Merchants of Cool

Discussion Questions

1. "The paradox of "cool hunting" is that it kills what it finds."

-Douglas Rushkoff

What are the implications of cool hunting for the development of new ideas, new music, new art forms, etc.?

2. "The MTV machine doesn't listen to the young so it can make the young happieräThe MTV machine tunes in so it can figure out how to pitch what Viacom has to sell."

- Mark Crispin Miller

Are marketers concerned with the well-being of the consumer? Do they answer to consumers? If not, who do they answer to? Is marketing to teens different from marketing to adults?

3. "The Merchants of Cool" argues that advertising has changed from sponsoring culture to becoming culture (e.g., Sprite sponsoring a concert as opposed to Sprite becoming a component of hip hop culture). What's the difference? What happens to culture when its purpose is sales rather than expression?

4. Is the "mook" (the stereotypically crude, adolescent male) real, or just a media construction? How about the "midriff" (the girl as sex symbol)? Do you know any "mooks" or "midriffs"? Do you think you or your friends are influenced by the MTV standard of "cool"? If so, how? Are there ways to be "cool" without copying media? How do the "mook" and "midriff" stereotypes relate to the corporate interests of the media outlets that perpetuate them (in other words, why these particular stereotypes and not some other stereotype)?

*What role does Facebook play today as it relates to Merchants of Cool?

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