top of page
Writer's pictureMarcus Alvarado

The world is changing, it’s an undeniable fact as the culture steps into one of the most unknown domains in human history. And no one is feeling that the most, then the rich Hollywood Caucasian executives, that sit high up in their penthouse offices overlooking the city of angels. With a generation of youth pivoting and re-angling of decades old movements through the avenues of feminism, black lives matter, and the broadening of the LGBT community, it comes to no surprise, that audiences are demanding representation and stories that represent the current culture.


But yet, Hollywood keeps green lighting the same story, where the Caucasian male is the savior, and everyone is his side kick, add lots of explosions to the mix, and in the end, the guy gets the girl. And the out of touch executives that have been running Hollywood since the 50’s, react shocked and surprised when that film doesn’t do well at the box office. And it is because audiences have gotten smarter, and recognize a recycled tale when a trailer is debuted.

We are living in an age, where film and multimedia are cross-pollinating, and the result of this development, is highly involved consumers of film and multimedia. There are more members on Rotten Tomato’s and IMDB, tracking the reviews and development of all the film makers involved in the project, from pre-production to distribution. The internet has allowed consumers to have more power in influencing the films they want to see. So, when, content demands are not being met, people will turn to other avenues and resources.


Streaming Platform Giant, Netflix, utilizes and actively listens to audiences and consumers, and delivers exactly the content audiences are begging for. They are producing boundary breaking content, that not only push the envelope, but push Hollywood into a more diverse culture than it has ever seen. And with the rise of movie ticket prices, audience members are quite literally forcing these old school executives to either wake up, and produce the content that is being demanded by not only consumers, but political groups, woman, disenfranchised, and underrepresented individuals. We are stepping into a land of infinite content. A place and domain where Hollywood executives are beginning to pay more attention to twitter and YouTube reactions and demands.


The people have spoken, and they demand a more inclusive, diverse, and boundary pushing Hollywood. People are saying #timesup, to the misogynistic, borderline racist, and played out and recycled story telling. The roaring 20’s 2.0, should be interesting time and decade for for this new Hollywood movement.

7 views0 comments

Generation Z, most famously known as the mysterious or lost generation. A time where society traded capturing their child’s moments through film and disposable cameras, for a time of capturing their children’s moments through digital and web cameras. Neglecting the tradition of the scrapbook, for the tradition of “The Facebook”. With that phrase alone, already shows the power and influence this generation has truly had on modern society.

As politicians continue to preach they are doing everything for the children, these children are quite literally being under appreciated and underrepresented for their ideas and influence on modern digital society. And the time has once come again, where a youthful generation begins to exit childhood and adolescence, and enters the constant corrupt world and reality of adulthood. With this naturally curious and mystical generation, one can only assume they will be one of the most rebellious generations American society has ever seen, mirroring the rebellious generations of the 1960’s and 90’s. And with the millennial generation already pioneering a natural rebellious tone in pop and political culture, it’s only a matter of time that Gen Z’s will be credited for ideas and ideals that influence policy, and cultural vibration.


This is a generation that has no attachment to the old world of corrupt greed, mass believed propaganda, and the use of half-truths within the realm of politics. This generation has purely grown up as the first generation in the New Millennium and the rise of the future. They are the first generation to mature and grow up with global communication.

At this point in time, the oldest Gen Z will be turning 25 this year, leaving their influence growing in number. Just last year, students involved in of the deadliest school shootings in American history, began a series of marches, “March for our lives” to bring awareness of the growing issues Americans and the youth, are facing, by having NRA funded politicians, make legal policy for the gun corporation, that drives the sales, but as well as the death count in this nation.


Gen Z influencer and survivor of the Parkland shooting, David Hogg, has even organized events where he has gone face to face in front of Senator Mark Rubio, and NRA Spokeswoman, Dana Loesch, and silenced their routine PR speech to appease the older general public. He brought direct attention to a two decades old issue we are still facing in society today.


But Gen Z’s have been at this for a long time, especially when it comes to influencing trends on the internet, or social and technological developments. They were just kids and early teenagers when “Degrassi: Next generation” hit airwaves, being one of the first shows to introduce the new navigation their generation will have to explore with the rise of a new territory, “the net”.


Yes, in a time where landlines would interfere with the AOL, or DSL, internet signal, these kids were indulging themselves with online gaming content, Myspace, and creating blogs for poetry, photography, and music. Then enter text messaging to the mix in the mid 2000s, when these children were hitting puberty, and transitioning into young adulthood. It’s no doubt that big corporations utilized their generation to push and move the culture into a further digital age, the world has never quite really seen outside the scope of Hollywood.


This generation has single handily changed the way the world operates. And they will continue to change the culture of this world, because they truly are the future, and the country truly belongs to the youth, because if this world is now on digital system, it would make sense to hand over the digital world, to a generation who is seeking truth, enlightenment, and mysticism, through the channels and avenues of global communication. The days of wondering when the future will arrive are gone, the future is no longer a distant thought, they are staring at you right in the face, and they are begging to take power, and influence society and reality, into a higher age of critical thinking.

3 views0 comments
Writer's pictureMarcus Alvarado

In a world where citizens are becoming extremely dependent on technology to define every aspect of their day to day life, one can’t help but think if, one day, we will look back at the time where technological developments were coming out of the woodwork like the 80’s cocaine age, and ask ourselves, was it worth it? And that is what Youtuber and now investigative journalist, Shane Dawson, brought to the either of human consciousness.


Shane Dawson has been an internet rebel since the internet truly began. It seems like in this culture, citizens forget to realize the internet is merely 22 years old, in a country that is only 241 years old, that operates in a world that has countries as old as Jesus Christ. We are naturally a youthful thinking nation, and the internet belongs to the youth. Shane Dawson has always been the true pioneer of internet and YouTube culture, with his ability to capture the dark humor everyone was thinking, in a truly dark and scary world.


The millennial and Genz generations, are the only generations that didn’t grow up in the “Summerland” child hood. The propaganda tactic that fooled older generations into believing, that the system of American reality is a beautiful dream of union, instead of the nightmare reality of a nation that is quite rigged against the common welfare of we the people. This generation grew up in the land of Pedophiles, adultery, mainstream porn stars, 9/11, pollution, opioid addiction, extreme police brutality, corporation corruption, political corruption, sextape socialites, Jerry springer, reality TV, and school shootings. So, while older generations may have all dealt with those realities as well, but, not in the vast mainstream number as the Millennial and Gen Z generation. Because they grew up under the scope of instant access to global information. A key component to Shane Dawson’s content.


Dawson knows his audience, and unlike other YouTubers and other Social influencers, who grew their followings quite overnight do to viral success, Dawson has had an ongoing and personal relationship with his fans, followers, and subscribers. He began his journey, when YouTube was in the realm and culture of Lindsay Lohan tabloids, trucker hats, and camo. Yes, YouTube is just merely 15 years old, like most of the Gen Z generation, who have been navigating and maturing with YouTube as well.


Dawson truly began to become a success and internet pioneer in 2008, With his viral and successful video, “Fred is Dead”, one of YouTube’s first YouTube parodies, and social commentary on the mainstream affects that were beginning to take place in the YouTube community, a land of the independent film maker. At this time, YouTube was just three years old, and YouTuber’s like Fred, and Kelly,(shoes, oh my god) ruled the internet traffic. But when Shane entered the scene, he offered something unique. Sketch comedy, with a Myspace tone, that echoed to the emo hearts of the Hot topic shopping, My Chemical Romance head banging teenagers, of the very first digital age.


The true element that made Dawson a YouTube staple and true internet pioneer, was his offering of guidance and advice to a lost and lonely group of individual souls, who were consuming and observing a negative and neglectful society, of the materialistic and egotistical greedy perception of adult authority. He tied in his sketches with doses of social commentary, comedy, and a theme of the day or week. He connected with his viewers to open up and express their emotions, rather than cut and self-sabotage their emotions. He gave his audience the acceptance and approval, they were seeking as the new generation of misfits and punks, who were quirky, and thought about art and space, under the scope and rise of social media, and cyber bullying.


This leads him to today. 11 years after his viral video, 20 million subscribers, and the debut of his brand new 2part investigative conspiracy theory video, that has 22 million views for part 2, and 32 million for part 1, that is 54 million views all together. It is safe to say, that Shane Dawson is the true navigator and voice of his generation. Dawson has always pushed boundaries, but this his biggest yet.


Dawson, proposed many intriguing thoughts and conversation topics, that American society has been ignoring for far too long. Topics that range from the continual and potentially dangerous developments of artificial intelligent technologies, ie, deep fakes and voice modification. But he also touched on another subject that is all too real and all too common, human trafficking through online dating… And lastly, he began to investigate and question the subconscious effects that big corporations have on the youth, and American society.

But the last conversation Dawson began to create was not in his self-produced investigative documentary. It came from the backlash he received from the corporation he was investigating, ordering him to take down his documentary, even though he took all the proper legal precautions. So, this begins to lead citizens to question, how powerful is their first amendment right, when the citizens of America want to exercise and challenge their products and services they are consuming? Because that is the theme of Dawson’s content, and recent video. He gives his audience, awareness to the corruption that lies behind the news camera and teleprompter. He is doing what most journalist are no longer abiding by, asking why all of this negativity is occurring in our world. Investigating why our society might not make sense, instead of just informing us, what is going on.


Dawson is quite single handedly shifting multimedia culture into a brand-new dimension and era of reality existence. He is entering us in the age, of the self-made investigative reporter. A realm of YouTube culture that has not truly been explored. Dawson gave the first self-made and self-produced investigative documentary, by following all the legal precautions, to spread social awareness, amongst a constantly distracted and misguided generation. Dawson is making research cool again, and sure is to inspire new content creators, that want to do their own investigations, on societal topics that intrigue, affect, and influence human and American society and reality.


Dawson is challenging the norm of modern corporation umbrella journalism, by taking their job, and showing them how journalism is truly expressed and explored. By being the voice of a generation, a voice for the voiceless, by putting time, effort, and research, to bring the truth to light, or inspire an audience to become more socially aware of the developments that are happening before their eyes. Not just simply narrating from a teleprompter than cutting to a McDonalds commercial. No, Shane Dawson is telling the consumer to wake up, research the societal manipulation, and utilize social media, for social justice, and social change.

2 views0 comments
1
2
bottom of page