Melissa Anderson

AMST Youth

[itsmelielli-blog]

Mind Map

I feel that every concept we have covered in this course built off one another (as it was presented in the course), but each concept also was also intertwined with every other concept to reveal how youth navigate figuring out their unique identities.

We first heard about the concept of identity in the film “Teenage”; from this film we learned that adolescence is a socially constructed concept where teens are faced with finding where they belong in society. They do so in a time when they no longer feel like children but also are not quite adults.

This film touched on most of the topics we covered in class and was a good representation of how they’re all connected. Starting with sexuality we studied various aspects of this topic such as how heteronormaty has been constructed over time. This concept fed into the other concepts we studied such as rebellion, crisis, conformity and consumerism, and youths in place. Sexuality not only fit into every other concept, but each concept was related to each other.

For example, rebellion in “The Power of the Zoot” was explored through the zoot suit style made popular by non white minorities in America to form their own identity a new unique style. This aspect of rebellion also had strong ties to race, nationality and sexuality as it widely represented minority youth and these youth also used zoot style to explore their sexuality. As the youth were rebelling they were also forming their own place, much like Los Frikis from Cuba or black girls who created Double Dutch, they were also taking part in being consumers and they were ultimately finding their place, and all of this happened while they were finding their identity. 

Examples like that one from this course could go on and on, but the main thing I learned from this course is that all the concepts were related to one another in conjunction with identity formation, which in my mind is the defining aspect of youth culture. 

Looking at the big picture as well as how details interact with each other to create this pictures another concept I have taken away from this course. I feel that the idea of many concepts building off each other and also intertwining in a variety of ways happens in all aspects of life which is important to keep in mind. 

[itsmelielli-blog]

Final Film Review: Saved!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je18yGc6jXk

Being raised a devout Christian her whole life, Mary discovers her “perfect Christian” boyfriend is gay the summer before their senior while they are telling each other secrets under water. Mary bumps her head in the pool and has a vision that Jesus Christ tells her to do whatever she can to “save” her boyfriend, and she decides to try everything including have sex with him in hopes that he will reestablish his heterosexuality. Mary becomes pregnant and her boyfriend is sent to live in a Christian treatment center called “Mercy House” for troubled teens because his parents find gay porn under his bed. The shocking situation leads Mary to question her faith which results in her losing her place in The Christian Jewels, the Christian girl band she is a part of with her two best friends, Hillary Faye and Veronica. As Mary struggles to figure out where she belongs, she bonds with Cassandra and Roland who are the rebels of the school while Pastor Skip’s son Patrick develops feelings for her. Mary’s group of new friends rival her old friends as Cassandra spreads a picture of Hillary Faye when she was very overweight and the next day the school was covered in graffiti, which Cassandra, Roland and Mary take the blame for. At the end, everyone attends prom and it’s revealed that Hillary Faye was the one who vandalized the school and Dean breaks out of Mercy House. At the end of the movie, Hillary Faye goes from being the perfect Christian to being ostracized at prom while Mary happily has her baby surrounded by her new friends and her family. 

The first concept I noticed is sexuality. The film represents the fear people have of homosexuality that was discussed in “We Boys Together”. Since the 1940s when heterosexual relationships became normal starting in adolescence, society has remained afraid of the “invert” (homosexual). In the movie, Mary and Dean’s parents, and students at the high school believe that something is wrong with Dean because he is gay and they take action to try to change his sexuality that directly represents this fear of homosexuality.

Rebellion is also a very strong concept, and I think this is mainly how youths develop their identity in this film. The characters Cassandra and Roland exemplify rebellion in this film and have similar characteristics to Zoot Suiters. These characters are both at a Christian high school but do not believe in Christianity so they feel out of place, much like non-white minorities felt out of place in mainstream America. By their choice of style, Zoot Suiters visibly stood out from the white majority in America and created their own unique culture as an act of rebellion. In Saved!, Cassandra modifies the school uniform to make it more revealing, displays a bumper sticker on her outlandish car that reads “Jesus loves you, everyone else thinks you’re an asshole”, draws a devil on a school desk, and pretends to be speaking in tongue at a school assembly while she actually declaring she has a “hot pussy”. These rebellious behaviors created her own culture that was different from the mainstream Christian culture that surrounded her with Roland as her sidekick, in turn developed an aspect of youth identity.

This film represents youths in a place where they are figuring out where they fit in society, which we learned from the film “Teenage” is very important to adolescence. The specific image of youth contained in this film consists of mocking teens who follow a “rulebook” of Christianity while it praises teens who question the rules and figure life out for themselves. For example, it makes fun of devout rule follower Hillary Faye by portraying her as ditzy or dumb (which we learned from Miss Representation is common for female characters), but Mary is portrayed as wise as she questions her faith while faced with such huge challenges.

Near the end of the movie Mary says to Pastor Skip, “so everything that doesn’t fit into some stupid idea of what you think God wants you just try to hide or fix or get rid of? It’s just all too much to live up to, no one fits in 100% of the time.” I feel that this quote embodies the overarching theme in this film of youths learning where they fit in and develop their own sense of identity.

[itsmelielli-blog]

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/07/16/is-internet-addiction-a-health-threat-for-teenagers/cyberbullying-is-a-bigger-problem-than-screen-time-addiction

This article discusses the pervasive youth behavior of cyberbullying. The article argues that this issue goes beyond the amount of screen time youth are exposed to, but is about the “nature of the interactions” youths are exposed to through media. Through social media and texting, bullies have been able to move from the playground to on the screen where youths can’t walk away from the damaging words; cyberbullying leads to several issues such as anxiety and depression and can compound for several years.

I feel that this behavior represents the normalcy of technology experienced by youth today; Generation Z has always known cell phones, social media and other forms of technology constantly at their fingertips. With technology being so normal, youth are very comfortable using it, which can result in them using it as a platform to behave in hurtful ways to other youth which they may not normally do in person. I think for many youths it becomes easier to say hurtful things on a screen rather than face to face.  

[itsmelielli-blog]

Reading Response: Dummy Smart

Through his study of a mixture of black and Latino boys, Victor M. Rios explores the different reasons why youth often use defiance or crime to respond to society’s expectations for them and establish their own social and cultural capital. Rios uses a variety of sociological evidence and examples from his observations and discussions of youth to delve into this realm of youth behavior.

Rios argues that the urban poor must “shape their behaviors around making sense of and creating social order within a marginal context”, and even when they are well intended the rest of society often mistakes this as deviance. From these societal expectations, these youth are criminalized and become socialized to live up to these criminal expectations.

Further, subordinated populations create resistance identities that are in response to oppression; they embrace criminality by contesting the system that expects them to be criminals.  Youth often behave defiantly as a form of protest against societal expectations. These boys also proved to simply want dignity, and the way they sought this was by challenging authority figures. For example, when 4 boys walked into a store that did not allow more than two youths at once, the store clerk threatened them even though they clearly were not shoplifting. To gain some dignity, one of the boys openly stole a cheap bag of chips and as a result faced consequences within the criminal justice system. The deviant behavior of this youth was directly in order to use the resources he had at hand to control his own criminalization.

The chapter touches on music, dance, and dress, specifically the Hyphy Movement in 2000 that was a hip-hop movement representing youth you were defiant and broke rules to give meaning to their own marginalization. This reminded me of zoot suit culture of poor and working class immigrant youth in the US around World War II; through this unique clothing style that expanded into accessories, music, dance, and more, these youth created their own deviant culture to define their role in society much like the Hyphy movement and other forms of deviant youth behavior.

Rios’ ultimate argument is that even though the solution these boys are seeking is mostly temporary, it has also proven to empower some of the boys long term as they have continued to fight for their freedoms.

[itsmelielli-blog]

Miss Representation: Film Review

Miss Representation is all about the incredibly strong influence media has in how society views women. With the use of statistics from various studies and a wide spectrum of viewpoints from interviews with high school students, actresses, news anchors, politicians and many more, the film discusses messages that both men and women internalize from the power of the media.

Storylines in movies and TV show often portray female characters as passive, sexualized, ditzy, only important in their childbearing years, each other’s enemies, bitchy, and rarely the protagonist (and in the 13 times there was a female protagonist between 1937 and 2005, all of them except 1 was looking for romance). Starting from a young age, girls are exposed to these messages and view themselves in the same ways which has resulted in a national crisis of self-objectification. Self-objectification has had many serious consequences for girls such as depression, eating disorders, lower GPAs, low self confidence, and many more. Boys also internalize these messages about women and treat them in line with these expectations.

Messages from the media have also resulted in a “you can’t be what you can’t see mentality”; in other words girls do not see strong female leaders often depicted in media, which is a large reason why 2319 men have served as US governors and only 35 women. When women do run for office, the media focuses on their physicality more than what they have to say; for example, when Sarah Palin was a vice presidential candidate, she was unique in portraying herself as a “real woman”, and because of that portrayal she was pornified and ditzified more than people focused on what she had to say.  

One small portion of the film includes award-winning Geena Davis talking about the success of movies like Thelma & Lousie or A League of Their Own that had strong, positive imacts on young women. Katie Couric then points out that “media can be an instrument of change” that can change minds. Just last month the Pixar movie Inside Out was released depicting a “normal” girl experiencing “normal” experiences that she struggles with and overcomes with 3 other strong female supporting leads, and this movie has already been very positively reviewed and will continue to impact young girls and boys with it’s messages. Examples like this leave me hoping that there will be an increase in movies like this and can eventually become normal.

[itsmelielli-blog]

Reading Response 7: Fools Banished from the Kingdom

In Fools Banished From the Kingdom, Elana Zilberg’s main argument is that US immigration policies are the reason behind substantial deportation of youth from Los Angeles to San Salvador, and these policies have not been successful in decreasing gang violence. She argues that disciplinary governmental practices such as the zero tolerance gang abatement have “transformed the geographies of belonging, exclusion, and citizenship between the once putatively separate cultural and political spheres of the United States and Central America.”

Zilberg uses ethnographic field work and conversation with deported gang member to make these arguments. One deportee by the name of Gato gave insight to the significance of the urban barrio in the formation of identity and how this changes after deportation. After being deported to San Salvador, Gato became a member of a gang that was a rival to the gang he had belonged to in LA which proved to be fatal for him when he was later killed by a member of his new gang. Even though he returned to where he was born, the associations he had made in LA were more important to his identity, which is why he was killed. Another deportee, Weasel, described feeling as though he was sent “home” to a place he did not identify as home as well as the shock he felt when he was deported. I feel that a point this makes is that associations or cultural ties are important for youth in constructing a place where they belong.

This concept of youth socially creating place is also very prevalent in the podcast about Cuban youth. Youth in LA and San Salvador knew there were violent risks associated with joining gangs, but they still did so because it created a sense of belonging. Cuban youth were injecting themselves with HIV knowing this was a death sentence in order to live in a punk rock culture that also gave them a sense of belonging.  

[itsmelielli-blog]

Reading Response 6

Dancin’ in the Street to a Black Girl’s Beat examines the twentieth century jump rope game Double Dutch that has been played mainly by black girls. The social definitions that came from this game reflected ideals of “black music making that articulate the uniqueness of blackness and femaleness simultaneously.” Girls were able to express themselves through movement, staying in rhythm with music and chants that combined dance and “musicking” (an act of ritual performance).

Through the complexity of movements, songs, and rituals, this game was a “tool of expression” that explored gender and ethnicity, specifically signifying black femaleness.

While historically black women have been a side-note to hip hop, Double Dutch brought them to the center of race and gender identity that embraced the ways they have been inferior in race and sex.

While Double Dutch was a mean for black girls to express their identity, it was found by two police officers in the 20th century who began regulating it in order to keep children away from the streets. In the 1970s the American Double Dutch League was founded which held competitions year-round with intentions to improve health, education and recreation quality. They had an official rule book with formal competitions having three distinct rounds which inhibited the freedom of the game, even in the “freestlye” segment of competitions.

In the 1980s, Cuba also set regulations on “freakies”, which were the punk rockers of Cuba. These teens used American rock music as a means to form their own “place” in a devastating society, much as black girls used double dutch to create their own “place” in a society where they were socialized as inferior.

[boilermakerspecial-blog]

Disney Movie – James and the Giant Peach

The Disney movie James and the Giant Peach is about a young English boy named James who lives on the beach with his loving parents until they are killed by a rhinoceros, leaving him orphaned and in the care of his two mean aunts who physically and emotionally abuse him. Before they are taken from him, James’ parents share with him their deep desire to one day move into a big building in New York City where they believe that all of their dreams will come true.    

After living in misery with his cruel aunts for a time, James comes across an old man who gives him a bag of magical, green seeds. Spilling some of them on the ground as he is heading back home, the seeds quickly grow into a giant peach. After sneaking into the peach one night, he meets a group of talking insects who befriend him and eventually help him get to New York after the peach rolls into the Atlantic Ocean and is pulled across by a flock of seagulls.    

This movie reinforces the notion that if you are a good and kind person you will be rewarded in the end and if you are a mean, wicked person, you will be punished. James and his insect friends make it to safely to New York, which turns out to be as wonderful as they had imagined it to be, while the mean aunts are wrapped up in the spiders thread and carried away by a crane. It also teaches children the importance of being brave and facing their fears, which is what happens when a terrible storm threatens the group on their journey across the ocean, appearing to James as the dangerous rhino that had killed his parents. He confronts it head on, courageously exclaiming that he is not afraid!

The movie also promotes some stereotypes based on gender, class and physical beauty, or lack thereof. For example, the mean aunts are portrayed as physically unattractive, with warts and yellow teeth, while his kind parents are attractive, which implies that physical beauty is associated with kindness and vice versa. This is a common theme in Disney movies such as the wicked, ugly step sisters in Cinderella, and the handsome prince who saves her. Since the aunts are also women, and are portrayed not only as mean, but also as vain, selfish and dishonest, this could insinuate that these traits are typical of women, in general. 

Class stereotypes can be seen among the insects in this movie. The grasshopper, who dresses well, wears a monocle and speaks with a British accent, is depicted as intellectual and cultured, while the centipede, who wears work pants, suspenders and an Irish flat-hat, is shown as being less intelligent, deceitful and smokes cigars. The fact that New York City is held up in this movie as the best place on Earth, due to its massive buildings and bright lights, could be interpreted as an endorsement for consumerism since New York is a hotbed for over-consumption and excess.          

As in most Disney films, this movie teaches children that dreams do come true, and that if you are good and kind, brave and determined, you will be rewarded with success, love and friendship and will most importantly live “happily ever after”!                                  

[amstyouthculture]

Such as great analysis of gender, class, and consumerism, Thomas!  Very well done!

[itsmelielli-blog]

To add to your final paragraph, I think that this film also reflects a theme common in a lot of Disney films that a family is broken, an adventure takes place, and then the “happily ever after” happens. I find it interesting that so many Disney movies, including this one, include parents that are either dead or out of the picture. I think that this allows the child character a chance to have to fend for themselves as James does in this movie, and as you pointed out he does so while being brave an determined, and in the end he is rewarded. 

[miguelyouthculture]

Disney Movie: Sleeping Beauty

What I found interesting about Sleeping Beauty is the apparent foil between Aurora and Maleficent. Aurora, the story’s main protagonist, is depicted as youthful, innocent, and beautiful princess. Maleficent is the story’s main villain, who curses the baby Aurora out of spite from not receiving an invitation to the child’s christening. She is cunning, intelligent, and completely evil, according to the three fairies. Although Maleficent was drawn to look sinister, both her and the princess are still models of physical beauty.

Physical beauty is a big theme in this movie that others might overlook. The three fairy godmothers are the only female characters (aside from Maleficent) who deliberately take action to change the course of the story. The fairies are not physically beautiful, as opposed to Maleficent and Aurora. The Queen, Aurora’s mother who is never referred to by name, is a beautiful woman but is a passive character. What I got out of this movie is: in order for a beautiful woman to be considered “good”, she must be passive, innocent, and basically unintelligent. Aurora meets all of these criteria; she is the passive “damsel-in-distress”, and must rely on the help of others to be saved. Meanwhile the beautiful Maleficent is considered “purely evil”, even though she displays other virtues such as intelligence, steadfastness, and determination. 

This movie might be an insight into the misogyny of the times when it was released. Beautiful women are objects to be protected, and “saved”. A beautiful woman cannot be smart, confident, or outspoken. If she is, then she is dangerous.

[amstyouthculture]

Great work, Miguel!

[itsmelielli-blog]

I think you’re spot on with “physical beauty is a big theme in this movie”, and this is shown in several subtle ways. For example, the title of the movie is “Sleeping Beauty” rather than “Aurora (while many Disney princess films are titled after the name of the princess such as Cinderella, Mulan, Pocahontas, etc) so the title itself emphasizes her beauty. Another example is that the first gift the fair god mothers give Aurora as a baby is the gift of beauty; I feel that this also places a large amount of importance on physical beauty. These examples further support your claim of physical beauty in the movie. 

[itsmelielli-blog]

Pocahontas Review

At the beginning of the Disney film Pocahontas, Pocahontas’ father wishes for her to marry his best warrior, Kocoum, but Pocahontas has too much of a free spirit for Kocoum’s stern demeanor. Pocahontas decides to listen to her heart and chooses not to marry him. Soon after, Pocahontas meets personable English settler John Smith, and they quickly fall in love despite their racial and cultural differences. When Kocoum learns of Pocahontas and John, he attacks John and in turn gets killed by another settler. The chief then declares war on the settlers and wishes to kill John. As this is about to happen, Pocahontas throws herself in front of John, stopping the execution from happening and convinces her father not to continue with war, creating a unity between the settlers and the natives. At the end John must return to England for medical treatment while Pocahontas stays behind with her people. 

Some of the morals we see in the film include the importance of following your heart which the is the core of Pocahontas’ character (for example when she chooses the windy river path rather than the straight one, representing her life choices), the importance of love over racial and cultural differences, and as love was enough to end war there is a moral that speaks to the power of love.

One aspect I find extremely problematic in the film is that it is meant to be based off real events, but does so in a way that distorts important historical realities. The film ignores the fact that in reality, the real 17th century princess Pocahontas is based off of was 10 or 11, suffered as a prisoner in Jamestown, married an Englishman at the age of 14 out of force, and was Christianized being made to change her name and culture. The essence of the film is mainly cheerful; this is problematic because it gives children viewers the impression that this was a cooperative time for Native Americans and settlers when in fact it was very devastating. 

Even though the film was created almost 400 years after the settlers arrived in America, it reflects common ideology and form of racism still present at the time of production in the 1990s (as well as today) that society must live in harmony within the dominant culture while dejecting other cultures such as Native Americans by viewing them as “savages” and “uncivilized”. For example, the song “Savages” is meant to address issues of the time such as genocide, but instead to the listener hears a strong divide between the two groups. Native Americans called “filthy little heathens” and “savages”, and in turn the Native Americans demonize white people.

[destinymjohnson-purdue-blog]

Young Consumers

One cultural norm that I think influences consumerism among the youthe is the expectations that come with reaching the age of 16. There are so many celebrations, rites of passage, and privileges that come with the 16th birthday and many of them can be considered to be teaching methods of consumerism. First when you turn 16 you get your license and are legally able to drive where you want, thus expanding the extent and freedom of your consumerism. Then naturally, in most cases, the car comes next. Some parents may purchase the vehicle for you simply delaying the realization that as convenient as cars maybe, they are still a part of the consumerist economy and you will eventually have to pay for it. Thus comes the need for a job, which will then lead to the increased level of freedom in your consumerism abilities. This pretty much becomes an endless cycle from then on out, and all the while your parents, are typically coaching you through it, making you understand the value of products and services rendered, and teaching you how to balance, manage, and spend your money. Pretty much laying the stepping stones for when you become an adult.

Required and elective courses in some classes are built upon curriculum that solely focuses on how to be a consumer. Thought I can’t recall specifically how they were titled it was not uncommon for me to here of fellow peers taking courses that were teaching you how to write a proper check. Not only that but a good majority of the classes that I took required outside purchases to be made in order to have the proper material to succeed in the class. Thought typically parents would bear the responsibility of purchasing these items, students are still exposed to a kind of ‘forced’ economic consumerist participation. Something else that could be acknowledge as a way of introducing consumerism to our youth is sporting events that are held by the school. It’s socially unfit for you to go through high school and not go to at least one football game, thus as a result of the social pressure you persuade your parents to give you the money so that you can participate in this common social and cultural event.

Some cultural norms that I would say condition the youth towards consumerism (though I’m not sure that it counts) is music videos and music content in general. A vast majority of the things you hear on the radio these days has to do with cars, money, and women. This type of content is mainly directed towards the youth as they are the largest and most adaptable population which in turn promotes a kind of consumerist behavior that is socially driven.

[amstyouthculture]

I love the example you give of the “turning 16” traditions!  So many books have been written on the car=freedom=consumerism=need to work=not free cycle that is ingrained in our culture, so I’m glad you mentioned it as a transitional moment for youths.  Not to mention the price you have to pay to be an athlete - especially in youth sports.  Great work, Destiny!

[itsmelielli-blog]

I really like your example of consumerism that goes along with reaching the age of 16. This milestone also reflects some of the concepts we’ve covered in this course, such as adolescence being socially constructed. Turning 16 is example of this social construction because it’s a birthday that essentially recognizes that a person is no longer a child anymore by allowing more freedom (getting a drivers license allows much more freedom), but the person still has two years before they are trusted as a legal adult. This also makes me think of other milestones youth go threw such as prom or high school graduation that also encourage consumerism.

[arielc88-blog]

Child Consumers

Children learn from an early age how to be consumers. They even learn about consumers and advertising in schools. Children learn to be consumers from numerous sources such as their parents, teacher and peers, and of course through the media that they encounter on a daily basis.

One of the first places children learn to be consumers is from their parents. This occurs in numerous ways. First, children grow up watching their parents shopping even if it is just grocery shopping. They may even see parents looking through the Sunday paper and cutting out coupons in order to get the best deal on paper towels. By observing their parents, children hopefully learn to be wise consumers. Another way many children learn to be consumers is through allowance. Many children either are given or earn an allowance which is in turn their own to spend as they wish. Parents can also use their children’s desire to be a consumer as a way of teaching them responsibility. When I was about 8, I wanted a pair of roller blades. My parents were not about to spend the money on the roller blades and have me use them for a week and then be done with as often happens with kids. My parents created a chore chart that had to be completed for a few weeks in order for me to be able to get the coveted roller blades. Because I wanted the roller blades so badly, I did all the chores and earned the money to buy them. It filled me with a sense of accomplishment and a desire to continue purchase what I wanted.

School also teaches children to be consumers in numerous ways. Children and youth are taught in different ways how to be consumers, and the “how to” grows in sophistication as children get older. Many elementary classrooms have a system where students can earn tokens or “money” through their accomplishments in the classroom. At the end of the week, students are then given the opportunity to “purchase” something from the school store as a reward. This concept is similar to allowance from parents. Many middle school students also do some kind of project that requires them to understand the concepts behind advertising. They learn different techniques and then must employ these techniques to either convince the teacher or other classmates to buy their product. Though this is role reversal of actually consuming, this unit is still focused on consuming. In high school, there is a class called consumer education where students are literally taught how to be consumers. They learn to fill out checks, balance check books, manage a budget and many other things that are important to know in order to be a smart consumer.

Another way school teaches children to be consumers is through students’ interactions with each other. At school, students come face to face with their peers who are wearing certain brands or who have a specific kind of pencil pouch or a specific type of pen. The majority of adolescents desire to fit in with the main stream crowd and one way to do so is by dressing like their peers. For example, all the boys that played on the basketball team and others all wear the Nike Elite basketball socks and slides. There must be something really special about those dashes on the back of the socks because any boy that wants to be considered an athlete must have these socks, especially if you’re on the basketball team.

One of the strongest influences of children as consumers is the media and its portrayal of American youth culture. Children can’t turn on the tv without being bombarded by advertisements geared directly towards them. One way that advertisers exploit American youth culture into creating young consumers is through the use of celebrity endorsement of products. One such product is Proactiv. Of course many teenagers get acne and can be incredibly self-conscious about it. But here’s Adam Levine, voted one of America’s sexiest men, telling us he used to have acne but he used Proactiv and now he’s #flawless. This certainly teaches adolescents to become consumers, and to conform to society’s idea of beauty.

[amstyouthculture]

These are fantastic examples, Ariel!  Although I’m so glad that you mentioned getting an allowance (since no one else did!? Do kids not do chores for money anymore!?) as a pathway to learning that as an adult have to work to pay for the things you want, I’m particularly excited that you mentioned how schools offer the “school store” as a reward for A-earning students.  I distinctly remember getting the chance to purchase small goodies from this store, begging my parents for money for the “bookstore” which barely sells books, and having to sell candy for school fundraisers in order to win the pizza party.  You clearly know the inner workings of school consumerist spirit, Ariel.

[itsmelielli-blog]

I also like how you pointed out “school stores” where children can “buy” things with fake money; I remember this being a really exciting part of elementary school. Not only is this teaching children the motion of being a consumer, but it is enforcing brands starting from an early age. As children get excited to “buy” products such as books in schools, they will convince their parents to but more of these items at stores with real money, and continue to buy these products as they get older.

[emilyespich-blog]

Children Consumerism

I personally was taught to be a consumer by my mom.  Every time we all had the day together we would go shopping or go out to eat.  As a young kid I began to associate family time with being out and spending money.  Even to this day I associate shopping with euphoria and family time.  During my school years I remember feeling pressured to have all the nice, new school supplies and clothes.  When there are that many children together all day every day, most are going to feel the need to try to fit in.  Sadly, kids these days associate fitting in with looking like everyone else and having what everyone else has.  Another way my schooling encouraged me to be a consumer was through the various programs where you did something to get ‘money’ and then were able to spend all the ‘money’ you had on anything you wanted.  An American culture norm that has impacted me and many other youths is the idea that success is measured in what you own, how you spend your time and living comfortably.  Even as a hard working college student I feel the need to spend what money I do have on nicer things than I should be able to afford because I feel that I am successful.  Buying things, nice things, helps to solidify feeling successful.  The significance of the youths being so influenced by consumerism just fuels the consumerism.  This can be good for the economy and keeping jobs in retail; however, there can also be consequences.  Youths enveloped with consumerism may be more inclined to steal to get what they want.  Or some might be driven to work more than they focus on education, leading to fewer people equipped for higher manager jobs.  

[amstyouthculture]

Great examples, Emily!  I hate I didn’t assign a chapter on malls because they illustrate your first point exactly - that indoor shopping complexes become “safe” (read architecturally carpeted and covered with only car access = middle class) places for especially mothers to take their children to hang out and make consumerism family-friendly during the Cold War fears of communist infiltration.  Although malls have increasingly become youth hangouts, the idea that you hang out with parents who buy things for you is a cultural norm in America.  Good work!

[itsmelielli-blog]

 One really interesting point you made is that “youths enveloped with consumerism may be more inclined to steal to get what they want” and I think that’s so true. When I think of children who steal, I tend to automatically blame it on bad parenting (and I think many other people do the same thing). I had never considered theft resulting from a social construction of consumerism. Without even realizing it themselves, children are so influenced and pressured by parents, school, and society to consume in certain ways that it can be really frustrating if they don’t have the means to consume how and what they want. I’m sure this societal pressure is a heavy underlying reason why children who choose to steal do so. 

[itsmelielli-blog]

Raising Consumers

1) I think children learn to be consumers mainly in the home from their parents, simply through example. Children often grow up to consume similarly to their parents because from a young age, because they are exposed to what and how their parents consume, even if parents never explicitly talk about it. For example, a child from a family who shops mainly at grocery stores that sell locally produced and organic food are likely to consume the same type of food as adults.

2) With more than 250 products, children in over 90,000 K-8 schools in the US can cut off box tops from products and use them to raise 10 cents a piece for their school. The participating brands are advertised as being in support of education by raising money to improve education. This is one example of how major corporations use schools to start establishing brand loyalty at an early age. In this example, young children may get used to buying brands that participate in the Box Top program and then they are more likely to stick with those same brands throughout their life.

3) Throughout time, gender has been constructed as a huge American cultural norm that is enforced by consumerism; girls wear pink and boys wear blue. This social concept did not exist until retail stores became popular in the 20th century and chose to market blue for boys and pink for girls. This continues to be largely enforced by marketing for clothing, toys, school products, movies, and much more. For example, I saw over and over again working at Justice (store for tween girls) how girls obsessed over products that were bright and sparkly or depicted the latest Disney princess, while their brothers would often not even step foot into the store. This would not happen without years of retail stores enforcing gender norms through marketing. 

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Conformity and Consumerism: Babes in Tomorrowland

Another example of a piece of history that has designed youth culture, Babes in Tomorrowland by Nicholas Sammond delves into how children are driven to conformity by being consumers of mass media. Sammond’s main argument is that Americans established a “norm” that represented white, Protestant, middle class values, and this norm is enforced by progressives largely through mass media (especially the Disney franchise) to mold children into this ideal American lifestyle. As children consume these products of mass media, they are inherently consuming productions of social relations Americans wish upon them.

One example of this is Pinocchio; a character that embodied characteristics such as acting “brave, truthful, and unselfish” and he had to “actively repudiate his cultural origins in favor of the ideal that would make him real.” Characters such as this are aimed at two different types of children; immigrant children who needed “saving and uplift” and “normal” children who were the product of study. It was so important for children to be consumers of this because it was ultimately investing in the future of America.

Sammond argues further that movies were just one of many forms of distractions meant to lead children out of ghettos and into middle-class America. Progressives also had programs such as public schooling or community centers meant to expose immigrant children to American virtues, but mass media was still an important dimension in developing normal Americans. Using scientific management with modern facilities and employees with family oriented values that consumers loved, Disney produced not only movies but a variety of products that strategically encompassed these progressive ideals.

Sammond focuses on Disney mainly in the 1930s, and at this time it represented the latest ideals for youth and families. Since then, Disney has continued to represent the latest ideals as they continue to change. For example, the recently released Disney film Inside Out looks deep into the emotions of a strong female character, reflecting modern ideologies such as the importance of coping with emotions in healthy ways.

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EnderToys

Up until recent years, no one would have imagined toys would be made with a printer. With the recent invention and growing popularity of the 3D printer, it is now possible to print customized toys. 

Based in Las Vegas, Nevada and able to ship directly to buyers in over 40 countries, Sues Corp uses the process of 3D printing to create three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file, which allows users to bring their digital Minecraft characters to life (this is a toy that both adults and youth enjoy).  These toys are called EnderToys, and they are made using the MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D printer, which is considered to be very easy to use and the company reported they have a “beautiful relationship” with the printers. The 4” or 7” Minecraft figures are personalized for each customer; the skins are selected by the customer and printed onto a high quality vinyl adhesive, then enforced with a UV resistant, weatherproof laminate for a high quality feel. The company also uses an app where people can customize their toys. 

3D printers make the process of manufacturing toys simpler because it can be easy to fix if something goes wrong; for example, at the beginning the toys did not move right and it took just over a week to redesign the toy, which would not have been possible if the toy was made in another way like injection molding.  Also, 3D printers can run 24 hours and eliminate doing most of the creation labor, so assembly lines and other common toy factory conditions are minimized for employees.  

http://3dprint.com/37098/seus-corp-minecraft-figures/

https://seuscraft.com/store

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Reading Response 4: Crazy by Design

During the 1990s, known as the Decade of the Brain, people starting using new research on the brain to explain that the “normal” stage of adolescence as a disability. Julie Elman’s main goal in this chapter is to analyze the culture works of this time period as she discusses important advances in the studies of the brain. Some of these advances include the Americans with Disabilities Act and new developments such as imaging technologies or genetic mapping. New discoveries in neuroplasticity – the idea that in teenage years the brain is undergoing wiring changes due to external stimuli and experiences – singled out teenagers as having “temporarily disabled brains.” This new concept lead to what Elman calls neuroparenting, in which parents believed a normal adolescent was actually in a stage of “significant neurological impairment.” These new findings became popular in the media, and many books were published for parents and teens about teenage brains. These books emphasized a point that adolescent brains could be “cured”, and were in fact treated like an actual disability. Society believed that these were definite facts of reality that explained why teens make so many foolish risks.  Important questions this new research were raised, including when to be concerned that a teen had additional mental health issues or when it was just normal adolescence, especially in a time period when school violence was very common.

This shift is historically important because it gave more insight to how the teenage brain is structured; however Elman questions the fact that teens were thought of as having mental illnesses.

Even though people currently no longer classify adolescence as a mental illness, I think that many people still have the mindset from the 1990s, which is especially prevalent in the media. TV shows like “My Super Sweet 16” or “Grounded for Life” depict out of control and unruly teens as completely crazy.