FastForward for 3/17

Preface for Fast Forward
By Lauren Greenfield


In Greenfields preface, she talks about how her project of taking pictures in LA came about. She had grown up in LA and as a photographer taken pictures of many other cultures, and wanted to return home to explore the culture she once lived in. She focused on the youth of LA and how they are strongly influenced by the media. The teenagers that she photographed often helped her; telling her what the photograph and offering insight on why things were the way they were. Her four year journey through the youth of LA taught her a lot about the subculture of teenage-hood, and the loss of innocence.
I can only imagine what it would be like to grow up in Los Angeles. As a teenager you want to grow up fast, but in LA you are immersed in the center of the entertainment industry, and "it generates much of the popular culture so integral to teenage life around the world." Children in LA are at the nucleus of the media that so influences teenagers lifes. Growing up in LA only speeds up the process that children want to go through. Life. I enjoyed reading this piece a lot because I understand what she is saying. Children do want to grow up so fast and the media plays a huge role in this. I like how she could go to a place where she had grown up and document the generation going through it now. Im sure she saw so many different things because as the years go on, children want to grow up even faster than before.
I could relate a lot of what she was saying to the Hine article. Just the fact that the media plays a huge role in children growing up. Although she didnt say anything about being digital natives or immigrants, the underlying thought about how the media influences children and society was present. Children want to grow up at a seemingly alarming rate, and Greenfield said that they are not connected to their parents at all. This is so true, because our generation has grown up so different from our parents generation. We have grown up on internet and instant gratification. Our parents, grandparents, etc, didnt have that. I could relate that fact to the Hine article.
Before I read this article I too wanted to take pictures of my high school presently. Although I moved out of state for 2 years and am back, it has changed so much. My town has basically done a 180, and living there now is incredibly different.