Yeah, I'm bored. Enjoy!
1. Chris (15). 5'10", 140 lbs. "Skater boy/rebel" type. Local boy. No facial hair, wears fairly tight Diesel jeans at the thigh and an Aeropostale T-shirt, 3 sizes too small.
2. Liz (17). 5'7", 120 lbs. "in" girl. Also no facial hair From Japanese descent. Tends to like dressing in navy or white.
3. Clement (16). 5'8", 160 lbs. "outcast" type. From Algeria. Goatee. Dresses in lakers jersey and Adidas trackpants. Vans flats.
4. Sofia (15) 5'6", 95 lbs. From Mexican descent. Too thin for her own good, not the most popular. Dresses in black, skintight clothing.
5. Roger (18) 6'1", 180 lbs. Athletic/techie, but also "in". Rough shave. From a city 500km away. Wears a checkered shirt under a wool vest, with gray striped jeans.
6. Flora (18) 5'9", 130 lbs. Roger's girlfriend. "hot" type, local girl. Low-cut halter and short shorts. Oh, and those really annoying flipflops.
Okay, so that's the dramatis personae. Some of you might recognize yourselves in these stereotypes. Mind you, I think they should be called "ipodtypes" now. Stereos are a bit passé, regretfully. Which provides a perfect segue into the first matter of discourse, one which almost all teens I know can relate to; music.
Right then. Chris likes Tool, A7F, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Disturbed, Finger Eleven, Linkin Park. Typical, en't it? He has his 2003 Zune with him wherever he goes, and he hates Apple, mostly because everyone else has an iPod and he hasn't the money to buy himself one. He tries to play the part of the music he listens to, being comparatively aggressive and, shall we say rather rough. He calls it “his own method of expression”—screamo lyrics, eardrum-jarring riffs, distorted bass, fast drumming. If you tell him to chill, or to turn it down, he’ll give you the finger. He’ll be the first to get in a fight, for any reason, and will most often lose. Oh, and sucks at electric guitar, too.
For her part, Liz likes Béyoncé , Mariah Carey, Madonna, basically anything that’s mainstream. Has a Nano, white, with her favourite 4 gigs on it. Has posters of Rihanna over her bed. Listens to MTV whenever she’s home. Works hardest of them all. Softcore rocker, likes to see people smile to music. Also likes slowdancing, which helps with her crush on Roger.
Clement, well, is a “gangsta”. Tries to fit in, listens to the general genre of hiphop/rap, watches associated videos at home and at school. Tries to fit in with the big gangsta group at the school, but fails. Mostly because of his rough, falsely aggressive mannerisms.
Sofia likes Evanescence, and also the Ramones. She tries to listen in on Chris, who ignores her, but only because he’s shy around her. You see, they crush on each other.
Roger and Flora both like pop, which led to their meeting at a local party, when they danced to Calabria together. Both have iPod touches, and both spend their lives MSNing each other while playing music on their docking stations.
As you can see, musical tastes give insight into the characters’ personalities. For instance, most of their relationships revolve around music.
At the last school dance, Chris and his mates hung out at the back looking bored, although Chris kept eyeing Flora’s cleavage. Well, her legs too every once in a while. For all his exterior softness, Chris is rather insecure. He’s not the biggest guy around, nor is he the most physically attractive. He’s mortified by the thought that anyone should discover that his parents make him eat health foods, too. He’s not got the courage to ask her out, either. However, the fact that she’s now taken helps that fact. Liz danced with seven different guys, and hung out with her clique, always giggling at the latest rumour. She tried to push a cushy one on Roger, but Flora was behind her and didn’t appreciate that too much. CONFLICT!!! Clement didn’t go; he had an orthodontist appointment. Sofia, for her bit, eyed Chris, but only his folded arms and, we’ll grant him that, sexy tie. She’s got major insecurity issues; the dress she wore did not fit her well, as it made her look like skin and bone, which she is. There aren’t any scars on her wrists, but she’d do it in an instant if she thought that Chris would notice.
Ah yes, the lovely couple. Roger and Flora. They must’ve ground each other to the bare metal, if you know what I mean, during that dance. Never a separated moment. Geez, sometimes it’s actually annoying, because they ALWAYS slowdance, even if it’s techno.
From the moment Chris wakes up, his mind revolves around two things; the words f*ck and his computer. In the first instance, it’s as much f*ck this, f*ck that as a constant, hormone-driven desire to, well, f*ck. He wants Flora, so bad, so bad. Kinda depressing, really. There’s no love or affection there. It’s kind of understandable. She’s the kind of girl that every guy wants to sleep with, but none want to date. Kind of like, you know, a pinup. Typical teenage “romance”, only driven by the fastest possible time around the diamond. For Chris, however, he’ll have to wait to have the guns to enable him to knock the ball out into the stands. From his desktop, he can browse all the porn he wants; it’s enough to satisfy his immediate cravings. He’s also got “Thing Thing 4” as his favourite page, almost set the week’s high score yesterday. Oh, and he can always go for a game of GTA3. Not that he’s any good at it either, mind you. He’s given up on guitar now, he wasn’t going anywhere. Thank goodness it didn’t take too many drugs for his flameout to occur.
Liz, for her bit, revolves around the central shaft of the rumour mill. Omigod, is that for real? She can’t live her life without the constant chatter, never taking a break from the MTV VAs either. She wakes up, changes, and after 45 minutes of vanity, gets to a bowl of cereal. Then she’s late. And her dad will not be promoted because he always leaves late with her, ergo arriving late at the office. However, she still manages, somehow, to get good grades.
Clement wakes up to Fiddy. Goes to bed to Jay-Z. Eats to Sean Paul. But he doesn’t understand most of the lyrics. He only likes the toughguy image the genre projects. He’s got a capgun in his closet, which late at night he uses in roleplaying fantasies. Never does well in school, either. Poor kid, his parents didn’t have much when they immigrated.
Sofia wakes up in her black room, under black covers, and cries a bit before dressing. It makes her sad enough to skip breakfast. Always reserved, she constantly thinks of Chris. She cries some more, thinking that it’ll help alleviate the trouble of her life, with an alcoholic father and a perpetually absent mother (she has to work two full-time jobs to keep the household afloat).
Roger wakes dreaming of Flora; she the same. They both eat toast before driving to school In their new SUVs. Roger sometimes has early-morning soccer practice. They both enjoy smooching in public; it makes them feel superior. Of course, Flora knows that tonight they’ll be getting low on Roger’s couch while the parents are out partying. That’s part of the deal. The other part is that they will never tell anyone else that they smoke weed almost every day. Roger can’t wait.
Ah, sex. The eternal preoccupation of 90% of the nation’s teens. (that’s a bogus stat, btw ) Apart from sex, there’s drugs, music, alcohol, cars, gossip, and also sex. Did I mention sex? Forgive me for obsessing over it, but I honestly find it hilarious. Is there any guy whose main objective, at one point or another, was not to get laid? Whatever that means? What is it with teenagers that they just want to get in each other’s pants? Most have no idea what sex is like, only relying on the media to describe it. Most will end up having sex before 18. Sad. Is it pleasurable, is it fun. Or is it just what society expects? Well, society also expects you to follow it’s laws…underage drinking?!?!? Now I’m confused. But anyhow. The media has made teens dependent on others’ perspectives. But what’s the point, at the end of the day? To jack off? To pleasure oneself? To gain social standing? Come to think of it practically, sex has no use apart from procreation, and in most cases that’s not the idea. At least, I should hope not. Forgive me, “but the cult brought in by society's incessant droning on of minute details that are supposed to lead us to better lives but really just create monsters devoid of all soul in a world with pre-determination of their destinies” (PRS) Sure, in the rare cases when two people love, truly love each other enough to be able to express that love through what is, simply put, a physical recreation of an inherently psychological phenomenon (at least according to Freud), then they probably should. As long as they face the reality of the multiple consequences of that act (I’m sure health class covers that enough to actually bore people to oblivion). Not helpful.
On the other hand, all humans, teens especially, need affection. Affection can be different for males and females, and is usually characterized by the social circle in which the individual concerned operates. For instance, Clement’s group is composed of six or seven guys of roughly the same age, sharing common interest. Depending upon the depth of their intimacy, these people can be very close, “mates” as it were, or just simple acquaintances. The characteristic bond can be anywhere between the two ends of the spectrum. For females, it’s slightly different; girls tend to associate in groups with much greater intimacy, but yet have greater difficulty getting along with simple acquaintances. This produces a rather bipolar environment, which in turn could possibly be blamed with the integration issues of many. For males as well as females, however, friends of the other sex are common; at some point, they become a necessity. While most males will feel some degree of sexual attraction to any female willing to speak to him, the reverse is not necessarily true. This in turn has led to the greatest cultural phenomenon of the love scene: that of the onus of initiative being placed on the male’s shoulders. This situation plays concurrently or destructively, depending on one’s point of view, with the traditional reluctance of females to accept greater intimacy. This seemingly perpetual reluctance makes certain males feel angry or impotent, and others saddened. Therefore, the commonly accepted response is either to push harder for the aforementioned intimacy, else to withdraw entirely, more often than not leading in some sort of social friction. Ergo, token gestures such as hugs, friendly pokes, etc…are very useful in the sense that they serve to form a variation of “camaraderie”, or even, once that first step has been completed, of reinforcing an emotional bond.
Associated with drugs and booze, sex provides a deadly mix, although only explosive if shaken, not stirred. Teens like to experiment, that’s sure. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. The bad thing is that teens don’t understand the stuff they face. Weed, for instance, like Roger and Flora think, can be fun, but it will destroy their finances, their relationships with their parents. The beer will lead to abuse, which will lead to their breakup. This isn’t always the case, but it is easy to become so.
1. Chris (15). 5'10", 140 lbs. "Skater boy/rebel" type. Local boy. No facial hair, wears fairly tight Diesel jeans at the thigh and an Aeropostale T-shirt, 3 sizes too small.
2. Liz (17). 5'7", 120 lbs. "in" girl. Also no facial hair From Japanese descent. Tends to like dressing in navy or white.
3. Clement (16). 5'8", 160 lbs. "outcast" type. From Algeria. Goatee. Dresses in lakers jersey and Adidas trackpants. Vans flats.
4. Sofia (15) 5'6", 95 lbs. From Mexican descent. Too thin for her own good, not the most popular. Dresses in black, skintight clothing.
5. Roger (18) 6'1", 180 lbs. Athletic/techie, but also "in". Rough shave. From a city 500km away. Wears a checkered shirt under a wool vest, with gray striped jeans.
6. Flora (18) 5'9", 130 lbs. Roger's girlfriend. "hot" type, local girl. Low-cut halter and short shorts. Oh, and those really annoying flipflops.
Okay, so that's the dramatis personae. Some of you might recognize yourselves in these stereotypes. Mind you, I think they should be called "ipodtypes" now. Stereos are a bit passé, regretfully. Which provides a perfect segue into the first matter of discourse, one which almost all teens I know can relate to; music.
Right then. Chris likes Tool, A7F, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Disturbed, Finger Eleven, Linkin Park. Typical, en't it? He has his 2003 Zune with him wherever he goes, and he hates Apple, mostly because everyone else has an iPod and he hasn't the money to buy himself one. He tries to play the part of the music he listens to, being comparatively aggressive and, shall we say rather rough. He calls it “his own method of expression”—screamo lyrics, eardrum-jarring riffs, distorted bass, fast drumming. If you tell him to chill, or to turn it down, he’ll give you the finger. He’ll be the first to get in a fight, for any reason, and will most often lose. Oh, and sucks at electric guitar, too.
For her part, Liz likes Béyoncé , Mariah Carey, Madonna, basically anything that’s mainstream. Has a Nano, white, with her favourite 4 gigs on it. Has posters of Rihanna over her bed. Listens to MTV whenever she’s home. Works hardest of them all. Softcore rocker, likes to see people smile to music. Also likes slowdancing, which helps with her crush on Roger.
Clement, well, is a “gangsta”. Tries to fit in, listens to the general genre of hiphop/rap, watches associated videos at home and at school. Tries to fit in with the big gangsta group at the school, but fails. Mostly because of his rough, falsely aggressive mannerisms.
Sofia likes Evanescence, and also the Ramones. She tries to listen in on Chris, who ignores her, but only because he’s shy around her. You see, they crush on each other.
Roger and Flora both like pop, which led to their meeting at a local party, when they danced to Calabria together. Both have iPod touches, and both spend their lives MSNing each other while playing music on their docking stations.
As you can see, musical tastes give insight into the characters’ personalities. For instance, most of their relationships revolve around music.
At the last school dance, Chris and his mates hung out at the back looking bored, although Chris kept eyeing Flora’s cleavage. Well, her legs too every once in a while. For all his exterior softness, Chris is rather insecure. He’s not the biggest guy around, nor is he the most physically attractive. He’s mortified by the thought that anyone should discover that his parents make him eat health foods, too. He’s not got the courage to ask her out, either. However, the fact that she’s now taken helps that fact. Liz danced with seven different guys, and hung out with her clique, always giggling at the latest rumour. She tried to push a cushy one on Roger, but Flora was behind her and didn’t appreciate that too much. CONFLICT!!! Clement didn’t go; he had an orthodontist appointment. Sofia, for her bit, eyed Chris, but only his folded arms and, we’ll grant him that, sexy tie. She’s got major insecurity issues; the dress she wore did not fit her well, as it made her look like skin and bone, which she is. There aren’t any scars on her wrists, but she’d do it in an instant if she thought that Chris would notice.
Ah yes, the lovely couple. Roger and Flora. They must’ve ground each other to the bare metal, if you know what I mean, during that dance. Never a separated moment. Geez, sometimes it’s actually annoying, because they ALWAYS slowdance, even if it’s techno.
From the moment Chris wakes up, his mind revolves around two things; the words f*ck and his computer. In the first instance, it’s as much f*ck this, f*ck that as a constant, hormone-driven desire to, well, f*ck. He wants Flora, so bad, so bad. Kinda depressing, really. There’s no love or affection there. It’s kind of understandable. She’s the kind of girl that every guy wants to sleep with, but none want to date. Kind of like, you know, a pinup. Typical teenage “romance”, only driven by the fastest possible time around the diamond. For Chris, however, he’ll have to wait to have the guns to enable him to knock the ball out into the stands. From his desktop, he can browse all the porn he wants; it’s enough to satisfy his immediate cravings. He’s also got “Thing Thing 4” as his favourite page, almost set the week’s high score yesterday. Oh, and he can always go for a game of GTA3. Not that he’s any good at it either, mind you. He’s given up on guitar now, he wasn’t going anywhere. Thank goodness it didn’t take too many drugs for his flameout to occur.
Liz, for her bit, revolves around the central shaft of the rumour mill. Omigod, is that for real? She can’t live her life without the constant chatter, never taking a break from the MTV VAs either. She wakes up, changes, and after 45 minutes of vanity, gets to a bowl of cereal. Then she’s late. And her dad will not be promoted because he always leaves late with her, ergo arriving late at the office. However, she still manages, somehow, to get good grades.
Clement wakes up to Fiddy. Goes to bed to Jay-Z. Eats to Sean Paul. But he doesn’t understand most of the lyrics. He only likes the toughguy image the genre projects. He’s got a capgun in his closet, which late at night he uses in roleplaying fantasies. Never does well in school, either. Poor kid, his parents didn’t have much when they immigrated.
Sofia wakes up in her black room, under black covers, and cries a bit before dressing. It makes her sad enough to skip breakfast. Always reserved, she constantly thinks of Chris. She cries some more, thinking that it’ll help alleviate the trouble of her life, with an alcoholic father and a perpetually absent mother (she has to work two full-time jobs to keep the household afloat).
Roger wakes dreaming of Flora; she the same. They both eat toast before driving to school In their new SUVs. Roger sometimes has early-morning soccer practice. They both enjoy smooching in public; it makes them feel superior. Of course, Flora knows that tonight they’ll be getting low on Roger’s couch while the parents are out partying. That’s part of the deal. The other part is that they will never tell anyone else that they smoke weed almost every day. Roger can’t wait.
Ah, sex. The eternal preoccupation of 90% of the nation’s teens. (that’s a bogus stat, btw ) Apart from sex, there’s drugs, music, alcohol, cars, gossip, and also sex. Did I mention sex? Forgive me for obsessing over it, but I honestly find it hilarious. Is there any guy whose main objective, at one point or another, was not to get laid? Whatever that means? What is it with teenagers that they just want to get in each other’s pants? Most have no idea what sex is like, only relying on the media to describe it. Most will end up having sex before 18. Sad. Is it pleasurable, is it fun. Or is it just what society expects? Well, society also expects you to follow it’s laws…underage drinking?!?!? Now I’m confused. But anyhow. The media has made teens dependent on others’ perspectives. But what’s the point, at the end of the day? To jack off? To pleasure oneself? To gain social standing? Come to think of it practically, sex has no use apart from procreation, and in most cases that’s not the idea. At least, I should hope not. Forgive me, “but the cult brought in by society's incessant droning on of minute details that are supposed to lead us to better lives but really just create monsters devoid of all soul in a world with pre-determination of their destinies” (PRS) Sure, in the rare cases when two people love, truly love each other enough to be able to express that love through what is, simply put, a physical recreation of an inherently psychological phenomenon (at least according to Freud), then they probably should. As long as they face the reality of the multiple consequences of that act (I’m sure health class covers that enough to actually bore people to oblivion). Not helpful.
On the other hand, all humans, teens especially, need affection. Affection can be different for males and females, and is usually characterized by the social circle in which the individual concerned operates. For instance, Clement’s group is composed of six or seven guys of roughly the same age, sharing common interest. Depending upon the depth of their intimacy, these people can be very close, “mates” as it were, or just simple acquaintances. The characteristic bond can be anywhere between the two ends of the spectrum. For females, it’s slightly different; girls tend to associate in groups with much greater intimacy, but yet have greater difficulty getting along with simple acquaintances. This produces a rather bipolar environment, which in turn could possibly be blamed with the integration issues of many. For males as well as females, however, friends of the other sex are common; at some point, they become a necessity. While most males will feel some degree of sexual attraction to any female willing to speak to him, the reverse is not necessarily true. This in turn has led to the greatest cultural phenomenon of the love scene: that of the onus of initiative being placed on the male’s shoulders. This situation plays concurrently or destructively, depending on one’s point of view, with the traditional reluctance of females to accept greater intimacy. This seemingly perpetual reluctance makes certain males feel angry or impotent, and others saddened. Therefore, the commonly accepted response is either to push harder for the aforementioned intimacy, else to withdraw entirely, more often than not leading in some sort of social friction. Ergo, token gestures such as hugs, friendly pokes, etc…are very useful in the sense that they serve to form a variation of “camaraderie”, or even, once that first step has been completed, of reinforcing an emotional bond.
Associated with drugs and booze, sex provides a deadly mix, although only explosive if shaken, not stirred. Teens like to experiment, that’s sure. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. The bad thing is that teens don’t understand the stuff they face. Weed, for instance, like Roger and Flora think, can be fun, but it will destroy their finances, their relationships with their parents. The beer will lead to abuse, which will lead to their breakup. This isn’t always the case, but it is easy to become so.
Last edited by TSI (2008-08-21 18:54:34)
I like pie.