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CL: Do you ever feel that you're being manipulated or programmed by the media? That it's not your choice?
ROSADO: Yes. A prime example is we have a dress code here at school, and the girls' shorts have to be a certain length. A lot of the girls say, "Well, they don't sell shorts that long anymore." Which I guess you can call manipulation. Because of popular demand, some things are going to be more in your face.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I really do. You see guys walking around trying to rap, and girls trying to dress like what they see on TV. Youth want to fit in, and whatever they see is working on television is probably what they're going to do. We're at the age when we're trying out all these different identities to see which one will suit us. I don't think too many adults are trying to conform to what they see on TV -- they already have a sense of who they are. But youth don't have that sense, so they try to mimic the roles they see on TV. That can be healthy, but it can also be dangerous. I think if you subject yourself to anything long enough it can gradually have an effect and change your mentality.
WEBB: There's a girl I know who last year acted like one of the girls on Friends. This year, she's all like, "Yea, what up girl, I only date black guys, you know what I'm sayin'." She thinks acting "ethnic" makes her more cool. Or you have these guys from average, middle-class families who've never been to the ghetto. He watches BET and sees 50 Cent slap some chick, and all of a sudden he wants to go out and slap some chick.
PFEIFFER: That's how things are sold. You have a product, and you try to program people into thinking that's what everybody wants. It's a sales tactic. I try to think about that when I'm listening to or buying music. I'd be foolish to say that I didn't fall prey to that -- that I go out and buy things because they're supposed to be "cool." I think things like MTV can shape our view of so many things, especially about how we think people should look or act. I know people who watch so much MTV their view of what's attractive is completely skewed. Relying too much on MTV or other mainstream media sources reduces our ability to really think about culture. We're being spoon-fed, and that's dangerous. It reduces your ability to think.
SIGMON: Not personally, but I certainly see how younger teens are more susceptible to the media telling them how to think and act. Older teenagers have more sense than that. I think it's unfortunate how easily some kids can be manipulated. They can just be told anything is cool and they go along with it. It's easy to sell them stuff.
DOYNE: I feel like I'm getting some crappy stuff shoved down my throat, like when I turn on the radio. Everything sounds the same. It's either some guy playing an acoustic guitar or a guy screaming, some guy rapping, or a girl singing bad songs to a drum machine.
CL: Are there any original movements anymore, or is everything co-opted by the industry, homogenized, and then mass-marketed as though it's "underground?"
PFEIFFER: At the core, everything is original and independent, but it gets co-opted. But that's just a way to sell things and for somebody to make money off it. But that doesn't necessarily always water down the original message or art. There are still people making music who are concerned and passionate. It's like you have these great writers who write these incredible, passionate books, but then you also have pulp fiction. You can't say because pulp fiction exists that other great works of art are any less legitimate. It's up to the reader to discern between the two, and decide what's important and what's drivel being sold by somebody just to make money.
SIGMON: No, I don't think there's really anything underground anymore.
DOYNE: Yes, there are definitely still underground movements. My favorite example of that is Phish. Most everybody thinks they're some crappy, hippie pothead band. But bands like that have a whole sub-culture that follows them around. But just because a band gets big doesn't mean they've sold out.
CASH: There's a devotion people have with underground bands. When you get a ticket, you feel privileged. But then when you see them at a huge venue, you almost feel like some people don't deserve to be there. So even as much you would like your band to succeed, you still want to keep them to yourself.
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Queen Charlotte Fair @ Route 29 Pavilion
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NEW WINDOW GALLERY-Pat Rhea-ACRYLIC PAINTINGS-April 05-30 2024 VALDESE, NC 28690 @ New Window Gallery/Play It Again Records
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