ammonius

an amazing PBS documentary called "Merchants of Cool" was put out by
PBS Frontline a few years ago, it was composed by Douglas Rushkoff, (an
amazing author), and is viewable on-line at:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/

I highly recommend it to everyone on this list who hasn't seen it,
especially to parents, young people and educators/activists that are
here. Rushkoff's work in general has been a great inspiration on me in
taking my most recent, and dramatic academic turn. (www.rushkoff.com)

In any case, a teacher in Utah has been suspended for showing this
documentary to her 8th grade class (perhaps the age that should see it
the most)! No doubt, simply because a few students told their parents
that they heard a few naughty words on a video that the teacher showed
in class. Now "Merchant's of Cool" isn't about a bunch of
inappropriate material, it is documentary about how the youth market is
fed back to the youth market. It quite effectively
demonstrates/outlines how the media attempts to manipulate youth, in
this way it in part arms young people with critical skills to become
better able to navigate the increasingly dense media-space that we live
in. The only group of people that I think would not want kids to watch
this film are marketers themselves (MTV in particular).

Here is the link to the Story in the Sandy Utah News:

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_127131818.html

Ok, now, I have proposed to Rushkoff, and some of us that are on his
list (mediasquatters), that we produce a statement for the local
news/school board. I think Doug should try and appear on the local
news in support of this teacher, and perhaps try to get the local PBS
to show the film again.

In any case take care,