3. From "Merchants of Cool": To what extent do you feel the documentary accurately portrays the effect of the media on teenagers. Examples?

In the dated film “Merchants of Cool,” a delicate economic ecosystem is discussed and explored. In the realm of teenage life, the media and its extensions are shown in their true form, the dominate parasite latching on to everyday happenings. According to the movie, everything is a ploy by the media to gain teenage attention and money. Apparently, MTV, Sprite, and Record Companies are all in cahoots, getting teens together, paying them to be cool, filming a music performance, promoting Sprite subliminally, and putting it all on MTV as cheap footage of a good time and what teenagers should be doing/wearing/etc. No one is safe from the attempts made by the media, even ads making fun of ads are out for cash. The movie hit the head on the nail when discussing the “cool hunters” that scan the teenage underground for the next big fashion trend. Everything that was once underground and limited to a local setting has been picked up on, revamped for placing in a store with a slogan or image, and sold right back to teens, but instead, the great population of teens that have yet to discover the next “cool” trend. It was interesting to see “regular” trendy kids be approached by employees of different contracted “cool hunt” firms to gather samples and ideas from the untouchable region dominated by the teenage mindset. From the streets to the store windows, everything went. Even music that was from a local band was taken and put into mainstream, even though the band talked about how much they are against mass media marketing. Teens were even interviewed about how much they dislike the media and the marketing in produces, still wearing their name brands while bashing the very same labels.