This documentary explores how marketers research the trends and current 'pulse' of the youth to effectively market towards their demographic. Some interesting notions I took from the documentary were that as soon as these 'cool' aspects of teen culture became coopted, they'd quickly fizzle out and lose their 'coolness', displaying the fact that teenagers are inherently cynical of and are resistant to corporations' attempts to capitalize off of their creations and culture.
In Omar's lecture/presentation today, he said that "Cool arises from notion of struggle." This particularly struck me because we often forget that teenagers usually use these forms of 'cool' culture to escape from the toxicities of their environments, whether it is dysfunctional families, stress from the pressure of academia, or their social relationships with others. Their trends are often a coping mechanism for their issues, and they don't those to be commodified to be resold and repackaged for profit.
Another aspect of Omar's lecture I found engrossing was his notion of 'decoy' in comedy to bring out and challenge hegemonies that aren't so often exposed and discussed. Anthony Leblanc's skit critiquing white liberals and their supposed 'progressiveness' while simultaneously speaking over Leblanc is an excellent depiction of how many white people still exhibit racist notions despite their apparent "wokeness". This was both hilarious and powerful at the same time.
It made me reflect on my own status as a non-black POC and how I often to be mindful not to speak over other marginalized folx but instead stand in solidarity.
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