Fast Forward--- Laura Greenfield

Some things I understand: Laura Greenfield uses photos as a medium to express the “journey’s” lived by these teenagers. However, her point is not to express their experiences in the same context instead is “to explore the ways in which young people from diverse backgrounds are similarly influenced by a popular culture they share.” I think what Greenfield suggest is that our popular culture today pushes to grow up and to move drastically from their experiences as teens.

Greenfield says “a common theme that kept me focused throughout was the sense of an early loss of innocence.” It was very interesting that I first began by looking at the images and then read her preface. By the end of looking at the images I had the same feeling about these teens. They had lost their innocence and were looking at their lives very differently. One aspect of the project that was defined picture through picture was how the teens felt very different in relation to other teens. That difference made them special and unique.

Connection to other texts: One connection I found relevant for this discussion was the article “Bad Boys” when Ann Ferguson explains her experiences with Horace, a 12 year old that she was assigned to tutor. She says, "With his help I came to see kids not as humans-in-the-making but as resourceful social actors who took an active role in shaping their daily experiences." I think Greenfield in her photo project interprets teens similarly since they are portrayed as kids actively involved in their passions.

This project was very interactive and fun to analyze. I had a good time listening to the stories.