Teens are apparently reading really sad grim literature these days and its cause for conscern to some. I personally couldn't care less maybe I have been tainted by too many EDU courses, but with the literacy rate where it is in this country im happy if teens are reaidng cereal boxes, penthouse or bilboards. Depressing literature is popular because its dramatic and realistic it also makes for a juicy read that holds teen attention much like really eloquent gossip that could actually carry a message. In a sick way this kind of literature is inspiring because then maybe your life doesnt seem so bad and you can get through your own rough patch like this young character struggled through theirs. Or it can be motivating to know there are others out there going through some similar horrible experiences. The book Push by Saphire and the movie Precious were really depressing but I feel like a more informed and evolved person for experiencing the both of them.
Sometimes saddness can be an incredible motivator for change. The next generation has their work cut out for them considering the smount of change that is necessary in our current global state of affairs. In the article "The Outlooks Bleak" they quoted someone named Aronson as saying "The imagination should be the realm of freedom". Which i took to mean if its in a fictional published YA piece let it be, not that the content should be sexually explicit or anything but apart of the human experience is depression and saddness and no one thinks they know more about it than teenagers. Teens desperately want to be adults and to be understood or at least be validated in the many ways that they feel and percieve the world. Thats why books about adults not getting it or screwing up are so appealing because there is so much pressure on teens to become successful, productive and high functioning adults when in fact they dont always have the best romodels or examples circulating through their lives. Teens also hate hipocricy.
The slide show that was assigned had a statement in it that stood out to me: "Should fiction for youth have a moral center and send a message? And what should that message be?" Yes, this is a stab at adults who think what teens are reading is too racey or mature. I ask you grown ups who will play the moral police for our kids? And then once our morality gestapo is in place will anyone expecially teens give a hoot about reading it? Teens also hate conformity. Reading whats appropriate or within the socail moral guidelines doesnt sound very fun. Adults love to read romace novels filled with sex, murder mysteries (non- fiction and fiction), stories of rape and abuse, and good old fashioned War. Not to mention whats on televison due to popular demand by adults aka the perponderance of Law & Order shows, Sex and the City, and When Animal's Attack.
Everyone loves a cheap thrill and its no wonder its mirrored in our childrens taste in literature. Teens are a product of their own society and will conversely influence our culture as consumers, creators and indiviuals. Adults who complain about what teens are reading need to wag that finger in the face of one another and not authors, publishers and schools as they too are only a reflection of what we've created.
