Music and film each have so much to offer in terms of lyrics and dialogue, artists and actors, and genres. Yet it seems that most content for youth, or rather the content that is popular among youth, is pretty cookie-cutter.
With music, it is usually pop music pretending to be a little hip-hop by an extremely attractive artists who sings about his/her crazy yet enviable love life.
The results from the 2014 Teen Choice Awards seem to provide clear proof of this. The female artist winner was Ariana Grande, beating out Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift. Ed Sheeran topped Jason Derulo, Pharrell Williams, Pitbull, Austin Mahone, and Justin Timberlake for the male artist of the year.
http://press.atlanticrecords.com/ed-sheeran/
Tweens and teens, like the majority of music audiences, are attracted to artists who fit the standard. Sheeran may be the one and only exception, with his unruly red hair, funky tattoo arm sleeves, ginger scruffy beard, pale skin, and lack of a six pack. Just look at who he was pitted against – all attractive, sexualized, romantic, mysterious, likeable dudes. And then look at the insanity of One Direction, who won for best group, best group single and best break-up song with “Story of My Life,” best love song with “You & I,” and best summer tour. 5 Seconds of Summer is another typical breakout boy band that is providing some competition to 1D.
http://www.ryanseacrest.com/2014/04/28/listen-to-ariana-grandes-problem-featuring-iggy-azalea/
Female artists are arguably even more attractive, sexualized, and romantic than their male counterparts. Each of the six females up for the top award seem flawlessly beautiful with hair, makeup, and body figures that place an unrealistic ideal upon their fans and listeners.
KIDZ BOP is an extremely interesting facet of the kid-targeted music industry to analyze. Since 2001, they have released albums featuring kids performing popular songs with surprising success, and the 28th album is set to drop later this month. The cool quality of KIDZ BOP is their commitment to making these contemporary songs more kid-friendly by editing out cursing or dirty lyrics about sex, drugs, etc. For example, here’s how they changed Bruno Mars’ “It Will Rain”…
BRUNO: Leave some morphine at my door / Cause it would take a whole lot of medication…There’s no religion that could save me
KIDZ BOP: Leave our memories at my door / Cause it would take a whole lot of remembering…There’s no decision that could save me
http://kicks105.com/events-lufkin/kidz-bop-concert-in-nacogdoches-at-the-hotel-fredonia-on-september-7/07-september-2013-hotel-fredonia/
Sometimes it’s quite a stretch though, and I don’t think that anyone past age 10 would willingly listen to KIDZ BOP instead of the real thing. Also, some songs were never made for kids. Take Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” or Macklemore’s “Thriftshop.” KIDZ BOP may be trying too hard by making this a kid-accessible territory when it just shouldn’t be. And plus, look how “perfect” and stylish these teeny-boppers also look…is it always about the image?
Analyses of films are different because target audiences seem to be more narrowed. For example, The SpongeBob Movie is obviously kid-friendly though it still perpetuates the coolness of certain behaviors and attitudes, like the female bikini body or the male muscular ideal. These messages are present in content for older kids too, like Into the Woods, Jupiter Ascending, and The Duff which tend to show people as objects, have beautiful actors who are often too physically mature for their supposed character, have crude language, show violence as normative, and glorify drinking/partying. (I wish I had room to write an entire analysis on just The Duff alone!)
http://www.cultofmac.com/298143/jupiter-ascending-trailer-sci-fi-can-handle/
That’s where Common Sense Media can don its superhero costume and come to the rescue! They have suggestions and informative reviews for parents on music and films that are age-appropriate and still popular. My favorite music section (which needs a lot more improvement though) was for best teen or tween music with a message, which included Arcade Fire’s Reflektor (recommended age 12) and Lorde’s Pure Heroine (age 13). Another great tab is for new kids’ movies, which included McFarland, USA (age 10), The SpongeBob Movie (age 6), and The Duff (age 13).
This issue spans the entire music and film industry, not just the songs or videos created for youth. Because these are usually so universal and applicable to all ages, it’s hard to even pinpoint target audiences sometimes. But artists, actors, and producers need to be aware that kids will be exposed to these messages and depictions that can have negative impacts on young viewers’ behaviors and attitudes, including aggression, violence, risk-taking (like sex or drugs), prejudice, gender norms, self-esteem, and body image.