I found this program very interesting. I think that in a world where adolescents are constantly exposed to media, commercials, etc. that the feedback loop is unavoidable. As much as it bothers me that old executives and advertisers control youth I do not see how we could escape it. The media sells us what teens are, or what they should be. As a viewer we see these images and live up to them so as not to be out of the loop. It is a big circle. That is exactly why they created young adult archetypes of the "mook" and the "mid-drift." Although teens may not actually be like these characters we see them as cool on television, and therefore we idealize them and want to act like them. By acting like them this perpetutates the cycle and means that the media has to always keep pushing the enveleope. The media has to make these archtypes even more crude, crazy, risque, etc to keep up with the youth. The question is when do things go to far? The show seems to think that it has already gone too far because even the act of rebellion has become commercialized and marketed. Although this is a interesting topic to discuss I do not think that this is by any means a new phenemona. Ever since there has been advertising, and media it has affected youth culture. I do not think the report shows how past generations have been affected by the same kind of commercialism, etc. In the 50s there was a show American Band Stand, which promoted songs and bands through a television show much like TRL. That affected what the youth was listening to. You always have bands that do not just sell music but sell an image. During Madonna time period you had girls that wanted to dress like her, and in turn companies sold things that modled after her style. I do not think any of this is new...maybe it has just become even more of a big business with more people getting paid and benefiting(the artists, execs; not the youth).
On another note I was kind of shocked that a program that is fighting against how youth have no voice and no control did just that. The only real people interviewed seemed to be old people. There were very few interviews with the youth and how they felt the media affected them. I think that maybe the youth should have had more of a voice in this report.
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I thought it was interesting that many of the perspectives come from adults as well. THe lack of youth voice is an interesting exception. Obviously, they talked about the studies they do to know what teens think, but can those be comprehensive? Are teens really being sold their own culture or a culture that adults have put unto them? I think its a similiar dichotomy as YAL. WHere the writers are often adults writing as YA, or to appeal to the YA perspective. How accurate can it really be?
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