Sociology 3701: Worksheet--"The Merchants of Cool"

1.Describe the following methods used by corporate America to find out what's hot among teens?

a. focus groups

b. "correspondents"

c. computer chat rooms

d. ethnography studies

2. What role does the caricature termed the "mook" play in marketing to teenage boys?

3. What role does the "midriff" play in marketing to teenage girls?

4. What is the importance of "pop?"

5. Describe what the narrator calls "the feedback loop."

Sociology 3701: Groups--"The Merchants of Cool"

1. How realistic do you think this documentary is?

2. Is the media reflecting the world of teens or is it the other way around?

3. What do you see as the effects on the social construction of teen life of what the narrator calls the feedback loop?

4. Is there any harm in all of this? What are the positives and negatives?

5. Is there any way of escaping the impact of this whole dynamic?