I cringe when my lovelorn friends scream at the sight of Justin Bieber on TV. I grimace when they excitedly make plans to watch the latest fantasy movie in the cinema. I ball my fists in rage when they question my sanity for not swooning over teenie boppers. Don’t accuse me of being overemotional; the woes of being a teenage misfit are plenty. I am just convinced that I am from an older era of good music and tasteful movies and a time machine constructed by an evil scientist has unfortunately transported me to the land of Miley Cyrus lovers and never-ending vampire sagas.
Whenever I ask people about their favourite singer/band, one out of five people will name of one of the oldies — The Beatles or the Rolling Stones — whom I admire so much. But the remaining will say Cody Simpson or Emily Osment, thus forcing me to think that they don’t actually know what real music sounds like.
In today’s age, John Lennon has been replaced by Justin Bieber and Barbara Streisand by Hillary Duff. And in my opinion, all of these new pop artists have utterly failed to produce good music. And if their weak song writing, auto-tuned voices and atrocious melodies weren’t bad enough, their short skirts, tattoos and recurrent stints at the rehab center have overshadowed any talent they possessed. Miley Cyrus is more (in)famous for her controversial photos clicked at various parties than for her songs and Justin Bieber’s tattoos and earrings make more headlines than his squeaky vocals.
I wonder why all of them eventually tread Lindsay Lohan’s path of drugs and prison. For example, Demi Lovato had a decent start in Camp Rock in 2008 and her new television series “Sonny With A Chance”. But this year, she too has fallen victim to excesses of partying and drugs.
And while substandard music blaring in every shop and restaurant is annoying, the popular movies of today’s era take the cake for poor taste and lack of originality. Gone is the era when vampire movies featured fearsome creatures like Nosferatu and Dracula. But the so-called horror movies are not creepy anymore. The glut of “trendy” films featuring Vampires and Werewolves these days in fact just seem like recycled copies of other hit fantasy films. For example, Jacob Black, one of the characters in Twilight, rides a motorcycle and can transform into a wolf. How original; this is clearly a cheap mimicry of the character Sirius Black in Harry Potter, who also has a canine alterego.
It is also aggravating how members of the Cullen family in the Twilight saga just fit in human society, when they should actually be sticking out like sore thumbs. How is it possible that they have gone to the same high school a million times without being noticed by anyone?
Still, if you ask someone who their favorite actor is, one out of five people will say Robert De Niro or Al Pacino. Yet the others will say Taylor Lautner or Chase Crawford. It is sad how many talented singers/bands and actors have been forgotten. I just wish for the day when teenagers will appreciate songs like John Lennon’s “Imagine” and sway to the tunes of “Grease.” I long for the day when people will have the opportunity to appreciate quality pop culture.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2011.
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