"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 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.      

Aliens in Roswell

The show Roswell was very interesting to me even though it was my first time watching it. I don't like to sound racist but it kind of made me feel as though the show was putting an interesting twist on the way illegal immigrants are viewed or as they are often called illegal aliens. The characters were from a different place but struggled to not stand out, they tried to act as normal as the other kids but yet they were different and alienated (even if by choice). Much like illegal immigrants they stayed to themselves to conceal their differences and fear of being treated unfairly because of the differences.

What was interesting to me is the relationship between the sheriff and the aliens. After the incident where one of the aliens Max saves a girl the sheriff becomes very suspicious and sort of obsessive. The show doesn't really show much of a relationship or trust issue with any other adults except him. The Sheriff's suspicions rise when there was a shooting and one of the teens who people witnessed being shot was risen from near death with no wounds at all. Being that this show was one of the first teen dramas to air after the Columbine shooting I don't see any out of the ordinary monitoring that you would suspect should happen. I could see how someone could tie the connection with the kids being different and socially outcast, as were the Columbine shooters. The argument that I am making here is that the monitoring to me was very understated because the teens were suspected of doing something and it was not just the Sheriff monitoring them for their differences.

Roswell does a decent job of showing the teens relationship with the aliens. Liz the one who was saved has known Max the one who saves her for years but the way the story goes never really made any contact. I like how the show has the character show interest in the alien who is so different even after knowing that was the case. There was even a point where he told her this can never work because we are different. I think the show does a good job of showing that differences don't mean that you can not intermingle with others and can even be friends or more.

Roswell- Adult vs Teen Relationship

It seems that adults and kids have a trust issue when it came to the characters in Roswell. Ever since the Columbine scenario in 1999, adults had started to decrease their trust in teenagers. When the 1999 Columbine scenario occurred, the nation became aware of their surroundings; every little move that a person does can become very suspicious (in that person's perspective). Trust has decreased dramatically and suspicion was on the rise. Even today, gun violence by teen/young adult has increased dramatically in the United States. Schools, a place that should be safe, along with other locations, can no longer provide the safety that it use to, to people everywhere.

In Roswell, we can see a shooting occurred at a restaurant. After a teen, Max, saves Liz's life, the town become suspicious of the scenario; what occurred? how was Liz saved? who is telling the truth etc. We can see that even though Liz tries to cover up what really occurred, adults try to reveal the truth. The police doesn't believe our protagonist. The adult to adult relationship was good if it had to do with solving the cafe case otherwise, the policeman was being questioned because he believed in aliens.

The teen to teen relationship is based on the group of people.The aliens all have a secret bond that they must keep secret. They understand each other because they are different from every other human on the planet. They also feel pain because every year, a celebration of an alien crash is celebrated in the town. The relationship between Liz and her friend was questioned through out the episode. Her friend, Maria, saw her get shot while Liz told the police that a glass bottle of ketchup broke on her. Maria was feeling distant when her friend didn't tell her the truth and she threatened Liz that she was going to report her to the police if the truth wasn't revealed. Eventually, Max's friends (the aliens) and the girls had to quickly trust each other and work together to get the policeman off their back (from the investigation).

Roswell & Pop Culture Music 1999

 Here With Me - Dido

As I was writing my first blog on Roswell I was watching the rest of the episodes to see what I learned. While there are literal aliens, we do not see the "outsiders," the type that is portrayed by media as not normal. Other than the visitors at in episode one, we do not see males wearing all black, or with long hair, lipstick or nail polish. As the series progresses, we also do not listen to any hardrock/metallica but we do see snippets of the pop culture within the show. 

To begin the theme song for Roswell  (above) is "Here We Go "by Dido. The same time this series debuted, this singer-songwriter Dido was at the peak of her career.

Dido attained international success with her debut album No Angel (1999). The album sold over 21 million copies worldwide,^[3] and won several awards; including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act, two NRJ Awards for Best New Act and Best Album, and two Brit Awards for Best British Female and Best Album.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_(singer))

We also see the relationship between television and the push it gives to music artist as we’ve read before:

Through touring, both before and after the album was available, Dido's music began to receive more exposure. The first official single chosen by Dido and her label, "Here with Me", initially struggled to make an impact on radio, but while the label were considering switching to an alternative track, the song made a breakthrough as a result of its use in television program Roswell.^[17] The song was used as the theme music of the show, but it was actually when it was played in its entirety during the season finale that it really made an impact with audiences. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_(singer))

In episode 3, the show starts with the song "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera which was also part of her self-titled  album released on 1999. The Roswell tv series tried to keep close to pop culture. 

Roswell TV Series: The Relationship of Adults and Teens After the Columbine Shooting

Roswell is an American TV series that debuted after the shooting in Columbine that shows the struggle of teen aliens against adults. If you wonder why is the show called Roswell, on an interesting note it is because there was an allegedly UFO crash in a ranch in Roswell on 1945. Thus, the name only seems appropriate. From a sociological/psychological point of view such events as shooting has certain effects on a community, society, even nation.

The Columbine Shooting on April 20, 1999 had a huge impact on not just their town, but nationwide. Schools, and other places have become so much more aware of their surroundings and how to go about things. It took a huge toll on how strong a community can really be, and powerful trust can stand. It tested how unexpected anything can be, and how to handle the worst of situations. (http://columbineproject.blogspot.com/p/impact.html)

The trust once people had on its community, on the security of its community, is questioned, and people – to be more specific adults- become untrusting and suspicious of everything and everyone. But based on the happenings, the mistrust is not directed to just anyone but specifically to teens. Furthermore, teens have the fame of being described as hormonally unstable and to adults unpredictable. Thus, it is safe to say that the relationship between teens and adult authoritative figures has been disturbed and this is shown in Roswell.

In Roswell we see the tension that has developed between these two groups. We see the suspicion that adults have to all and any action of a teen. In addition we also see the fear of teens to adults. When the cop walks into the restaurant Maria’a expresses fear. It’s almost as if the cop/authoritative figures intimidate instead of creating a sense of security.

Interestingly enough it takes a shooting to start the erratic behavior in Roswell. The shooting might represent the actual Columbine shooting. Thus, the series can reflect the behavior of the community. 

Listening to "Teen Music Choice" on TV

Today I was vacuuming the house for my mom and I was flipping through the MC channels (MC=music choice) for some good music to jam to. Through my channel surfing, I saw "teen MC" and thought it would be interesting to listen to what people may consider "teen music." After an hour's worth of listening, I have come to the conclusion that there isn't a large difference between the music listened to on our popular radio stations and the ones that were being played on the "teen" station. There are only two differences:

The first difference was that the "teen" channel would play more girl/boy bands one in a while. Other than that, I still heard the popular music artists like Jason Derulo that adult audiences rave about with the younger audiences.
The second difference was the music on the "teen" music channel had the censored versions of the music played. On the radio, I usually here less censorship but on this channel, there were more "clean-cut" versions. Other than these two small differences, I still wonder why this channel would be considered more "teen" than the other "pop" MC channels.

Is it because of the occasional girl/boy bands?

But adult audiences listen to Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez even when they were still in their teens. Does that make their music "teen music" or just "pop music" because their audiences are more vast because of the adults listeners?

What are your thoughts?