voice of the voiceless
10th June 2005, 23:39
I would like to discuss the effects fashion has on the majortiy of (young) people.
Also how fashion is emphasised and broadcast through a wide range of parts of the media such as celebrity cult, tabloid press etc etc.
Firstly i am surrounded daily by people whose fashion, and whose models of fashion, their celebrity icons, their romantic films, their actors, dictate their lives in almost every sense of their personality.
A while back, their was no such thing as a "teenager" this was infact invented by industries which harnessed the youth rebellion during the 60's and 70's, and turned it into fashion dictated groups, followed by those who believed the industries were on their side.
Fashion destroys individuality even though those who follow it claim it emphasises their individuallity. Thinking that what you consume makes you individual is a very sad state to be in. I believe when you are born, you are your "true self". By this i mean untainted by the opressive opinions, and actions of those opinions, of others. Before consumerist society developed to its extent now, your personality was influenced mainly by family, close friends and local area. What fashion, celebrity cult and the media do it profoundly change the values of the youth into that of self satisfaction, selfishness, and self obsessed vanity. It does, infact, exploit the basic impulses of humanity for unethical profit. This subdues the youth and makes many people uninterested in anything bar the things they consume, their parties, whose dating who, and obsession with their fake role models usually celebrities etc.
Community spirit, local relations, are destroyed by the mass media in the fashion sense. From a very young age young girls want to become "grown up" and independent. This is the sad affect fashion has on them. Everyones values and interests are becoming inceasingly similar, and what often happens is when an individual becomes frustrated with the similarity of those who follow fashion, they decide to join a "rebellious" fashion dictated group. E.g goths. This is extreme manipulation, they are still firmly harnessed by the thought that clothing affects individuality. This usually happens in younger years when we seek reasurance and acceptance, of course belonging to a group can be comforting but i am concerned by how innocent, young children are being manipulated by forces which seek to advertise the idea of immediate satisfaction of any desire; resulting often in lack of effort and hard work or dedication to achieve anything. The thing i find utterly disgusting is how those deamed "ugly" by society are treated, the fashion industry only acts to divide people more, and create a society so based on images that people look beyond nothing but what it presented to them, through adverts for example. This dependence has led to the mainstream parties being marketted like products, a sad reflection on many peoples psychology!
Those deamed "ugly" are tortured with self hate, depression, things like annorexia, they are pushed to the brink of suicide by such a mass of shallow fashion-obsessed people who treat them with no worth other than what profiteering companies have taught young people to judge each other by. I find this disturbing. Adverts on television advertise things like spot-cream, further torturing those who are deamed "ugly" and trapping them in a world where they increasingly believe they have no value. Teenagers being depressed isnt normal, as many may think, there is a reason! people who are at the hardest stage of their life are forced into such conflict!
I used to be very depressed when i was younger, i wanted people to be who they were meant to be, i wanted to be interested in their interests, to be normal and basically happy; but all i saw was such a monsterous uncaring youth emerging.
Of course now i have escaped this, but it took time and inner battle, and now i realise the truth behind the way fashion makes people act.
Hope is rapidly being destroyed.
this is sick and must stop. Please tell me others feel the same way??!!!
Also how fashion is emphasised and broadcast through a wide range of parts of the media such as celebrity cult, tabloid press etc etc.
Firstly i am surrounded daily by people whose fashion, and whose models of fashion, their celebrity icons, their romantic films, their actors, dictate their lives in almost every sense of their personality.
A while back, their was no such thing as a "teenager" this was infact invented by industries which harnessed the youth rebellion during the 60's and 70's, and turned it into fashion dictated groups, followed by those who believed the industries were on their side.
Fashion destroys individuality even though those who follow it claim it emphasises their individuallity. Thinking that what you consume makes you individual is a very sad state to be in. I believe when you are born, you are your "true self". By this i mean untainted by the opressive opinions, and actions of those opinions, of others. Before consumerist society developed to its extent now, your personality was influenced mainly by family, close friends and local area. What fashion, celebrity cult and the media do it profoundly change the values of the youth into that of self satisfaction, selfishness, and self obsessed vanity. It does, infact, exploit the basic impulses of humanity for unethical profit. This subdues the youth and makes many people uninterested in anything bar the things they consume, their parties, whose dating who, and obsession with their fake role models usually celebrities etc.
Community spirit, local relations, are destroyed by the mass media in the fashion sense. From a very young age young girls want to become "grown up" and independent. This is the sad affect fashion has on them. Everyones values and interests are becoming inceasingly similar, and what often happens is when an individual becomes frustrated with the similarity of those who follow fashion, they decide to join a "rebellious" fashion dictated group. E.g goths. This is extreme manipulation, they are still firmly harnessed by the thought that clothing affects individuality. This usually happens in younger years when we seek reasurance and acceptance, of course belonging to a group can be comforting but i am concerned by how innocent, young children are being manipulated by forces which seek to advertise the idea of immediate satisfaction of any desire; resulting often in lack of effort and hard work or dedication to achieve anything. The thing i find utterly disgusting is how those deamed "ugly" by society are treated, the fashion industry only acts to divide people more, and create a society so based on images that people look beyond nothing but what it presented to them, through adverts for example. This dependence has led to the mainstream parties being marketted like products, a sad reflection on many peoples psychology!
Those deamed "ugly" are tortured with self hate, depression, things like annorexia, they are pushed to the brink of suicide by such a mass of shallow fashion-obsessed people who treat them with no worth other than what profiteering companies have taught young people to judge each other by. I find this disturbing. Adverts on television advertise things like spot-cream, further torturing those who are deamed "ugly" and trapping them in a world where they increasingly believe they have no value. Teenagers being depressed isnt normal, as many may think, there is a reason! people who are at the hardest stage of their life are forced into such conflict!
I used to be very depressed when i was younger, i wanted people to be who they were meant to be, i wanted to be interested in their interests, to be normal and basically happy; but all i saw was such a monsterous uncaring youth emerging.
Of course now i have escaped this, but it took time and inner battle, and now i realise the truth behind the way fashion makes people act.
Hope is rapidly being destroyed.
this is sick and must stop. Please tell me others feel the same way??!!!