influence are virtually impossible to detect at times. our mindsets, values are swayed - we become totally vulnerable, which, if coupled with lack of discernment, may have detrimental consequences - namely the creation of more mooks and midriffs in this world. And that can’t be good.
One main idea we have learnt from the video is that the media’s concerns are mainly commercial. The video has exposed the reality of how the media manupilates its viewers with influential tools. It uses its powerful influence, gained via its overwhelming presence, to shape and direct our thinking in a way which supports its commercial interests. Furthermore, in order to achieve this influence, the media shows us what we want to see. This manipulation can be seen specifically on teen TV. It uses “attractive” tools like explicit sexual and violent content as that are what appeals most to their senses.
Thus, using such ”attractive” tools, the media gets as many teens to watch teen TV as possible and uses this medium to influence their mindset and culture. This ultimately leads to the media dictating teen culture as any new styles or “cool” trends come from the media itself. Our group finds this influence as a hindrance and a negative effect on teens. The reason we believe so is that teens will more often than not pick up habits from the TV and the first few to do so will start following them. This makes them unique and others inevitable term it as “cool”. Something “cool” is considered better than before and is therefore adopted by more and more people. This soon causes the trend to lose its appeal and it becomes a norm. This process, we feel, leads to certain trends being forced onto teens rather than being created by teens themselves. It inhibits the freedom of thought and the creativity of teens.
Therefore, we feel that it is essential, in the present world, to be able to recognize the message the media is trying to convey. This ability is known as media literacy. A person who is media literate will be able to identify when, for example, sex and violence is being used just as an appetizer of just to attract viewers rather than convey any meaningful message. This ability is key to remaining unique and “clean” minded rather than being influenced and incorporated into the modern culture which is rapidly having sex and violence as an integral part of it.
We must say that we agree with Seng Henk on the fact that most of us already know about how media influences us even before we watched the documentary, though the documentary really puts our thoughts into perspective and gives us a detailed insight on how exactly the media does so.
Our main learning point from the video is the idea of the Giant Feedback Loop. Most of us just thought that all this "defining cool" thing is coming from the media and the media only. It was only after the video that we realised that we teenagers are helping to tighten this noose around our necks too. In fact, after some discussion we realised that we actually play a larger part than the media in this fiasco. We agree with Seng Henk again on is point that those people that MTV chose to interview are, well, plain weird and definitely not cool. So with the media getting all these warped impressions of what we view as cool and exaggerating them and selling it back to us, why is it that we accept them and embrace them? The answer: nobody wants to be left out.
Let's just take something closer to us as an example: the house parties. I'm quite sure many of us feel that the money spent on the tickets could have been much better utilised (sorry to anyone who was involved in the planning/executing of any house party but it's true). The reason so many people turned up for the parties is that it's a lot harder to organise something else (albeit something better) than to let the flow go in one direction and joining it.
The same is true of this "cool thing". A lone voice may be an expert on "cool", but its very hard for him to convince others that that's cool, and not what's being portrayed by the media. The media is a powerful single entity, and while we are a lot more powerful as a whole group of teenagers, we are very divided. We do not hold annual conferences to decide on things, nor do we spend time getting together and speaking out against the media. Hence, when we see something totally un-cool in the media being sold as being cool, we think, "That's not cool, but what can I do? Shoot it, I'll just let it be and follow it, since everyone's going to do it and I don't want to be the odd one out."
After all, (ex-RI people, remember your philosophy lessons?) the majority is always right when it comes to things like cool, isn't it?
From this video, I have learnt that the media has a very strong influence over our daily lives through programmes and advertisements. Majority of the time, the media is also only concerned about the profits it can make and does not care about the well being of its viewers or target audience.
29 comments:
From the media's perspective, the primary concern is their commercial interest. The PBS documentary has illustrated an example of how Sprite promotes its brand through unethical methods such as offering money to log-on to chat rooms and throwing party. Maximise the public's awareness to their brand appears to be the sole concern of Sprite, as it was clearly prioritised over ethical issues such as the respect for individual's privacy.
"Mooks" and "midriffs" both have various connotations in different contexts, hence there is rarely a direct equivalence of the mook/midriff in between different countries. For example, in liberal countries such as the US, the general public and media accepts the way mooks/midriffs permeate the society. So widespread is the existence of mooks/midriffs that even MTV broadcasts programmes featuring their springbreaks and road trips. However, in such a conservative society like Singapore's, springbreaks are more uncommon and less wild, hence the extremeness of the mook/midriff is scaled down. Even so, there exists groups of people in every country similar to the stereotypical mook/midriff.
- Arjun, Edith, Melissa, Toan
From the documentary, we can see that what the media portrays of ‘cool’ makes up what society perceives of ‘cool’. Also, very often, coolness dies out once everyone starts following a certain trend, and then the search for the "next cool thing" begins all over again.
As we are highly influenced by the various forms of media in our daily lives, be it the advertisements or programmes, there is also a high tendency that our thoughts and perceptions are swayed by them. Hence, it is important that we have a mind of our own, and not take in all information provided by the media without processing. After all, it should be us (the teens) who should be defining ‘cool’, and not them (the merchants, media).
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baorong, lionel, michelle, qiansheng.
09S06J
The pervasive presence of the media has shaped our generation’s culture, and with such powerful and far-reaching influence, it is inevitable that our needs, wants and lives have been changed by it in one way or another. Therefore, it is essential for the young consumer today be to media literate, to be able to “access, analyse and evaluate” (Wikipedia.org) what their senses are being fed, which will enable him or her to make critical and valued judgments. This will help the consumer refrain from blindly following the supposed trend that has been put forth by the marketers, whose main purpose is to profit off the impressionable teenage consumer. Hence to avoid being exploited as such, youths today should not strive to keep up with the Joneses, but instead exercise discretion and take everything with a pinch of salt. One must remember, the media may try to dictate our lives, but we always have the final choice.
- Abigail Ho, Xue Qian, Jonathan, Ying Ying, Ewen
09S07A
The biggest takeaway that our group has gotten is that the search for cool forms a big feedback loop, where the teens and the merchants share a symbiotic relationship and in this case, no one in specific can really define cool. This feedback loop causes teen culture to not be unique to themselves as it is now shaped by not only the teenagers, but also increasingly by the merchants and media. Most teens are unaware of this and are blindly following the "cool" culture that the media is packaging and reselling back to them, which might cause them to be misled and to emulate the morally wrong actions portrayed by the media.
This leads us to wonder if there is still any originality in the current trends and cultures. Is it still possible for us to create unique sense of styles, or is it even possible for us to break out of this giant feedback loop? We feel that ideally, teens can try to distance themselves from the loop by avoiding mainstream media, yet essentially, we need to bear in mind that the media is all around us and inevitably influencing our thoughts and decisions consistently. Furthermore, since it is human nature to keep up with and be aware of the latest trends portrayed by the media, it is nearly impossible to break out of the giant feedback loop without segregating ourselves from the rest of society.
As such, our group thinks that one needs to be more discerning and media-literate when exposed to the constant influx of mass media. We need to sieve out crucial information from advertisements and the media and be aware of the manipulative techniques employed by the marketers to reap profits.
contributed by: yiyue, tao tao, shimin, rachel and limin 09S03K
The media was portrayed in the video as a hindrance to the expression of youth identity, and as a reluctantly accepted villain of the society. The media has constantly interfered with youth culture to fulfil the desire of monetary gains, and in so doing, has disrupted the youth's process of expression. For example, the exposing of 'cool' trends by 'cool-hunters' that make these trends outdated and in-authentic. It's interference may have led to the extinction of various youth and popular cultures, but has indirectly led to the development of new cultures. As such, we feel that the media is the entity that defines culture, thus allowing it to be (reluctantly) accepted in society.
We have also come to realize that things would be little different if the mass media did not exist at all. This is because, either way, cultures would still be created or developed. It is only a matter of time where youths or people themselves realize that culture has become outdated, and thus, decide to create new cultures.
To conclude, we have learnt from the video that the media is as responsible for the killing and hindrance of youth expression, as it is for aiding the progression of culture.
Nikhita, Yiksin, Christian, Emily, Yuwen 09S07A
The media, has slowly overtaken parents as one of the biggest influences in teen decision making today. Their insidious and cunning methods have permeated almost every strata of society leaving media illiterate teens helpless and open to exploitation.
We think that the media has shown great intelligence in the way that they market things. But at the same time they're so desperate for teen input that they'll grab just about anything teens tell them so you can tell them anything and they'll believe you and package it to sell to someone else.
In conclusion, the media is all about packaging, it advocates nothing but sales. Teens however, have repeatedly and constantly been exploited at the expense of the media and its goal.
This Post was by
Abigail Kang, Timothy Tan, Zhang Zhefei and Wong Sze Waiy
09S07A
In this materialistic world, there is only a thin line between what is morally right and wrong. Media giants are merely companies which want to leech money out of teenagers. 'Money' is what the media company worships. The only person the media has to answer to is the boss. No one cares about the decay of morality among teenagers...
As such, we teenagers have to make an informed choice when choosing the right form of media. While we cannot control the contents presented by mass media, we have the power over our own actions. In order to break out of the media monopoly, we have to understand the roles played by companies who are in charge of the media. What are their motives? Why are they influencing teenagers rather than adults? Would they still promote 'systematic rebelliousnes' if no one accepts such a culture?
The moral of the story is...
Think twice before you act!
Yadi, Yande, Qiwei, Jiwei
09S06J
One important idea that our group has learned from the documentary is that there is a vital need to be media literate in our media-saturated world of today.
Through the documentary, we have seen the immense scope of influence the media has on society and how it can permeate our lives in a manner so subtle that we do not even realise it. In addition, the documentary’s deconstruction of the media infrastructure has showed how the media has evolved into a colossal commercial juggernaut, banking upon a manufactured popular culture to further their business interests. As such, our group believes that it is crucial for the individual to be able to critically analyze the various information and ideas he encounters through the media, and not mindlessly accept whatever he sees or hears.
Indeed, media literacy prevents the individual from being an unsuspecting pawn of commercialization. A media literate person knows how to use the media for their own advantage and not be taken advantage of. Utilizing a documentary example, a media literate person probably would regard Sprite’s venture and attempted assimilation into hip-hop culture as a marketing gimmick and also understand that Sprite, as a firm with commercial interests, cannot possibly be a manifestation of authentic culture.
Furthermore, being media literate allows the individual to maintain his own principles and not succumb to the overtly hedonistic attitudes prevalent in the media. When confronted with the media, he can distinguish what is right or wrong, what is real or manufactured and thus make informed decisions about what he sees or hears from the media. For instance, when seeing a show with plenty of violent and sexual content on TV, a media literate person would know that the sex and violence are just constructions of reality, manufactured by the producers to satiate and gratify the taste buds of the masses. This awareness will definitely prevent him from being negatively influenced by the explicit content shown and will also allow him to lead a life based on his own principles and not those gleaned off from others.
-Vionna, Ivan, Nicholas, Eugene, Sabrina (09S07A)
As seen in the video, the media has indeed a very strong influence on us today. Companies and media giants captures teenagers attention by using various tactics, such as under-the-radar marketing to draw teenagers to their products and the “lifestyle” that comes along with it. While most of us may think that we are smart enough to tell whether or not we are being exploited by these companies, the fact remains that most, if not all of us are still falling prey to these gimmicks used by the media giants. Therefore, many of us are actually willing victims of these companies whose sole purpose is to make the most profit out of us ignorant youths. The main reason, as we found out from the video, is due to the ingenious tactics that these companies uses through the media that convinced many youths to become an addict of this “style” that the company introduces.
Another very interesting thing we noted from the video was the giant feedback loop, in which the companies and media giants copy the style from the teenagers, repackages it and sells it back to the teenagers and the teenagers in turn, copy their style from the media which was actually from themselves. This had led us to think about the times when we thought that following a new trend which is portrayed in television by the stars were cool when it was actually copied from ourselves. Thus, the video has shown us the insights of how the media actually works which is completely different from our naïve view on what the media is. Our group feel that the only way to break out of this giant feedback loop is to be more informed about how the media actually operates and to be more critical of any messages sent by the media to the audience. Therefore, we do not blindly follow the lifestyle that the media is encouraging but instead, take time to ponder whether what the media shows is actually correct before deciding whether we should follow them.
Thus, we feel that the solution to all the problems shown in the video is just media literacy on the part of us youths. We need to be able to differentiate the factual information in advertisements and the media from the exploitative and manipulative techniques used by the companies and media giants for their own monetary profits. It is only through unbiased and sensible consideration that we can correctly judge whether we are doing a fair deal with these companies by following their ideas or simply being exploited as easy victims.
Done by- Eileen, Shi Hua, Samantha, Vincent, Lin Bo 09S07A
I learnt how to analyse media and its impacts on teens like us after the exercise. It was a good way to look at media stereotypes and the strategies they use to attract teens and how various brands compete to get to the frontier of what's cool. I've realised the definition of cool and how media adapts to it in order to market its product and get a message across. It was truly an exciting and enriching exercise.
I am also more aware of the influence media has on teens and the fact that we are really very vulnerable to what the portray. The link may seem weak, but we are actually interlinked in this world.
Before this exercise, I never really thought much about the media and how much it influenced us. But only after the exercise did I truly realise how much media shapes our society and our lifestyle such as our everyday choices. I think I have benefited from this course on media literacy as I am now more skeptical and critical towards the media. I certainly view the world in a new light now.
Bhuvan, Fiona, Martin, Hui Jun 09SO3K
MEDIA LITERACY is the most important thing that we have learnt, as can be seen from the reasons below. The five media powers have a great influence over us and our lives, thus it is up to us to filter out the right info so as to prevent blindly following trends and then end up committing acts of folly. We are also shocked at how the mooks and midriffs are so exaggeratedly portrayed in the media, which is why we should all the more exercise medi literacy to differenciate what is real and what is not. And the "under the radar marketing" show us that things that are not what they seem can also be portrayed as what you want them to be, given the right marketing techniques, therefore we must all the more be discerning and choose to believe in what we know is right. Next time if a friend casually introduces a product to you, why not try asking if he/she has been paid to do it? haha :)
fangting, minjia, kim, bryan cai 09SO3K
With the media becoming so pervasive nowadays, it is relatively easy for companies to reach out to teens and market their products without the teens themselves realising it. Teens are being influenced greatly by media as they look to the media for definitions of 'cool'. However, as the media starts to market different identities that teens can take on - such as the 'midriff' and the 'mook', what the teens get from the media is in fact an identity that does not truly reflect who they are. At times, expressions of such identities are frowned upon by their parents (esp of Asian heritage). Yet, by constantly throwing the identities of the 'mook' and the 'midriff' at the teens, it is difficult for them to hold steadfast to their values and not to join in the trends set by the media.
From this, we came to a conclusion that media literacy is actually very important to teens, especially when they are constantly being exposed to some form of media pressure. Being media literate allows them to pick out the various concealed marketing strategies, as well as the different teen identities created to appeal to them. This way, us teens will be able to prevent ourselves from being victims of the media and marketing firms.
Done by Marvin, Xiaodi, Charmaine, Genevieve and Nicole 09S03K
The greatest learning point after watching the documentary would be to know about the impact that the media has on teens today. A key idea in the documentary, that was constantly emphasized, was that of how the media has come up with more and more sophisticated methods to influence teens and to get commercial benefits out of them.
This fact makes us more aware of the motives of media and to be more careful in following trends that are deemed cool. The media very much has control over what is “cool” and the paradox of the media killing what it finds to be cool seems to suggest to us that teens have been exploited. The teens come up with something new and yet from there the media takes over and sells the idea back to them.
Yet what we find disturbing is how the media can resort to means like hiring teens to advertise in chat rooms and during parties. It is after watching the documentary that we have come to realize that the media has been integrated into all parts of our lives and is not confined to the television or newspapers. Therefore, to be media literate is the best, if not the only way to free ourselves from the undesirable influences that the media has on us.
Done by: Ying Hin, Emily, Evelyn and Yihui 09S03K
One of our greatest takeaways from the documentary, "Merchants Of Cool", was probably the information regarding the extent of impact that the media has over the teens, and vice versa.
The giant feedback loop is an interesting perception of the relationship between the media and the teenager, and it is interesting to note how the media watches teens so closely, just to sell back an image of themselves straight back at them, and how the teens lap up this image of themselves from the media. It’s almost like propping up two mirrors and facing them against each other, you get an infinite number of reflections, but they really are just about the same thing.
But perhaps one of the most perceptive ideas presented to us in the video, was the fact that deep down inside, nobody really feels cool enough, and that something is probably what the media latches onto to keep marketing their products to the youths of today and tomorrow.
And really, its alright not to feel cool, and its alright to feel that you're not cool enough? Why? Because everyone around you probably feels the same.
-Chenxuan, Yongsheng, Cassia, Claire, Shiyang 09S06J
After watching the documentary, we were shocked and mildly disgusted, but also extremely enlightened. It really showed us a different perspective of media that we never knew of or took time to notice. The trueness and reality of it all really intrigued us, as we had the misconception that the media only marketed what the public liked to see and hear, and thus the public would be attracted to such marketing. It had never occurred to us that it could actually be the opposite happening. The media actually twisted and modified the non-mainstream, then re-packaged it and marketed it to the youth, causing the youth to think that such forms of media are widely-accepted and thus start to like it, in order to blend in with and conform to "popular culture". Is it the youth today that are obsessed about sex, drugs and gore, and the media is simply publicising it to suit their demands? Or is it the media that has publicised it, making youth think it is perfectly normal and socially acceptable to have sex or take drugs at their age? Although it may not seem so, these questions are actually crucial to our current society and allow for much room for thought. This documentary has undoubtedly allowed us to ponder even deeper into such troubling issues and questions that we were not aware about at first. By watching the documentary, we are definitely very enlightened but also saddened at the true, behind-the-scenes problems that mass media has brought to the world.
Joel, Brian, Chelsia, Serena 09s06j
After watching the documentary, we were shocked and mildly disgusted, but also extremely enlightened. It really showed us a different perspective of media that we never knew of or took time to notice. The trueness and reality of it all really intrigued us, as we had the misconception that the media only marketed what the public liked to see and hear, and thus the public would be attracted to such marketing. It had never occurred to us that it could actually be the opposite happening. The media actually twisted and modified the non-mainstream, then re-packaged it and marketed it to the youth, causing the youth to think that such forms of media are widely-accepted and thus start to like it, in order to blend in with and conform to "popular culture". Is it the youth today that are obsessed about sex, drugs and gore, and the media is simply publicising it to suit their demands? Or is it the media that has publicised it, making youth think it is perfectly normal and socially acceptable to have sex or take drugs at their age? Although it may not seem so, these questions are actually crucial to our current society and allow for much room for thought. This documentary has undoubtedly allowed us to ponder even deeper into such troubling issues and questions that we were not aware about at first. By watching the documentary, we are definitely very enlightened but also saddened at the true, behind-the-scenes problems that mass media has brought to the world.
Joel, Brian, Chelsia, Serena 09s06j
After watching the documentary, we realised that the media is a very powerful marketing tool. It can influence our lives and redefine what we think is "cool".
We discovered the motives behind the creation of 'mooks' and 'midriffs', and the techniques used by marketers to promote their products such as 'cool hunting' and 'under-the-radar marketing'. Through such techniques, a new 'cool' emerges through the media and is mass marketed. When the trend dies down, 'cool hunters' have to search for a new 'cool' again, creating a giant feedback loop which we are all caught in.
The documentary was a rather accurate picture of how the media reaches out to teenagers like us. Media pressure influences our thoughts in many ways, hence being media literate would allow us to deal with those money-minded marketers appropriately, making morally right and sensible choices rather than just blindly following what we see and hear through the media.
- Bryan Oh, Inez, Charlene and Isis 09S03K
Although our group gleaned many significant insights from the "Merchants of Cool" videos, perhaps the most noteworthy of them all could be summed up in one phrase: The media is all-pervasive.
We learnt about how the media creeps unknowingly into our everyday life to latch onto our latest definitions of 'cool'. Media giants and independent syndicates send cool-hunters to document a typical teen's life in order to strike the iron while its hot by packaging our cool-tags and sublime lifestyles into their personal products.
In addition, we then learnt about the various forms of advertising and broadcasting that these media giants employ. Again, the "media is all-pervasive" motto is demonstrated here as the products (and lifestyles they imbue) are advertised over many forms of media, most of which the average teenager is often connected to.
Moreover, we also got to know the interesting and yet grotesque creations of the media and the MTV, which were namely the mook and midriff. We see how cultures and lifestyles (e.g. springbreak) in the media could influence us in our daily activities (i.e. teenagers acting like mooks on TV). Again, media here infiltrates our lives such as to radiate their creations through our actions, behaviors and emotions.
Finally, we learnt about the Giant Feedback Loop - the consequence of an all-pervasive media in search of cool to advertise their products. We learnt that we are trapped in the vicious cycle of the Giant Feedback loop. Our minority lifestyles are brought into the light of the media, and through its aggressive advertising the lifestyles are adopted by the majority, and on it goes.
Learning about the input, process and output that is part and parcel of the all-pervasive nature of media naturally gave our group a final parting gift: the knowledge that we must be armed with media literacy. Media literacy allows us to make value judgments, to see through the appealing look and cast economical votes upon the buying and selling of products. Media literacy gives us the ability to recognize the misogynistic, violent and warped mindsets that come with the products. Media literacy allows us to reject these cultures, and instead cultivate our own refined moral values that are not easily swayed by the standards of media.
Done by: Bryan Cai, Kimberly, Min Jia and Fang Ting
09SO3K
I think while it is true that media literacy is important, we should also realise that the media is actually using social loopholes to manipulate our mindsets and lifestyle. for example, the media is fully aware that some people may not have access to advertisements, shows etc or may not buy what they say. that is why they are using people's behaviour, conversations and majority power to convince the minority. that is what we have all been doing, or most of the teens have been doing: we were made to do certain things due to peer pressure. this is why the media has been marketing what the most influential teens have been doing, the top 20% who have peer admiration and trust. In a way, this makes our whole world more and more untrustworthy. i think often teenagers are confronted with the dilemma of whether to fit in, or to be unique and face possible rejections or judgement by their peers. that's why media is using all their power to tell us what we should do so as to gain popularity and recognition.
- wenyu, elaine, kevin, yuanning, benkhoo (09S06H)
Merchants of Cool
The very first topic of discussion for GP so far. I guess this video was really quite enlightening in a way.
My group members and I discussed this over break today, where do trends come from and how do they change and develop?
Before watching the video, we already did know that the media does influence trends... But the video really showed us how it comes about in detail.
It was interesting to note how media actually ATTEMPTS to copy our trends to sell their products. Besides for the fact that it makes us feel almighty and powerful, it also made us realise how big an impact we actually leave on the world. We teens don't just influence the market, we influence the environment, the psychology of all age groups and how things are done. Now that I have shamelessly self-praised our generation, let's move on to how evil we are.
Teenagers have surprisingly immature politics which can be quite similar to world politics. It made us realise the impact of setting a trend and trying to make everyone follow it suppresses many peoples' individuality. Only people like me can't be bothered by trends - ok maybe I do think its interesting and follow it once in a while. I am sure all of us has had moments where we think something is totally uncool, but just because everyone is doing it and you don't want to be left all alone like "person I shall not name A", you just follow it to make sure you don't end up a loner like "person I shall not name A".
But throughout the video, I noticed some funny things. Especially when they showed the cool-hunters hunting for the cool people. I did not think the people they ran after were cool, I thought they were plain confused people. Grp A - girls with tank tops so short they look like sports bras. Grp B - guys with so many tattoos I thought I jus saw mystique from X-men. Grp C - people with so many piercings they looked like pin cushions. (talk about spongebob pinnedpants). Grp D - Wannabes. Fullstop.
Do you really think they are cool? I think not, I think they are wannabes who don't understand what cool is and overdid it, joining the cool grp called "losers". These people were the cool people of their era and are supposed to look for the cool people of the next era. Besides pointing out the fact that they were in fact the losers of their era, adults have a completely thwarted view of us. And because of the publicity of what they think is cool, the media may actually be the reason why we teens seem to be becoming more and more wild. But if we continue on discussing that, we may go too far off track so I will be back to talk abt that another day. So moving on.
And then you have the mooks and the midriffs. The media got it all wrong!!! Do they have any idea how much we gossip about these sluts behind their backs (or in their faces as a matter of fact)? They keep saying all these sexual themed shows exist because they got it from us, but hello, sluts are not popular amongst girls, and mooks are laughed at; and not along with. It is only when they started commercialising the wrong message to all of us that we started feeling like American Beautys. That has thus far led to the many scandals you hear in JC such as "scandal A in 6th floor toilet between the fishball boy n satay stick girl!" (bad inspiration, eating fishball now. sorry.)
And so, the trends we follow are no longer a sign of development/advancement of society, they are more like forced upon us by the big corps as they try to take advantage of our "follow the cool crowd so as not to be marginalized" mentality to make profits.
Now THOSE are our thoughts. Even though it challenges the points pointed out in the video, we do not disagree with the video, it was the video that actually make us think about all this. In all, cool to me is to be well-liked and yourself. Not wild/slutty/stupid. Take note cool-hunters.
Disclaimer: All characters, analogies, metaphors and other forms of literary devices were but imagination and similarities with the things we see in real life are purely coincidental.
By: Seng henk
With: Yi Xin, Joel Tai, Ming Mei and Jia Han
THE films served as a powerful revelation of the pervasiveness and influential might of the media in our contemporary society.
The media wields the power to deftly manipulate our thinking and mould it into a uniform one - the ideas it conveys are unquestionably accepted as gospel truths.
For example a particular trend, such as baggy pants, is blindly followed most of the time without much consideration of one’s personal style. Once this trend is continually perpetuated through the various forms by the media, it may be come accepted as the new norm.
Trends are thus seen as superficial and of little substance as it stunts creativity and individuality. Furthermore we have realised from the video how, ironically, overexposure of a particular trend kills it as it loses its appeal. This is counter productive for the media who is thus on a never-ending search for the next concocted meaning of “cool “
Little do we unsuspecting victims know, despite us being conscious of the harmful influences the media can inflict on us, that the media is sublimely at work through now more devious underhanded means. For example Sprite has adopted means such as paying youths to boost their popularity at chatrooms.
These new powerful weapons of influence are virtually impossible to detect at times. our mindsets, values are swayed - we become totally vulnerable, which, if coupled with lack of discernment, may have detrimental consequences - namely the creation of more mooks and midriffs in this world. And that can’t be good.
-jasmine , peng ,ying xin , abs, meegan (:
One main idea we have learnt from the video is that the media’s concerns are mainly commercial. The video has exposed the reality of how the media manupilates its viewers with influential tools. It uses its powerful influence, gained via its overwhelming presence, to shape and direct our thinking in a way which supports its commercial interests. Furthermore, in order to achieve this influence, the media shows us what we want to see. This manipulation can be seen specifically on teen TV. It uses “attractive” tools like explicit sexual and violent content as that are what appeals most to their senses.
Thus, using such ”attractive” tools, the media gets as many teens to watch teen TV as possible and uses this medium to influence their mindset and culture. This ultimately leads to the media dictating teen culture as any new styles or “cool” trends come from the media itself. Our group finds this influence as a hindrance and a negative effect on teens. The reason we believe so is that teens will more often than not pick up habits from the TV and the first few to do so will start following them. This makes them unique and others inevitable term it as “cool”. Something “cool” is considered better than before and is therefore adopted by more and more people. This soon causes the trend to lose its appeal and it becomes a norm. This process, we feel, leads to certain trends being forced onto teens rather than being created by teens themselves. It inhibits the freedom of thought and the creativity of teens.
Therefore, we feel that it is essential, in the present world, to be able to recognize the message the media is trying to convey. This ability is known as media literacy. A person who is media literate will be able to identify when, for example, sex and violence is being used just as an appetizer of just to attract viewers rather than convey any meaningful message. This ability is key to remaining unique and “clean” minded rather than being influenced and incorporated into the modern culture which is rapidly having sex and violence as an integral part of it.
We must say that we agree with Seng Henk on the fact that most of us already know about how media influences us even before we watched the documentary, though the documentary really puts our thoughts into perspective and gives us a detailed insight on how exactly the media does so.
Our main learning point from the video is the idea of the Giant Feedback Loop. Most of us just thought that all this "defining cool" thing is coming from the media and the media only. It was only after the video that we realised that we teenagers are helping to tighten this noose around our necks too. In fact, after some discussion we realised that we actually play a larger part than the media in this fiasco. We agree with Seng Henk again on is point that those people that MTV chose to interview are, well, plain weird and definitely not cool. So with the media getting all these warped impressions of what we view as cool and exaggerating them and selling it back to us, why is it that we accept them and embrace them? The answer: nobody wants to be left out.
Let's just take something closer to us as an example: the house parties. I'm quite sure many of us feel that the money spent on the tickets could have been much better utilised (sorry to anyone who was involved in the planning/executing of any house party but it's true). The reason so many people turned up for the parties is that it's a lot harder to organise something else (albeit something better) than to let the flow go in one direction and joining it.
The same is true of this "cool thing". A lone voice may be an expert on "cool", but its very hard for him to convince others that that's cool, and not what's being portrayed by the media. The media is a powerful single entity, and while we are a lot more powerful as a whole group of teenagers, we are very divided. We do not hold annual conferences to decide on things, nor do we spend time getting together and speaking out against the media. Hence, when we see something totally un-cool in the media being sold as being cool, we think, "That's not cool, but what can I do? Shoot it, I'll just let it be and follow it, since everyone's going to do it and I don't want to be the odd one out."
After all, (ex-RI people, remember your philosophy lessons?) the majority is always right when it comes to things like cool, isn't it?
-- Tu Guang, Bertrand, Edmund, Zoe
From this video, I have learnt that the media has a very strong influence over our daily lives through programmes and advertisements. Majority of the time, the media is also only concerned about the profits it can make and does not care about the well being of its viewers or target audience.
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