Blackbird Fields: Boxes vs Tubes

Boxes vs Tubes

Posted by I'm the penguin | Posted in thoughts | Posted on Thursday, March 04, 2010

More than to any other group, massive media is the toughest on teenagers. Think about it, it is this people who set the standards of what is cool, what is dull, what people should wear, listen, think, buy and such and such. And it is not only the merchandising, but also setting the beauty and normal standards, just look at the shows on TV, featuring teenagers who every week have fabulous adventures with super dramatic lives, and every single one of them looks like from the cover of a magazine. My main problem with these so called teenagers is that they're all freaking 20-somethings with mature bodies who have nothing to do with their day other than to stay fit and read their lines.

These are not real concepts on TV

Not real people

Nothing real teens can actually compare their lives with.

(and please don't even mention the super scripted MTV reality shows)

So what is people left with?

With a monopolized business of media where you can't really choose what to watch...

Well that'd be true. Two or five years ago.

Now I bring you a new proposal: YouTube.

As it happens, if you've stayed on the site long enough to watch beyond the cats in skateboards you know about the community. Now, I don't mean to sound like a fangirl and say these people are the best entertainers EVAR! Some are actually crappy, some are really good. But the point I'm trying to make is not really about their quality, but about their credibility.

They are real people, with real issues who have spare time to make a video or two. Sure, you could argue some get payed to do so, and have no difference with the TV stars, but I beg to differ. Because they don't just broadcast, they read trough the fan mail, look at the comments and sometimes actually write back. They are there, tangible people who you can talk to like anybody else.

Most of them don't use make up, or beneficial takes to cover imperfections, they show you their true self with flaws, with abnormalities, with all that which constitutes them. They are what you see, and chances are that they're not so different from you, or someone close. It's not only the looks but how they talk, what they talk about, they are things you probably talk with your friends. They're not this alternate universe at which you have to aim, they're the exposition that you can live comfortably in your own world.

And that, I think is more valuable than any super-bad scripted Californian/NYer conception of what the youth should look like.