Over the course of my passion blog I have written about different shows that I adore and their relation to contemporary issues. In this blog post, I will be diverting from my usual format by analyzing a series I don’t like. The series 6teen, details the lives and misadventures of 6 teenage friends who all work and hang out at the Galleria Mall. This was a show that I watched quite often throughout elementary and middle school. While watching it again, I found the show to be vexing. The most annoying aspect of it, is that most of its humor is predicated on misogyny. It is obnoxiously male-gazey and reinforces toxic beliefs about the divisions between teen boys and girls. Despite the misogynistic jokes, I found its display of consumerism to be especially interesting in an era of late stage capitalism. 

The main cast of 6teen

We live in a society where nearly everything is commodified, from concepts like time to the Black Live Matter t-shirts sold by Amazon. This increase in commodification has opened the doors for capitalist consumerism in which corporations seek to make consumers habitually buy new goods that they oftentimes do not need. Consumerist culture tells us that our old items have little value and therefore we should buy new ones. In 6teen, the character Caitlin succumbs to this belief. She is a superficial, hard worker, who loves to shop. Caitlin is always looking for a new clothing item to buy and regularly falls victim to 15% off sales. In “Girlie Boys” she gets a second job in order to purchase a pair of designer jeans. Although Caitlin is an extreme example, if we dilute her character flaws she resembles many consumers in the western world. Consumerism only benefits corporations, while hurting the well-being of buyers, employees, and the planet. 

The term late stage capitalism was popularized in the 1990s by Fredric Jameson, who wrote an essay and book entitled, Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Both mediums explain the shift from an industrial economy to a globalized post-industrial economy. More recently, it has been used to describe the absurdities of contemporary capitalism. It serves as a lens to analyze and critique the features and problems within capitalism such as the uneven power dynamics between corporations and their employees. In the US, 0.4% of all businesses employ 500 people or more. While this is a small percentage, they account for employing 50.6% of the private sector workforce. In 6teen, both Jen and Caitlin’s bosses create hostile work environments for the characters and care little for their well-being. Like corporations in reality, the main goal of each boss is to make profit. The societal implications of C corporations like Amazon and Apple, show that they dominate the private sector, leaving little room for businesses that create positive work environments. Consumerism, accessibility, and low costs prevent buyers from boycotting those corporations, regardless of their treatment of employees and public reception.

Apple factory in China

It’s interesting to see the economic implications behind 6teen, but I won’t urge you to watch it. The only redeeming quality about the show is its heart and the close relationship between the characters.