Saturday, November 15, 2008

Branded

--from Larkin--


Last night I went to a concert at my school: the showcase of all the bands made up of students. All the bands were super good. While I have always been amazed at how high schoolers manage to all look similar even when they don't actually look the same, I was struck by the sameness more than ever before. The show was attended by the very cool people, and I don't mean the blond, preppy, party-girls that everyone is supposed to idolize. I'm talking about the indie-rocker types: the boys who wear skinny jeans and spike their hair, the girls who dye their hair and ride skateboards. These kids who seem to be rebelling against the system, but they all end up looking practically the same.

Today at work I came across a book while shelving in the 600s. It is called Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers, by Alissa Quart. Focusing on not only the consumerism of pop-culture, but the ways teens find to resist it, this book promises to provide many excellent examples of why our movement is so important. While I know many follow the Compact for the environmental factors, that is only part of it. This movement is also about breaking down the overwhelming corporatism of our society.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

its one tough wall that has permeated our culture for a long time, as you mentioned, many people are overwhelmed by corporatism (especially young people.) i am very glad that you are so aware and ready to face the issue head on.