Cool Hunt

In the documentary “Cool Hunt,” the filmmakers delve into the methods behind marketing towards the teenage population, especially when corporations’ sales are based on how much their products appeal to the teenage consumerism. Just like popular culture, the definition of “cool” keeps on changing – things that were trendy and hip today, are considered “so last week” after a couple of days. This constant swirl or whimsical approvals confuse corporations, but they have slowly found their way around understanding complicated teenagers. When the correspondent shows how desperately teenagers try matching what is depicted through media, it reminded me of Gonzalez and Rodriguez’s article on Asian American males in import subcultures. These teenagers yearn to fill the portrait of the “typical, American male/female teenager” through the roles of a mook or midriff, similar to how Asian American males aim to prove their masculinity through American ideals. Instead of setting new standards or broadening the narrow American definitions of these concepts, both teenagers and Asian American males continue perpetrating stereotypes to try fitting into American standards.