Ultimately I did not come up with any unique ideas of my own for this project, but instead, I created this video to demonstrate something very important to those existing here; why are you the way we are? We currently believe that physical appearances, risqué behavior, and open sexuality are the core values to this new generation, but we are not fully aware of the fact that we are constantly allowing ourselves to be molded and shaped to fit this ideal. And because we do not question where we are getting these ideas, we assume that promiscuity is simply a foundation of our society.
While making this video, I really wanted people to be able to look intrinsically at what they were watching on MTV, or listening to in their music, and really be able to decide if they actually wanted to be these people that they were idolizing over. The beginning of the film is looking backwards at the early 80’s when Mtv was just starting out. The music videos (before this mass of reality shows) reflect a sort of innocence, but not completely guarded innocence, that we do not see in the clips following in the video. This modern footage show a society that is abusive, scantily clad, sexual, and above all… carefree. Twenge covers this topic extensively in Generation Me, and hopefully the distinction was made that in the past 30 years there has been a big change in the ideology of the teenage mind.
In the lecture series Killing us Softly by Jean Kilbourne, we are forced into looking at ourselves, and to comprehend what we are watching. She shows off photos of women who tend to be idealized, and then replaces the photo with one that has not been photo shopped. The point here is that we can make anyone look like anything, and with that ability we begin to think that is how we should look. Jenna Marbles is the young lady that sarcastically speaks of making people think you are good looking. Her satire draws people in because she is one of the few that have been able to understand that although she has chosen to be blonde, dark and skinny, she can still look at why she has chosen to be that way, and laugh at herself. It’s about self-awareness.
Lastly we have recently seen the infestation of cameras. We are so consciously aware of cameras being everywhere that we WANT to look like supermodels, and that we want the attention of others, no matter what it takes. Almost every child in America past the age of 15 has a digital camera, and with the creation of reality TV shows like “Jersey Shore,” “The Real World,” and “16 and Pregnant,” we think that we too deserve to be on TV.
What separates us from them? They look like us, they like the same music as us… but we still don’t find ourselves being wanted. Perhaps this is the reason for shows like “I Want A Famous Face.” Our desire to be wanted is so high, that we would have surgery on ourselves. Something here is wrong, and the push should now be towards making ourselves see what we are becoming.
The final scene in our film is Josh Harris speaking about his experiment in “We Are Public.” Josh states that this society of constantly being watched is going to push us over the edge and into a world that we can no longer control. We become each other, and we become overly conscious.
Hopefully this film gives people a look at what they are filling themselves with on a daily basis, and are able to make a conscious decision of what will influence them.
Mediated by Thomas de Zengotita
Generation Me Jean Twenge
http://www.fordfoundation.org
Dancing in the Music Factor by Richard Corliss
Radiolab "The Obama Effect, Perhaps" Podcast Episode
Killing Us Softly series by Jean Kilbourne
We Live In Public directed by Ondi Timoner about Josh Harris
I Want A Famous Face on Mtv
This American Life "My Experimental Phase" Podcast Episode
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