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?

Humans & Aliens of Roswell: the representation of relationships between teenagers & adults post-columbine

As said in Murray Forman's essay Freaks, Aliens, and the Social Order: Representations of Student Stratification in the U.S. Television's First Post-Columbine Season, post-Columbine television shows focused more on alienation, school harassment, violence, and social stigmatization of teen life. In the teen television series, Roswell, the representation of teenage life and the rocky relationships between teens and adults where the socially awkward teenagers are under the watchful eye of adults who deem these alienated teens as threatening and untrustworthy. These are illustrated by the main characters Liz Parker, Isabel Evans, Max Evans, and Michael Guerin.

In the pilot episode,  Liz is accidentally shot as a result of a violent confrontation between two anonymous men at her space alien themed restaurant. Max Evans, the young 'man' Maria DeLuca (Liz's best friend) told Liz was watching her from his booth, comes to Liz's rescue and saves her from the brink of death by using his secret alien powers. As the pilot progresses, Max confesses to Liz that Michael, Isabel, and himself are aliens and the adult authority figures, specifically Sherif Valenti, loom over the three and harass them at every turn. Max's alienness is an accurate representation of the socially awkward teen who is untrusted in the eyes of their adult peers and is consistently monitored and questioned instead of being understood and left alone. As said in Forman's essay, characters like Max and his two companions are the "others" -- the "freaks" -- which the common population feel the need to continuously watch. This explains why, before the shooting incident, Liz was originally out of the watchful eye of the authority figures until after Max saves her life. After the incident, the adults' focus on the three teens extended itself to Liz by simple association. This unhealthy relationship between the adult and teen peers is successfully represented in the adult population's anxiety and distrust towards the teen population. This is also paralleled in real life where the adults were fearful of their teenagers after the Columbine shooting. Furthermore, Sherif Valenti is seen consistently trying to catch Max and the others "in the act." His obsession with accusing the socially displaced youths in town is even critiqued by his fellow adult peers, showing that not all adults are the problem except for the troubled few who are still haunted by the past.

In terms of teen relationship between one another, there is a continuation of distrust and confrontation between teenagers. The anxieties and distrust the adults projected on the teenage population transfers from one teen to another, and then the teens transfer those negativities back to the adults, thus creating an unhealthy circle of accusation and speculation. This continuation of distrust only stops when the 'other' of the teen cliche proves themselves. Afterwards, there is mutual trust that even their adult peers cannot break. Examples of this are seen when Liz openly confronts Max for answers of the shooting and what he actually is. Only when Max continuously proves himself to her (ex. through reverse connection), she trusts him and vise versa. Moreoever, when Maria continuously confronts Liz about what took place during the shooting, she begins to distrust Liz through Liz's abnormal behavior and silence towards her, especially Liz's new association with the alienated Isabel. By being associated with Isabel, Liz is now seen as untrustworthy to Maria until she proves herself again. Maria even threatens to blackmail Liz in order to get the information that she wants. The last example is seen when Michael challenges Liz in the alleyway after Liz and Maria chase him, Max, and Isabel by car to stop them from leaving Roswell. Michael doesn't trust Liz and Maria because they aren't alien, and are considered too 'normal' (making them too dangerous) to be trusted. In this sense, Liz and Maria are alienated by the aliens by being associated with the Sherif (dating his son) and by being human. This can be further seen in the real world where the "freaks" and other victims of social abuse feel unsafe around the "normal" people because the "normal" people are the first to turn on them and make their friendship a spectacle. Only when Liz and Maria plan to create a diversion to get the Sherif off the trio's trail is when Michael and Isabel truly trust Liz and Maria (Max already trusted them).

With this said, by simple association with alienated teenagers, an individual can be seen as a freak and be given the same treatment by their peers. This may be why there are countless reports of bullying occurring in our school and having onlookers rather record the assault than stepping in personally and stopping the attack. Furthermore, this could be the reason why people turn a callous eye to bullying yet wonder why teenagers are finally snapping over the constant trials of abuse from their peers. This is seen through the interactions of the main characters in Roswell with their adult peers who create this chain of distrust and anxiety, like Sherif Valenti. And lastly, this could be the reason of the phrase "better you than me" instead of Martin Niemöller's poem "First They Came For The Socialists..." where the last line critiques the apathy of the general population by stating: "Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me." 

Alien is the New Outsider

The show Roswell had a very interesting twist to it that was new to television at the time. It is also very interesting that it was one of the first “high school” series to air after the Columbine shooting. In a way, the teens that are “aliens” are representative of the outsiders in high school, so I think that it is interesting how they made them actual aliens rather than just “the outsiders.” They are viewed as strange until Liz discovers that Max saved her life, and slowly starts to see why he is the way that he is. It reminds me of how someone seen as an “outsider” in high school may be looked at in one way, until someone see’s that person for who they truly are rather than judging on the outside. However, most of the time that takes a tragedy to see the good in someone, which is not the way that high school should be.

One specific thing Professor Fuqua told us to look out for while watching was the relationship between the adults and teens, and the way that they are monitored. It seems to be a small town, so everyone knows the town history and every individual’s story in the town. When someone new to the town breaks that comfortable way of life, they are watched over in a different way than everyone else. For example, the sheriff pulled Max over for no reason on the highway, while Liz sneaking Max into the restaurant at night goes unnoticed. The sheriff also obtains Liz’s backpack that was in her room, which makes it clear that Kyle went through her room and took it out. There is a certain invasion of privacy when it comes to someone disrupting the “normal” way of life that everyone seems to be used to.

After watching Hemlock Grove on Netflix, I couldn’t help but find many parallels between the two shows. Even though this show aired a year ago, it still has many similarities to the “small-town” feel in Roswell. However, there is an entire secrecy behind the history of the “new gypsy boy” Peter, and his relationship with Roman that is only begun to unfold. Max in Roswell is capable of recovering a bullet through a human's chest like it never happened, and we think that Peter in Hemlock Grove is capable of eating the guts out of a human being. The past that Max’s family has left behind in their small town is something the siblings are also just beginning to figure out. The adults in both of these shows seem to have more secrets than the characters in high school, and in a way it is up to the teenagers to dig up these secrets of the past. "Alien" or an "alien-like" character seems to be the new representation of an "outsider" in teenage drama.