keep the name justin bieber in your memory as he is likely to be the next big kiddie-pop icon. he's being molded in the type of a young justin timberlake, tevin campbell, chris brown, and/or 'lil bow wow--all of whom sell or sold hundreds of thousands of records as well as their name brands selling bubble gum, t-shirts, and various other merchandise. usher--who is himself a former child star--has seized the opportunity to become his own mogul by mentoring and grooming young justin bieber (12) and producing his new album--out in november 2009. justin's first single 'one time' has already made it to #12 on the canadian pop-charts this month.
why is this important? it's not really, it's more just an awareness that what we consume as pop culture tomorrow is being strategically groomed and directed today. in other words, young justin is already on a predictable career trajectory that will shape his life (and ours) for better or worse. with the significant mentorship of an already established icon like usher, justin will be fed to the larger public as an innocent prodigy who captures the 'cute' factor for teenage girls and soccer moms alike. his musical material will be harmless and even sweet. but, over time with succeeding albums, his image will be predictably sculpted into more and more of a sex symbol and his music will become more and more explicit. however, because we 'remember when he was young' we'll simply digest the sexually explicit material easily and pay no attention to the fact that we're consuming an ideology laced with trouble. in other words, another generation of people will fill their ears with songs like 'make love in this club'(usher), 'sexyback'(timberlake), 'take you down'(brown), and 'dirty girl'(bow wow). all the while we'll think we're much smarter than to internalize any of these ideas as a way of life, and we'll rationalize that we enjoy these songs with a tongue-in-cheek mentality, never considering the pavlovian addiction pop-culture has enfranchised us with. and while we chuckle, there will be another generation of teenagers trained to buy, sell, trade and partake in all things sexual.
i think you get the idea of a formula in play here, but what's my larger point? ideas always have consequences. simply consider what ideas you are imbibing and whether you're okay with what's being espoused--not only for yourself, but for others--because we're all connected. what shapes some of us today will have an affect on all of us tomorrow.
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