reflection writing

In this essay, reflect on the film’s premise that corporations use media platforms to create a consumer culture focused on teens and their need to be “cool.”  How does the mass production of material culture connect with the mass consumption of consumer culture? What is the relationship between the media and mass consumption and individual and social identities?

Merchants of Cool: “Therein lies the danger of today’s teen-driven economy, observers say: As everyone from record promoters to TV executives to movie producers besieges today’s teens with pseudo-authentic marketing pitches, teenagers increasingly look to the media to provide them with a ready-made identity predicated on today’s version of what’s cool. Rather than empowering youngsters, the incessant focus on their wants and desires leaves them adrift in a sea of conflicting marketing messages.”

Brandt & Clare (2018): Review Ch.8 in particular theories of material culture, creation, consumption, mass production, and mass consumption.