Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Missing Something

Rolling around Vice Magazine's website today, I watched an interesting episode of their online video-blog (I guess) that they call Vice TV, or something like that.

It's usually an excellent blog, as well as an excellent website. I find that their politics often don't mesh very well with my own, but on the whole, the people at Vice are able to steer away from any direct political criticism and are clear to point out that the opinions are those of the writers and not so much of the entire magazine. That, and their wicked sense of humour and political incorrectness, saves them from my otherwise harsh criteria and oh-so-openminded Conservative demeanour.

I kid. But back to my point, this certain video-blog entry features an interview with a no-name model and a semi-name photographer who goes by Richard Kern. (Before you click, I'll warn you that the video does contain a fair amount of frontal nudity by the model, although I don't imagine anybody is going to find bare breasts shocking at this day and age.)

The model goes on to briefly describe her life before modelling, coming from Sarasota Springs, and subsequently being freed of the "repressiveness" of said hometown. I wonder: how is it possible for so many young people of today to feel to constantly repressed? This young woman details her trips to India to study meditation with a Swami, and the crowds she fell in and out of, most of which involved some kind of seedy scene or illegal drug use.

And then she mimicks her mother's hysterical shrieking, who wonders why her daughter isn't on the cover of Vogue rather than modelling nude for a strange, somewhat ingratiating middle-aged photographer. Hell, is it that bad that your mother would want something for you a little better than what you're currently doing? I'm not saying a parent shouldn't be respectful, to a degree, of her child's decisions, but to say that you experienced repression growing up in a mid-west US town and that you had to "escape" your parents by going to India...

...grow up. I'm sure India is a wonderful place, but the youth of today seem to think that any place other than here is so much better. You are not repressed, ok? You are dissatisfied, but show me a teen who hasn't experienced dissatisfaction at some point. The only difference is, some people are intelligent enough to stick it out instead of becoming a permanent Lost Boy. Your own sense of personal responsibility comes from enduring a tough situation and making it better, not changing the scene if it ain't your bag, man.

Don't abuse a foreign culture as a solution to your teenaged angst; don't adopt a new religion or philosophy at the drop of a hat simply because your parents have never heard of it. It's insulting not only to that group of people who practice is legitimately, but also to your own identity, which deserves to be hard-won and not changed like a pair of underwear.

Post-Script: To see all of ViceMag online, click here. I highly recommend the Dos and Don'ts page, which can be found at the top of the homepage.

1 comment:

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