My friends and I were at the beach today. Kids galore. I mean, climbing up and down the walls status. Which is odd because beaches don’t really have many walls to climb up on as is…but regardless. We got into a discussion about how obsessive the newer generation is: Twilight, Hannah Montana, etc. Everything with these kids erupts into Beatles-mania hysterics. Jonas Brothers anyone? These pop culture [I regretfully say] icons become so talked about that they are even made fun of and discussed on an adult level [see South Park]. And it’s odd, because every single one of things are average at the most. Why do we cling on to run of the mill products for dear life?
Has our generation advanced to such a place where there honestly is nothing new under the sun? Everything we have is a product of something that is already existent. Look around your room. Is anything a completely new concept? Or is it just a derivative? Do we grab on because we know this is truly the last of its kind? We live in a day and age where the end of the world as we know it can be daily conversation at your local Starbucks.
If this is the case, I can understand why we would want to obsess over what we have. Since everything advances at record speed, it seems like the only way we can enjoy something for an extended period of time is if we can obsess over it. I’m not entirely sure if there honestly is a right or wrong perspective on this, since if we take the time to discuss this I’ll have a new post and progress like everything else in this microwave meal world. All I can say is, slow down, chew slowly and enjoy the flavor life brings you. And think twice before you play ‘Burning Up’ on your ipod.
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
~Albert Einstein
It's not just the "new generation." We were the same: Harry Potter, Pokemon, yo-yos.... The list goes on. And while it's true that nothing's original nowadays, there hasn't been anything truly original for a very, very long time. Most of Shakespeare's plays, which are largely accepted to be masterpieces, are just better copies of other works.
ReplyDeleteTrue. It's hard to come by original in anything considering that even in nature we're just different versions of the same build. But there's a difference: We liked those things, to the point where it stuck with us throughout the years. It wasn't a desperate clutch so we can hold on. There was no Beatlemania fanaticism. We liked it. We were kids about it and pretended to be different Pokemon when we played.
ReplyDeleteNothing changed so quickly. There weren't really 'Disney stars' other than Snow White and such. That only really started during Lizzie Maguire shit, and even then we were like 'cool beans' and went on with our lives.
I don't know. There's something dreadfully different about it. The marketing of it all.
I've seen the same thing. The obsession that grips these young children (most obviously seen with girls) is scary. I have an 11 year old sister, who thankfully isn't fanatic about anything..i taught her well.. and I have seen the offending shows. Something else I've noticed is the difference in the morals and ethics presented by Disney. Once it was made obvious what was good, what was bad, and if the good character had done something bad. In the Disney movies of old, you always knew that what the character was doing was bad, and the other good characters of the movie were always uncomfortable with it. For example: when Simba ran away and didn't want to come back, Nala knew it was wrong. When Aladdin lied to Jasmine, the Genie was uncomfortable with it and tried to stop him. In Hannah Montana there is none of this. In today's Disney things are only shown as wrong once the 'good' character gets caught, and only when they face the consequence, in the form of some sort of punishment, do they realize that they are wrong. In today's Disney punishment seems to be the driving force behind what is considered good or bad rather than any moral code. In the Disney of old, the main characters eventually came to the conclusion that they acted wrongly by themselves. Using their own moral compass, which might have gone slightly awry, and with a little help from their friends, they would realize their mistakes, correct them, and everyone would live happily ever after. Disney of old would present morals clearly and show good people did good things, or at least always had good intentions. Today's Disney blurs the moral codes by showing the 'good' people having bad intentions and only realizing their mistake if they get caught. That is my biggest problem with today's Disney and why I believe it's poisoning the younger generations minds.
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