http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/ 

As far back as 1928, Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud's nephew, wrote in his book Propaganda:

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.  Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. . . . The important thing is that [propaganda] is universal and continuous; and in its sum total it is regimenting the public mind every bit as much as an army regiments the bodies of its soldiers

At last, a TV program with the smarts to speak truths about youth culture and its descent into sex, violence and proud asininity.  The truth is that it's abetted and sponsored by corporate America.  Stand up, Viacom. You're not alone, but you're front and center. You're MTV, UPN, Paramount, Comedy Central, Simon & Schuster, Infinity radio and, gulp, that codger in search of the fountain of youth, CBS.

"Frontline" begins tonight's program, "The Merchants of Cool," with market researchers desperately trying to tap into the teenage psyche.  And why not? The nation's teenage population is bigger than ever -- 32 million -- and flush with cash and credit cards.

The teens spent $100 billion last year. Their parents kicked in $50 billion more in spending for them, much of it "guilt money" because they felt bad about being neglectful.  "Frontline" says the Sprite soft-drink marketers from Coca-Cola have been adept at getting a grip on the slippery teen demographic. The WB network, part of the AOL-Time Warner conglomerate, has had success, too. But no one beats Viacom and its MTV. It's a matter of finding what's cool -- marketers actually call it "cool hunting" -- and exploiting it so that ultimately, it's hard to tell whether MTV is reflecting youth or youth is reflecting MTV.

One of MTV's achievements is its effective use of the "mook" and "midriff" stereotypes. "Mook" is a male, "crude, loud, obnoxious and in-your-face." He's Tom Green; he's the gross-out daredevils of the "Jackass" show.  "There is no 'mook' in nature," says "Frontline" correspondent Douglas Rushkoff. "He is a creation designed to capitalize on the testosterone-driven madness of adolescence. He grabs them below the belt and then reaches for their wallets."

By happenstance, "Frontline" is on tonight opposite the debut of another flatulence-enhanced "mook" show on MTV. "The Andy Dick Show," with crude comedy sketches and parodies from the former "NewsRadio" cast member, premieres at 10:30 p.m., midway through "Frontline." If nothing else, Dick does a mean Tom Green.  The "midriff" is the teenage female stereotype personified by Britney Spears. She's a repackaged nymphet, pleased to be a sexual object. Matter of fact, her power resides in her sexuality.

When Spears stripped nearly bare at MTV's Video Music Awards last year, "Frontline" says, "she wasn't just pleasing eager young boys, she was delivering a powerful missive to girls: Your body is your asset. Flaunt your sexuality, even if you don't understand it. That's the message that matters most because, overwhelmingly, Britney's albums are bought by teenage girls."  What's wrong, says media critic Mark Crispin Miller, is that in their scramble for attention and revenue in the marketplace, corporations inevitably lower standards.  Debasement becomes cool. Miller says that in the "official rock video world view," parents, teachers and other conventional authority figures are hapless laughingstocks. Not the sponsoring corporations, though. They're cool. They understand teens, all the way to the bank.  All of this could be dismissed as another screech attack by prudish, or perhaps envious, adults. After all, PBS and MTV are poles apart on the spectrum of media appeal.

But that's too easy. Listen fairly and you'll find that "Merchants of Cool" producers Barak Goodman and Rachel Dretzin are really on the side of teenagers, whose attempts to develop their own culture are invariably co-opted by corporations and channeled into profits. The production team finds just such an attempt in rage rock. It's called "the front line of teen cultural resistance," a music genre so raw and incendiary that surely corporate marketers would find it indigestible.  Actually, quite tasty. The rage rock band Limp Bizkit was sucked up by MTV and featured on its daily nod toward musical pseudo-democracy, "Total Request Live." Consequently, Limp Bizkit became a commercial success, converting rebelliousness into one more profit center.

"The cool hunt ends here," Rushkoff says, "with teen rebellion itself becoming just another product. This is how the merchants of cool have won. . . . The battle itself is sponsored, packaged and sold right back to them."

Guided Viewing Questions: “The Cool Hunt”

#1 The nation's teenage population  and how much do the spend each year?

#2 What is a "mook?"

#3 What is a midriff?"

 #4. According Mark Crispin Miller who has become the laughing stock  in the "official rock video world view?" 

#5. What, according the the authors of the article is considered "the front line of teen cultural resistance?"