Introduction In the early 2000s, The Merchants of Cool documentary offered a searing look at how corporations manipulate youth culture—not by resisting rebellion, but by owning it. Today, the insights remain eerily prescient. We are not merely witnessing teenagers being sold soda, sneakers, or cell phones—we are watching their identities, values, and even dissent being monetized by a … Continue reading The Cool Trap: How Media Sold Rebellion to Control a Generation