{"id":12112,"date":"2017-03-02T14:59:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T22:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=12112"},"modified":"2017-03-02T14:59:19","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T22:59:19","slug":"consumerism-sneetches-and-teenage-rebellion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/consumerism-sneetches-and-teenage-rebellion\/","title":{"rendered":"Consumerism, Sneetches, and Teenage Rebellion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the book <strong><em>Nation of Rebels, Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 (aka <strong><em>The Rebel Sell<\/em><\/strong>), Canadian Philosophy professors Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter pen an innovative critique of the idea the there is a mainstream culture and an alternative counterculture.\u00a0 Through many colorful examples (Freud, Marx, Kurt Cobain, Burberry, <strong><em>The Matrix<\/em><\/strong>) they illustrate the pervasiveness of the idea that there is a counterculture that works against the mainstream.\u00a0 In fact, they believe that it is the counterculture that drives the mainstream economically.<\/p>\n<p>Like the \u201cStar Bellied Sneetches\u201d of Dr. Suess\u2019 1953 children\u2019s classic, <strong><em>The Sneetches and Other Stories, <\/em><\/strong>cultural rebels will go to great lengths to identify themselves as different that the rest.\u00a0 In Seuss\u2019 book, the antihero, Sylvester McMonkey McBean, makes a healthy profit off the Sneetches who are constantly trying to be different than the others.\u00a0 As Heath and Potter put it, \u201cNot everyone can be a rebel\u201d (p. 129).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dr. Seuss&#039;s The Sneetches - Full Version\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eBRfJsMEIvE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There is a satirical feel to the book as the authors characterize the movement towards organic\/free range food as just another opportunity for elitists to stand out from the herd of consumers\u2014while spending a lot more at the supermarket.\u00a0 The irony is clear.<\/p>\n<p>As I read the book, I reflected on my 20 years spent in youth ministry.\u00a0 I was a teenager in the 1980s, and I was deeply tied to the youth culture in the 1990s through 2010 when I moved to my current position.<\/p>\n<p>While I was serving as a youth minister, I understood there would always be a segment of teens who would identify as \u201crebels.\u201d\u00a0 Whether this was displayed via clothing, music, hairstyles, or political beliefs; since the end of World War Two, teenagers have had a love\/hate relationship with popular culture.\u00a0 This relationship was symbiotic (which is in line with the thinking of Heath and Potter).\u00a0 Movie production companies were quick to take note and exploit this rebellion against society by producing films which attracted teenager while shocking the older generations.<\/p>\n<p>While Marlon Brando\u2019s <strong><em>The Wild One<\/em><\/strong> is certainly to be noted, the best example is the 1955 classic <strong><em>Blackboard Jungle,<\/em><\/strong> starring Glenn Ford as a gutsy teacher who tries to shape a hoard of rebellious teens into productive students.\u00a0 In the film, the teacher disposes of the \u201cbad apple\u201d and wins the class over.\u00a0 In the process, Blackboard Jungle solidified the generational divide that arose post-WWII.\u00a0 It even introduced an anthem for this generation, <strong><em>Rock Around the Clock<\/em><\/strong> by Bill Haley and the Comets.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/HA0_NRjx9KQ<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The story of <strong><em>Blackboard Jungle<\/em><\/strong> has been rewritten and filmed in several subsequent eras.\u00a0 <strong><em>To Sir With Love <\/em><\/strong>is a 1967 retelling of this story, set in London.\u00a0 It is to be noted the actor who played the teacher in <strong><em>To Sir with Love<\/em><\/strong>, Sydney Poitier, had a role in <strong><em>Blackboard Jungle<\/em><\/strong> as one of the rebellious teens.\u00a0\u00a0This film also\u00a0included a hit theme song that was\u00a0performed by a student at\u00a0the end of the film.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"To Sir, with love (1967) - the ending\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nXaEf4ktpPA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The 1988 film <strong><em>Stand and Deliver<\/em><\/strong> is basically <strong><em>Blackboard Jungle<\/em><\/strong> retold in the context of a Latino school in East Los Angeles in the 1980s (with the title track performed by Mr.Mister).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stand and Deliver (1988) Official Trailer - Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris Movie HD\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qtQQC23eseU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>1995\u2019s <strong><em>Dangerous Minds<\/em><\/strong> is <strong><em>Blackboard Jungle<\/em><\/strong> set in a 90&#8217;s urban setting (this time <strong><em>Rock Around the Clock<\/em><\/strong> was replaced with Coolio\u2019s megahit <strong><em>Gangsta\u2019s Paradise<\/em><\/strong>).\u00a0 <strong><em>Dangerous Minds<\/em><\/strong> had a twist, this time the teacher was played by a woman (Michelle Pfeiffer).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dangerous Minds Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gA-5nLQCmW8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>All of these films have near identical plotlines and they were all commercial successes.\u00a0 Teens paid a lot of money to see their generation on display.\u00a0 They noted the clothes, the slang, the angst, and the music (which could also be purchased).\u00a0\u00a0 For the adults watching the films, they were both shocked at the\u00a0display of the teenage rebellion, and satisfied at the optimistic resolution as the teacher persevered and became the true hero of the film.\u00a0 Either way, the movie and record companies made a lot of cash.<\/p>\n<p>While Hollywood movies give us an insight into one aspect of the commercialization of rebellion, the most insightful film was the 2001 documentary <strong><em>The Merchants of Cool<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 Filmmaker Douglas Rushkoff exposes the direct link to marketing companies to the youth culture, &#8220;corporate America&#8217;s\u00a0150 billion dollar dream.&#8221;\u00a0 From interviewing and photographing popular teenagers at various high schools to see what is \u201ccool,\u201d (then selling the data to companies in order to create national trends) to forcing a product upon a demographic (like when Sprite was heavily marketed to African Americans via free products at hip-hop events).\u00a0<strong><em>Merchants of Cool<\/em><\/strong> vividly illustrates Heath and Potter\u2019s premise.\u00a0 Over 15 years since its release on Frontline, PBS still has the <strong><em>Merchants of Cool<\/em><\/strong> website running where the documentary can be viewed.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/pages\/frontline\/shows\/cool\/\">http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/pages\/frontline\/shows\/cool\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>While <strong><em>Nation of Rebels<\/em><\/strong> is not focused on teenagers, I personally feel that it should be required reading for those studying youth ministry.\u00a0 It is undeniable that teenagers are greatly influenced by the worldviews presented by Heath and Potter.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Heath, Joseph, and Andrew Potter. <i>Nation of rebels: why counterculture became consumer culture<\/i>. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 2009.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the book Nation of Rebels, Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture\u00a0 (aka The Rebel Sell), Canadian Philosophy professors Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter pen an innovative critique of the idea the there is a mainstream culture and an alternative counterculture.\u00a0 Through many colorful examples (Freud, Marx, Kurt Cobain, Burberry, The Matrix) they illustrate the pervasiveness [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":12114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[747,371,25,851,852],"class_list":["post-12112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cocanougher","tag-consumerism","tag-culture","tag-rebel","tag-youth-ministry","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}