"Ruby Rose Explores Gender In Powerful New Video 'Break Free'"
Click on the link above and watch Ruby Rose's new video to her song "Break Free" which illustrates the fluidity of gender identity.
I thought this would be interesting to watch since teenagers have been stereotyped as "finding themselves" and looking for their part in the "circle of life." Yet, interestingly enough, the road to self identity and discovery doesn't have a specific age range in our lives. It's fluid -- coming and going as quick as it comes. One moment we know exactly what kind of person we are, but the next moment we could be questioning....Questioning if we're majoring in the right field; questioning the line of work we're in and its worth; questioning our sexuality and/or gender; questioning the meaning of our lives; questioning the role society constricts us in; etc. etc.
Our whole perception of the world can change with one action, whether it's from ourselves, a friend, a family member, or stranger. The reason I'm saying all of this is simple: the individual in this video is not a teenager but a young adult who questioned their identity. This resulted in them stripping away the societal constraints of idealized femininity and became the identity they wanted to be. All of this brings us back to the teenage stereotype. Teenagers are said to always be looking for themselves and their "identity." Why? Why is it generally considered a "teenage phase" when we will go through questioning for the rest of ours lives (with a prime example being the infamous "mid-life crisis").
Your thoughts?
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Teen Aliens or alienated teens?
By portraying the hunted aliens of the TV series Roswell as teens, the show draws parallels between the experiences of alienation felt by teens and those felt by theoretical aliens. But whats most interesting are the questions posed about the relationship between teens and adults, particularly in a post Columbine society. In the show, the character of Sheriff Valenti represents a majority of the adult presence. Valenti not only automatically see's aliens as dangerous, despite the only evidence of their presence being that a girl was saved, but refuses to believe any of the teenagers that he asks questions of. This distrust is further manifested when the three aliens are driving down the road and get pulled over by him for no reason. One of the aliens even days that he pulls teens over for no reason just to scare them. His constant surveillance and deep distrust of teens is what causes all of the problems for the aliens in the first place.
If not for the aliens, this series could have been a drama about the post Columbine society, despite being developed before Columbine. Instead of questioning the atmosphere that could cause a teenager to feel so distant from everyone else that he turns to mass killing, they blamed things like the music he listened to and the clothes he wore. Instead of working with teens to produce a more open environment where everyone could be heard and understood, adults mistrusted their children even more and policed them like never before. Much like in Roswell, fear is not the answer. Mutual conversation and understanding is.
If not for the aliens, this series could have been a drama about the post Columbine society, despite being developed before Columbine. Instead of questioning the atmosphere that could cause a teenager to feel so distant from everyone else that he turns to mass killing, they blamed things like the music he listened to and the clothes he wore. Instead of working with teens to produce a more open environment where everyone could be heard and understood, adults mistrusted their children even more and policed them like never before. Much like in Roswell, fear is not the answer. Mutual conversation and understanding is.
"Roswell" and "Alienation"
“Roswell” is a very interesting and intense show that premiered
in the late 1990s, in 1999. Right after the tragic occurrences that happened in
Columbine. The show uses the theme of the supernatural and has the main characters
as “aliens”. When we use the word “alienation”, we are describing an experience
in which you are being isolated from a group or activity in which the students
should be involved, such as fitting into “regular” high school setting. The
adults in charge, and that being set with “Roswell” being set in a small
isolated town such as the town where the Columbine School shooting took place,
therefore set the tone of the way the students felt about school and fitting in
as a whole, but question them and making them feel more “alienated” as well.
They even go as far to send the “aliens” own peers to investigate more
information. Columbine relates to this because those kids two were outcasts and
had set the tone in their town to be questioned, just because of their choice
of lifestyle. After the Columbine issue I feel like it targeted different teens
and showcased how something like that and an ever-changing generation to be
different needs to be embraced, children should be allowed to the express
themselves, and should be able to get professional help if needed. Maybe if
these students did feel a sense of belonging and people were not so ignorant,
this tragedy may have not occurred.
Roswell: Alienating Aliens
The effects post-columbine were typical of any other major catastrophe in America; people demand for justice and an increase in security protocol to prevent such a horrific event from happening again. People began to question those around them and wonder if they are a threat. I'm sure after columbine many social outcasts and goth high-schoolers were looked at as though they too were murderers just waiting to strike.
In the pilot of Roswell, we are given a glimpse into a town where businesses bank off of the commercialization of an "alien invasion" that occurred there in the 1940's. The humans (specifically the local sheriff and police department) are terrified of the aliens walking among them and their potential powers. So they fear them and want them gone yet still choose to profit off their existence. Max, the love interest and alien character in Roswell, is portrayed as normal, sweet and shy. He certainly doesn't seem to be on a mission to take over the world or destroy humankind. His only distinguishable difference is his ability to consume massive amounts of Tabasco sauce. Yet he's still classified as different and someone to keep a distance from. Even Liz, the main human character, struggles to accept Max's differences and treat him like a human.
As we see in the show, there is a strong level of fear between the human students and the "other". The same holds true post-columbine. I think the scene at the crash festival sums up the way many people must have felt post-columbine. The festival recreates the alien crash (as Dave Matthew's Band "Crash Into Me" plays- ha ha, Roswell) and the burning of the alien bodies as the crowd cheers on. It's like a public lynching as the three alien characters watch on, seeing others celebrate the destruction of their people. Viewers in 1999 might have felt a modicum of sympathy for the social alienation Max faced, but I think they would have related more to the "better safe than sorry" approach. This would mean monitoring any potential threats, whether they be alien or a high-school gothic Marilyn Manson fan.
In the pilot of Roswell, we are given a glimpse into a town where businesses bank off of the commercialization of an "alien invasion" that occurred there in the 1940's. The humans (specifically the local sheriff and police department) are terrified of the aliens walking among them and their potential powers. So they fear them and want them gone yet still choose to profit off their existence. Max, the love interest and alien character in Roswell, is portrayed as normal, sweet and shy. He certainly doesn't seem to be on a mission to take over the world or destroy humankind. His only distinguishable difference is his ability to consume massive amounts of Tabasco sauce. Yet he's still classified as different and someone to keep a distance from. Even Liz, the main human character, struggles to accept Max's differences and treat him like a human.
As we see in the show, there is a strong level of fear between the human students and the "other". The same holds true post-columbine. I think the scene at the crash festival sums up the way many people must have felt post-columbine. The festival recreates the alien crash (as Dave Matthew's Band "Crash Into Me" plays- ha ha, Roswell) and the burning of the alien bodies as the crowd cheers on. It's like a public lynching as the three alien characters watch on, seeing others celebrate the destruction of their people. Viewers in 1999 might have felt a modicum of sympathy for the social alienation Max faced, but I think they would have related more to the "better safe than sorry" approach. This would mean monitoring any potential threats, whether they be alien or a high-school gothic Marilyn Manson fan.
Roswell and teen culture
While watching the show Roswell I couldn't help but notice the relationship between the three "aliens". They were looked at as weird and outcasts because they only hung out with each other and didn't interact with the other students. little did everyone else know it was because they had to keep a secret that they were aliens, but non the less that made them a target. It was easy for people or the sheriff to suspect that the boy did something because he was already labeled as an outcast and not many people knew much about him. I think this says a lot because people tend to blame others based on appearance, mannerisms and interests. It is a lot easier to but the blame on someone you don't know rather then a friend or acquaintance. Since it was a small town everyone basically knew everyone. Since the "aliens" were outcasts no one had enough reasoning to defend them.
With that being said the sheriff had his eye out for the boy and started questing him and even pulled him over for no reason just to see his reaction. I think relating back to columbine this show portrayed just how society can target people based on appearance and interests. The sheriff had no reason to question him and target him out of everyone else but because no one really knew him or felt he was an outcast that made him an easy target.
"Alienation" after Collumbine
During the year after the tragedy of the Columbine shooting, television studios began to produce shows that depict life in american high schools. Such shows, such as Freaks and Geeks and Roswell addressed issues that many teenagers face in a true high school setting.
Roswell, in particular, addressed the issue of being an outcast, or in more literal terms, an alien. The show focused on the idea of three extra terrestrials who have been living as normal american teenagers in a high school in a small town. In the pilot episode of the program, the main character, Liz, discovers that her friend Max is an alien when he uses his powers to save her. Liz promises to keep his true identity a secret.
The adults in Roswell keep a strong watch over the teenagers of the town. After the shooting at the beginning of the episode, the towns Sheriff becomes convinced that there is something abnormal about Max. In order to investigate further he goes as far as sending his son, who is Liz's boyfriend, to take her backpack so he can look inside for information.
In comparing the pilot episode of Roswell to the Columbine shooting i saw a connection in the way the trials for Columbine and the investigation into Max. In the Columbine tragedy, it was decided that the Gothic lifestyle was to blame for the incident. The people who believed in the Gothic lifestyle were seen as dangerous and unstable. In Roswell it is believed that aliens are bad, and can never be good. The is why even though Max used his powers to save someone else, the Sheriff is set on catching him because in his eyes Max is abnormal, which means he is dangerous, which means he must be stopped.
Roswell, in particular, addressed the issue of being an outcast, or in more literal terms, an alien. The show focused on the idea of three extra terrestrials who have been living as normal american teenagers in a high school in a small town. In the pilot episode of the program, the main character, Liz, discovers that her friend Max is an alien when he uses his powers to save her. Liz promises to keep his true identity a secret.
The adults in Roswell keep a strong watch over the teenagers of the town. After the shooting at the beginning of the episode, the towns Sheriff becomes convinced that there is something abnormal about Max. In order to investigate further he goes as far as sending his son, who is Liz's boyfriend, to take her backpack so he can look inside for information.
In comparing the pilot episode of Roswell to the Columbine shooting i saw a connection in the way the trials for Columbine and the investigation into Max. In the Columbine tragedy, it was decided that the Gothic lifestyle was to blame for the incident. The people who believed in the Gothic lifestyle were seen as dangerous and unstable. In Roswell it is believed that aliens are bad, and can never be good. The is why even though Max used his powers to save someone else, the Sheriff is set on catching him because in his eyes Max is abnormal, which means he is dangerous, which means he must be stopped.
Roswell and teen culture
The Show Roswell gives us insight into the world of teens. Since the show aired close to the Columbine shooting, it also helps us understand how and why things like that happen. As I watched Roswell, I noticed some key similarities that might have arose in relation to Columbine as well as insight into why it occurred. In relation to what was being said in the News about why and how Columbine happened, Roswell shows us the truth. Roswell shows us the teen relationship between one another as well as teen to adult relation. I observed through Roswell, how some teens can be painted socially awkward because of their actions and lifestyles.
The three main characters in Roswell coincide to how some might be perceived in a real HS setting. They have their own group and beliefs, they embrace their status and are totally different from everyone. Throughout the show, I also noticed similarities among teen culture that were culturally symbolic of that generation. The car, for example, was noticeably standing out which told us about how they are viewed.The music is also related to what teens would have listened to and still may. Given the situation in Roswell, Max was labeled odd and an outcast, so he was a target for the sheriff because of his actions, representation and the way the mass viewed him.
In relation to what happened in Roswell, before and after the shooting, we can see how it relates to Columbine. Schools had tighter security after shooting and the media targeted certain people. The adults both changed the way they observed their teens trying to pin point the cause to their behavior. We can also see how the chemistry among friends also changed and sense a distrust among one another, just like in the community in Columbine. Besides the fact that the show Roswell is known for its UFO landing, it relates to Columbine in the sense that its a small community and that if something like that can happen their it can happen anywhere. Another interesting thing about the show in relation to Columbine is that the characters are alienated in a world within teen culture. This reinforces the perception of how teens feel within their setting. An example for this is seen when the three aliens are watching the fake UFO crash land at the end of the episode.
The three main characters in Roswell coincide to how some might be perceived in a real HS setting. They have their own group and beliefs, they embrace their status and are totally different from everyone. Throughout the show, I also noticed similarities among teen culture that were culturally symbolic of that generation. The car, for example, was noticeably standing out which told us about how they are viewed.The music is also related to what teens would have listened to and still may. Given the situation in Roswell, Max was labeled odd and an outcast, so he was a target for the sheriff because of his actions, representation and the way the mass viewed him.
In relation to what happened in Roswell, before and after the shooting, we can see how it relates to Columbine. Schools had tighter security after shooting and the media targeted certain people. The adults both changed the way they observed their teens trying to pin point the cause to their behavior. We can also see how the chemistry among friends also changed and sense a distrust among one another, just like in the community in Columbine. Besides the fact that the show Roswell is known for its UFO landing, it relates to Columbine in the sense that its a small community and that if something like that can happen their it can happen anywhere. Another interesting thing about the show in relation to Columbine is that the characters are alienated in a world within teen culture. This reinforces the perception of how teens feel within their setting. An example for this is seen when the three aliens are watching the fake UFO crash land at the end of the episode.
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