Http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/ - Movie Review Example

_______________________ of Movie: The Merchants of Cool Briefly the theme or main idea of the movie This movie is about howthe media is cashing in on teen marketing by trying to find out what is supposed to be ‘cool’ by a teenager and also by supplying what they think can be accepted as ‘cool’ by teenagers. The film is critical of the unethical way in which media presents violence and sex to the teenager on a platter so as to make maximum profits out of it but all the same, forgetting what long-term impact it could have on the kids.

The narrator in the movie also observes that for the youth of his generation, cool was about expressing oneself while for the present generation, the market leaders have made it so that cool is all about consumption and nothing else. 2. Explain how some of the leading concepts from our class so far that were discussed and informed in the movie. The concept of youth subculture is discussed in this movie and is evaluated against the teen culture that is depicted by media, wrapped up with marketing motives.

It is reminded also that ultimately what the teenager gets from the media is not what they really want but what the media corporate companies want to sell. The consumerization of culture is the broader theme discussed, though the purview of this film is limited to youth subculture alone. The film also gives some hints about how the youth subculture resists its own stereotyping and caricaturing made through the media depictions of ‘cool’. But what the viewer gets to understand from this movie is that such acts of resistance are rare and weak, when we consider the teenage community as a whole. 4. Rate these movie making elements by number: 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) - explain your score for each.

• based on social scientific research - sound logic – factual------score-3 This film is only partially based on scientific research but it has certain amount of sound logic and a feel of factuality. I do not give this point, the score 5 because the film has not gone deep into the existing academic research on the nature of youth subculture that is evolving in America, apart from a few interviews with university professors. I feel more powerful examples of resistance to the media-hyped “cool”ness among the youth can be found out, if researched properly among the more politically aware teenage groups .

• choice of characters in the movie ------------score-4 I give a score of 4 because, I think the characters have been mostly well-chosen but still I feel more articulate teenagers who can critically talk about their own subculture, could have been included. • information you did not already know-----------------score-5 This movie is full of information that I really did not know. 5. Explain what was good/informative about the movie and what could have been done better. This movie provides a comprehensive picture of what is really happening in the media and the advertising world in the name of catering to the teenage viewers.

The creation of wrong and damaging stereotypes like ‘mook’s and ‘midriff’s has been explained in a convincing manner. The film has distributed the massive information that it has gathered under well-arranged sequences so that the viewer can follow it with a linear, and progressing argument. More interviews with teenagers who have some different opinion about the whole scenario might have helped to balance the bias involved in depicting the youth. It is not realistic to think that the whole youth subculture has become slave of the media and the market. 6. What was the lesson being taught by this movie?

This movie teaches us, to what extent a market-driven society can become blind to its own future, which of course rests with its youth. It also gives hints about the causes of the rising crime rates, violence and sexual obsession that has become infestations on our society. 7. Would you recommend this movie to others - why or why not? I will recommend this movie to others because I think it has a very relevant message to give. This film is a warning to the whole society to stop for a while in its mad race for success and money, and to think whether we are grooming our youth in a responsible way.