HW 29

The connection between cool and teenagers is essential to the success of big businesses. Big businesses need to find ways to manipulate the feelings of teens to be able to sell products to them. "The Merchants of Cool" shows exactly how big businesses figure what is cool amongst teens and how the use that to sell their products to teens. I think that they are right we are used and our feelings are basically manipulated and if not we are at least influenced to a great extent. We are shown what is cool and what is not and even when sub-cultures pop up amongst teens they are basically infiltrated by big businesses and become part of their marketing strategy. This is very easy to prove in music as "The Merchants of Cool" showed with Limp Biscuit and Rage against The Machine. As teens constantly try to find things that are not mainstream and companies start to use these new sub cultures as marketing strategies teens are constantly changing their idea of cool. Teens are very focused on trying to be different but at the same time are trying to act different and 'cool' to fit in.

I think that big corporations and businesses cause much of the insecurities in teens because the control the mainstream ideas of cool. The constantly change what's cool and I think it comes off as confusing. It is rare for a teen to be truly comfortable with who they are more so in early teen years because the things that are cool are constantly changing around them. I think as people get older and mature they realize what is going on and are more confident but the same things still happen. The insecurities of people in general and their want to be cool is what makes the businesses rich and is the cycle of our society. It is what helps capitalism run and with out the exploitation of feelings a capitalist society would collapse completely. Although businesses play a major role in influencing peoples feelings the society it is tool of capitalism and the blame of the effects of businesses and corporations on our life belongs to the system in general and the people as well for going along with it and not being able to even see what is going on.