Just started reading Naomi Klein’s No Logo: taking aim at the brand bullies. It’s one of those books I’d been hearing about for a long time, and it’s just as fascinating, disturbing, and well-written as I thought it would be.
She talks about the obsessive focus on youth and cool:
“The quest for cool is by nature riddled with self-doubt (‘Is this cool?’ one can hear the legions of teen shoppers nervously quizzing each other. ‘Do you think this is lame?’) Except now the harrowing doubts of adolescence are the billion-dollar questions of our age. The insecurities go round and round the boardroom table, turning ad writers, art directors and CEOs into turbo-powered teenagers, circling in front of their bedroom mirrors trying to look blasé. Do the kids think we’re cool? they want to know. Are we trying too hard to be cool, or are we really cool?” (p. 69)
The quest for cool has invaded library services to teenagers — I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had about marketing library services and programs — and it’s certainly present in young adult publishing as well. It’s creepy and insidious and I don’t know how to escape it. (You’ll note that I do, in fact, have this branded website.)