Leo, John. "The Selling Of The Rebellion." U.S. News and World Report. 125: 14. 12 October 1998: 18
Leo refers to much of product of Madison Avenue as "the worst cultural propaganda, and cites many examples of the popular theme of "breaking the rules" as reference. Characterizing post-modern sensibility as heavily ironic, he contends that the suits would utilize the message that "rules, boundaries, standards and authorities are either gone or should be gone". The rationale for this advertising strategy is the rebellious template of the Sixties counterculture. The sex, drugs and rock & roll that apparently characterized the life of every Baby Boomer has hard wired them with a tendency for rebellious and transgressive behavior. This ideology, therefore, will be embraced by like minds.
(Swicord, Robin. "Youth Must Be Served-With Respect." Los Angeles Times. 1999
The movie and television industry has a pervasive and dominating effect on our culture, particularly to adolescents and teenagers, the target of much of their product. Swicord's contention is that the industry traded its moral obligation to provide a venue for character-building and educational growth for quick commercial success and advertising revenue. A capitalist's job is to make money, whether his tool is the mantra of the Sixties counterculture or his shallow use of a whole generation for the sake of commercial success. The criterion of success is marketability.
(Rosenburg, Howard. Making Media A Familiar Scapegoat. The Los Angeles Times, 1999)
Making the media a scapegoat for society's ills has become a popular trend for the last several decades. The spate of high-school shootings in the 1990's brought the righteous wrath of society down on motion picture, television and video gaming industries. Rosenburg's is skeptical of the criticism, citing statistics showing a falling rate of violent crime and a 10:1 ratio of positive scenes to negative on television. ...