Reign - A CW show

When I was i high school, if a show was on the WB channel it was almost guaranteed that I would watch it -Gilmore Girls, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Buffy, the list goes on and on. It has since become the CW but the premise is the same - the shows are generally targeted to teens. Many of the teens in the department of my library mention this channel and the shows it airs frequently. At a recent Teen Advisory Board meeting I held we discussed shows that they like. Several of them mentioned Reign.

Premiering in 2013, Reign is a fictionalized history of the early years of Mary Queen of Scots. Beginning prior to her marriage to Prince Francis, and continuing through until (thus far) we meet Queen Elizabeth of England. Teens can learn a bit of history as they watch Mary leave Scotland for France with a group of girlfriends to be her ladies in waiting, to her and Francis learning how to balance ruling a kingdom with their marriage (and a potential love triangle with Francis' illegitimate half brother) during the time of fighting amongst Catholics and Protestants, all while dealing with rival houses wanting to take their power. Later seasons see the arrival of Queen Elizabeth of England as a rival for Mary.

Teens may be attracted to a show such as this for the drama, as it is not the best depiction of history. Though those interested in the time period will appreciate the dialogue and the costumes. Differing from typical teen dramas that are recycled year after year - only changing scenery and character names for the same tired (yet proven successful to gain an audience) story lines, this is a teen drama that portrays a time period not often seen in teen dramas. Using characters that have existed in real life, but giving them a somewhat fictionalized story can both teach teens a bit of history and lead them to research the real story on their own, and entertain them simultaneously.

The two teens that mentioned this show like this show primarily because of the drama and love stories. Though they did also enjoy the time period it takes place in, one of them specifically stating that she was "over dramatic shows set on the beach in California," citing several teens dramas of the past (The O.C. and Beverly Hills 90210 to name a couple).

Having only watched trailers and clips of this show, I can say that while it would not be something that draws me in now, I would have definitely watched this show religiously if I were still in high school and of the target age range.

Merchants of Cool and Generation Like

While watching the first documentary, Merchants of Cool, initially, I may have missed the point. Most of it was pure nostalgia for me, as I was a teenager at the time they discussed. My mind simply kept shouting, "Britney Spears! TRL! Dawson's Creek!" I would take the bus home from school and hope I would make it in time to see TRL every day. But thinking about it some time later I could see it as more than just a quick and non comprehensive recap of my teen years.

Merchants of Cool and Generation Like are the same documentary, simply covering two different times. The biggest change between the two is the swift addition of technology. And having been a teen during the early 2000s, I can say that the technology kicked in for myself and my friends around 2003 with the use of LiveJournal, and a few years later with FaceBook, once we obtained the coveted .edu email address we then needed in order to even create and account. 

There will always be a way to reach teens, and determine their likes or dislikes. Marketers use that to their advantage and direct things to teens in order to make a profit without the teens always realizing how they are being used. One of the biggest things in Merchants of Cool was the notion that celebrities could be used to market towards teens indirectly through a concert on MTV that was set up by Sprite and doused in Sprite related gear. This happens now on social media. Celebrities endorse products by holding them in an Instgram picture, or liking a brand's status on Facebook. Or even by just posting a picture of a brand's products. (See: Kerry Washington, Instagram, Neutrogena) Note that Ms. Washington did not state that this post was an ad, but the caption reads like one, and can make an impression on a teens. While on the other hand celebrities such as Kelly Ripa (who may not be marketing to teens, but to parents works in this instance as an example for social media marketing) uses #ad in her Tweet to denote that it is in fact something is being paid to post about rather than it just being her own personal preference. (See: Kelly Ripa, Twitter, Jif). 

Though no longer a teen, I know and use the social media apps mentioned in Generation Like.I know all about teens and 20 somethings that put themselves out there on YouTube, and am aware that nearly every third post on my Instagram feed is labeled "sponsored."I've seen both eras of marketing and advertising. And I can say that I prefer the efforts of the late 90s and early 2000s to the constant barrage of ads that are on social media today - whether they are clearly an ad or a subtly mention of a product by a self-made "social media star." 

Not working directly in marketing, does not mean that librarians don't have to make an effort to market things to teens. What do we think we're doing when suggesting books or movies or anything when teens come into out libraries? We're marketing materials to teens without actually noticing! When we interviewed teens about various things, we were doing our own "market research." 

So yes, both of these documentaries can inform an interview with a teen, give a context to the path the interview takes. But as librarians we've already done this! We are aware that teens now are glued to social media - that's how we reach many of them and bring them in. We are advertising the library, it's program, an our materials. Can we go as far as television ads or MTV did in the 90s or as far as various companies and "social media stars" do now? Not at all. Many of their tactics are not appropriate to the library, but we can create our own. Knowing that social media is the way to reach teens is the first step. 

Further Reading:

Jezebel - Here's How Much Celebrities Make in the Instagram Product Placement Machine

Jezebel - The Big Bad World of Products Celebrities Promote on Instagram

Youth Portrayal in the Media

Though only tasked with finding one article about teens I have come prepared with two. However they are directly related to each other.

The first (found here http://bit.ly/1QhLUkt). discusses a program known as the Community Journalism Program, in which Journalism students from Hofstra University meet with students from the Hempstead High School Newspaper Club. The Hofstra students teach the Newspaper Club how to write feature articles and discuss the journalism profession. Both the university students and high school students benefit from this program. The university students are getting hands on mentoring and teaching experience, while the high school students are preparing for potential future careers.

One idea that this program is stressing is diversity, which is where article number two comes in (http://bit.ly/1NU7jhU). This article was written by one of the Hempstead High School students that is part of the Community Newspaper Program. She briefly describes her history, coming to this country as a child that spoke very little English, and how she now being bilingual and older, can understand how both new and returning students of Hempstead High School feel. She describes that new students, particularly those that have come here to make a better life for themselves, but speak limited English can feel stressed and neglected in a school that does not always have the ability to help them. Additionally, they also can be made to feel unwelcome by some of the returning students that see new, non-English speaking students as a hindrance to their own education because of the limited supplies that the district possess. Because she has been on both sides of this issue, the author works within her school to unite all students and makes a plea to those in power to help to unite her school community.  

These articles portray youth in both a positive and negative light. The Community Newspaper Program is greatly influencing students at both Hofstra University and Hempstead High School, to the point where a participant has had her own article published in a local paper. However it is this student’s article that begins to portray some youth in a negative light. There are students that make other feel uncomfortable because of their status as English language speakers, and the feeling that such students are taking supplies out of the hands of those that speak English as a native language that were born in the United States. Yet despite this there are students that work towards the greater good to unite the school community as one, which will greatly benefit the community as a whole.