Fast Forward

The one and only time I visited Los Angeles I was dismayed by the outlandish opulence existing right next door to abject poverty. If my memory serves me right (it has been over 20 years), I was at the Hotel Bel Air which I recollect was separated from a rough neighborhood by a graffiti-covered blockade. Needless to say, I was not surprised by Fast Forward, Lauren Greenfield’s pictorial view of life in L.A.

The most disturbing aspect of Fast Forward was how many young people (12-13) looked older, acted older and just wanted to be older. The picture of Ashleigh (13) with too much make-up weighing herself in front of her friend and parents made me sick. This image reflects Raby’s discourses “Becoming,” “At Risk” and “Pleasurable Consumption.” Her identity seems to be centered on her looks, her obsession with her weight could lead to at-risk behavior and the support she appears to be receiving from those around her encourages her to “buy” into what the media tells her to be true. Lauren Greenfield, in the preface of her book Fast Forward, states, “… L.A.’s teens are greatly influenced by the television and films they watch, the magazines they read, and the music they listen to.”

I was also disturbed by the “keep up with the Jones” mentality, especially when it pertains to the bar mitzvah. Recently, I helped a student with his bar mitzvah speech. The feeling that I received from his ceremonial speech was that this experience is deeply spiritual. I did not get that impression when I viewed Greenfield’s picture of Adam at his bar mitzvah. Actually, I was repulsed by the idea that kids and go-go dancers would be at the same party.

Greenfield writes about kids in L.A. growing up too fast. “A common theme that kept me focused throughout was the sense of an early loss of innocence. I observed this in many forms, and the young people underlined it again and again in their interviews. As one teenager said, ‘You grow up really fast when you grow up in L.A. it seems like everyone is in a rush to be an adult. It’s not cool to be a kid.’”

Lastly, one of the themes apparent in Greenfield’s writing and photographs is the idea that “young people are preoccupied with becoming other than they are.” What is real and what is just image? I do know that the “world” has its eyes on Hollywood and the images being projected from there. It’s scary to think that the world will make generalizations about Americans based on what they see.