04/06/2024 07:12:00 AM 
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(1) Great photos here.
However, these trend watchers would be wrong, instead of protesting against the established order, as they did in 68, today's students are protesting for the maintenance of the established order.
What's happening is the "The Entitlement Generation" doesn't want to loose its entitlement.
When you look closely, it appears that Western youth has little to rebel against. When fashion and music tips are traded with your best friends, your parents, there is no reason to rebel. The generation gap has been blown away. This sad news for those in the music, entertainment and fashion industries, for whom youthful rebellion was once a catalyst for new exciting movements of change, of which, punk and grunge are but two examples.
So today's teens are not growing up like teens of previous generations, they are "conforming up" to be adults as quick as possible. Political and economic pressure from globalization is playing a key role here.
Perhaps rebellion is alive and well, but its just skipped a generation or two. The new rebels are today's Xers who are again tapping into their sense of angst to rebel against their new enemy, ageing. New York Magazine's tongue in cheek profile of the Grups , the 30 to 40 somethings who are still obsessed with having the latest and greatest, are a good example.
For teens, rebellion, like everything else has been pre-packaged and sold as look. Teens Influx has talked to in research, tell us that they like to have "rebel Fridays, where they dress all punky".
On the sidelines, there are some commentators like MC Lars who clearly knows all is not right here. His song "Hot Topic is not Punk Rock" captures the irony perfectly, what he lacks in rhyme, he makes up for with an academic elegance that's absent in most of today's rap.
" Hot Topic is a contrived identification with youth subcultures to manufacture an anti-authoritarian identity and make millions. The $8 you paid for the Mudvayne poster would be better spent used to see your brother's friend's band."
Perhaps there is something for youth to rebel against, that crazy thing called marketing.
Stay tuned for more on this.
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Nothing like old farts trying to define what a generation is all about -- what a waste of time!