Learning Through Photographs

Fast Forward: Growing Up In The Shadow of Hollywood by Lauren Greenfield explores youth America in Los Angeles. Greenfield’s work goes beyond the outward appearance of teens and divulges into the influences that shape their lives. Her work offers us a dose of reality of life in Los Angeles. While celebrating her own journey as a young teen growing up in Los Angeles, California she returns to her hometown several years later to solve some of the mysteries behind teens today. Like a detective, she interviewed teens of a variety of ages, cultures and economic status. However, one recurrent theme appeared throughout her work, a thread that unites teenage America was “the early loss of innocence” (Greenfield, 1). Greenfield remarks, “[growing up] in L.A. it seems like everyone is in a rush to be an adult. It’s not cool to be a kid” (Greenfield, 1).

Who determines who we are and who we will become? Greenfield’s field studies proved that the glitzy, glamour and garb of the Hollywood lights shines brighter than a child’s own quest for individuality. This time in a child’s life is supposed to be that of growth a shedding of skin, experiences that build character, personality and individuality. Why would we all want to be the same? Greenfield discovered that youth culture today is heavily shaped by the media. Images of Hollywood stars are recreated by that of the youth she photographs. One group of young men felt that he should wave a hundred dollar bill to demonstrate money, power and respect to personify what “growing up in L.A.[ is really like]” (Greenfield, 1).

Greenfield allows us to read these pictures as we would an essay “[demonstrating] the relationship between Hollywood and the teens growing up in its shadow epitomizes the modern dialect between kids and media” (Greenfield, 1). She wants us to help these teens and teens everywhere separate “the reality from fantasy” (Greenfield, 1). Each of her photographs tells the viewer a story about the youth and “[forming] their identities” (Greenfield, 3). Greenfield’s message is that teen’s today want to skip their youth in order to fulfill a fallacy of being. She states, “Whether it is the desire to be an adult when one is a child, to be gangster when one is privileged, to be famous when one is unknown, or to look like a model when one does not, young people are preoccupied with becoming other than they are” (Greenfield, 3). The environment of L.A. has done the youth an injustice and “bequeathed the quest for the dream to her children” (Greenfield, 3). In the end the children miss out on being, developing for themselves a dark path that “[costs] them their innocence” (Greenfield, 3).

Like Greenfield I attended a school where not ‘keeping up with the Jones’ could cost you your popularity. There were times where I felt I straddled both sides. What I mean is being “cool” or “un-cool.” Unfortunately, at times I was considered “the student government dork” but at other times considered “cool” when the popular girls wanted to get out of detention they knew who to come to. This flip- flop of subcultures really allowed me to step back to evaluate who I was and what I wanted to become. I made friends with a small group of students from all grades and background. This best demonstrates my beliefs about myself at the time. I wanted to learn from a wide variety of people, not just the ‘popular kids.’ With that being said, I look at pictures of my own youth and the youth today by artists like Greenfield as well as young artists like Larry Clark that know and see a developing pattern. There is a trend of more promiscuous imagery and a more open development of sexuality. Not only is there a certain fashion trend displayed by the youth culture but also a catchy look, style and even behavior that is transparent in each picture. Websites like ‘Facebook’ and ‘Myspace’ are art forms unto themselves. Profiles and pictures give away a piece of who we are and sadly in many cases who we are not! A sultry pout, hand on hip, sexual stature and even chest pump seem to grace many pictures. What is this telling us?

Growing up today is harder than ever. Many teens appear to crack under the pressures of the spotlight to become the ‘very best they can be.’ While other teens face the majority and believe that if they will just be themselves that is the best gift they can give to the world around them and most importantly to themselves. Greenfield like many authors and artists like Larry Clark are exploring youth America through photographs. Each author of tells us a story about fighting youth America.

Like Greenfield photographer, journalist, and author Larry Clark
http://www.pavementmagazine.com/larryclark.html chose to make the body of his work reflect that of his teen years and issues concerning youth America. He states on his website, "I wanted to present the way kids see things, but without all this baggage...You know...they're living in the moment not thinking about anything beyond that and that's what I wanted to catch. And I wanted the viewer to feel like you're there with them -- you can be there fucking, smoking dope, having sex." He is the author of two major independent films KIDS, and Another Day in Paradise, many art photography books including his most famous Tulsa, Teenage Lust, and The Perfect Childhood.

Tulsa depicts teens and their addition to drugs and sex. Like Greenfield, he spent a great deal of time observing teen-age youth. Tulsa, one of his more famous art collections has photographs of teens shooting up drugs and engaging in sexual activities growing up in Oklahoma. A native of Oklahoma himself, Clark wanted to bring to the surface the reality of teenage youth in American. He uses mediums such as photography, his books and video to capture the sometimes promiscuous and more dangerous activities of teenage youth in America.

Another one of his photography galleries or ‘photo essays’ entitled “The Perfect Childhood” captures the “production and reproduction” of media’s influence on teens (http://www.pavementmagazine.com/larryclark.html). Like Greenfield, Clark believes that the media in all art forms, pictures, magazines, movies even books, negatively heavily influence youth America. Clark believes, "when I was a kid, where they always used older actors to play teenagers. I would be with my friends and look up at the screen and say man you don't look like that you look like old grown-ups.” “The Perfect Child” is a gallery of both heavy and eye-catching photos that teach us about adolescence and ‘search for self.’ Some viewers believed his photos were so controversial they could land him in jail. Instead, they sparked some major positive attention.

Clark hits on the very idea that teenagers model their actions and abilities after the media. His artwork can be viewed in places across the United States in the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Guggenheim Museum in New York as well as The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Detectives Greenfield and Clark are just a few artists who have cracked the case of youth America. Like many other sociologists, psychologists, teachers and scientists they have figured out the youth culture today. Their creative ideas and wide variety of work teach us that today being cool isn’t about what you are, but giving up your real self to become the fantasy of what you are not!

Points for future exploration:
1. http://www.pavementmagazine.com/larryclark.html - Larry Clark and his scandalous images personify youth America (sex, drugs and fight to beat the “norm”). His pieces appear to be very heavy.

2. Fast Forward: Growing Up In The Shadow of Hollywood by Lauren Greenfield

3.http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11365677/photo_gallery_teens_of_christian_rock/8 - Photojournalist Stephanie Keith explores youth America. Findings of Christian rock band. This piece goes with our study of subcultures and their influences of growing up as a teen in America.

4. http://www.danah.org/papers/AAAS2006.html- What is myspace? What it means?

5. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/books/review/12wolf.html - Images we learn from published reading material. Example: Teens having sex in dressing room. The author implants an image into youth America. They want to know what it is like? BAD MESSAGES sold on bookshelves today!

6. http://ezinearticles.com/?Youth-of-Today-and-Social-Media&id=947911- Etching out youth America. Good statistics and need to know facts.