The film entitled "The Merchants of cool" is an hour long documentary on how the major corporations of America have been attempting and succeeding in influencing the perceptions and lifestyles of teenagers. It shows specific evidence of what it takes to be "cool" and how a company can make itself "cool."
The film makes you look around and see how much marketing is truly out there. When you look from the corner of almost any popular street or watch television for more then five minutes it becomes very clear how ingrained advertising and marketing are in America's every day life. They go through a segment on the soft drink Sprite, where you see how much effort and creativity are put into facilitating "cool." Sprite even has gone so far as to incorporate itself into a lifestyle. They seem to even attempt to change their image from if you drink Sprite you are urban, to if your not drinking Sprite then obviously you're not urban.
Christina, a contestant on the pilot episode of MT...
English: MTV's Times Square studio
English: AMTVSo, that the image of someone drinking Sprite you immediately think that person is ghetto or urban. For years being ghetto was the hot new thing and rap was the hot music.
Another topic investigated in this film was MTV. Every teen or even twenty something can say they have spent tons of time watching MTV even if they "hate it" the shows have been designed and directed at those of us in their teens and twenties. The astonishing part of MTV's programming is that the most of their shows are not so much for entertainment but also to guide its audience into certain close, music, electronics, and so on. For example, the show Real World/ Road Rules Challenge every time they pick up there cell phone they have to say "we have a message...