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The Dissection of Teenager Teenager by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu: Experience versus Innocence

EJS, UNLV

UNDER SUPERVISION OF DR DAVID GRUBER

2022

Abstract Popular American media controls the narrative of how we age. When we are young, we are curious, free and impartial to the reality of the world. And as we grow older, we are illustrated as static, subservient and somber. This essay identifies the following methods to explain the physical and emotional interspace between the elderly and the youth: the vernacular method and metaphor criticism. By utilizing these two methods, we can digest why the distance exists, and why it is crucial for our society to move past these dated ideals. First, with the vernacular method, we will understand the common interpretation of the elderly and the youth. With a foundational understanding of what it means to be an experienced elder versus an innocent youth, this essay outlines the metaphoric implications of a ‘stone head’ and a ‘boxed child’. Further, this study analyzes why Sun Yuan and Peng Yu’s Teenager Teenager is a social commentary of how society categorizes separation, communication, power and culture. We will discuss the greater implications of Teenager Teenager and its role in our community. Finally, this essay will reveal how we evolve from a dilapidated perspective of how we treat our elderly and our youth. Introduction

We face our parents across the dining room table. We see ourselves in their eyes, and they see themselves in ours. In American society, it’s essential for our wide-eyed wonder to stay within our youth. Before our pre-frontal cortexes were able to form, we were expected to choose our political parties and vote for a presidential candidate, decide whether we’ll be shuffled into college or lose ourselves in an endless cycle of part-time jobs after high school, and on top of that, we shouldered the burden of being an adult at the age of eighteen. And as we evolve, society expects us to neglect our naivety and welcome worldly responsibilities. There is a physical and emotional distance between our younger selves and the version we will become. In the following paper, I argue that Teenager Teenager by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu connect the differing values between the elderly and the youth. I find that the meaning behind Teenager Teenager is to showcase the youth’s bountiful curiosity while the elderly are depicted as observant, dormant ‘stone heads’. There is a clear dissonance between innocence and experience in these phases of life, and the brittle connection that bridges them is in dire need of re-ignition. I will analyze two rhetorical methods to expand the disconnect between these two age groups. Respectively, I will use the vernacular method to build a foundational understanding of the concept of innocence and experience, and then I will utilize metaphor criticism to grasp the bigger picture. This study will highlight how we can encourage the reconnection between the youth and elderly; it will also reveal what this implies for our society.

Methods

Before we begin our analysis, we must understand the two presented rhetorical methods. Vernacular method A vernacular is not a tangible thing. Instead, it is the reaction, the response and the language of a community. Cara Finnegan, the mind who developed “Image Vernaculars” writes that we’re inclined to understand another individual when we use our own “vernaculars” to make sense of an image (Finnegan, 2008). She emphasizes that vernaculars are the “tacit topoi of argument” and that it’s crucial that we’re aware our social competency to grasp our own vernacular and our peers. Finnegan wants us to be creative in our interpretations, as there is no wrong way to interpret a piece. The vernacular method is a way that helps us assess and decide the function of an image. It helps us uncover the imbedded layers of a piece. When an author uses the vernacular method, there are four steps. The author first reviews a situation, then they explore what others say about their situation; they make common interpretations. Then they add their own comment, they compare and contrast and choose the best interpretation.

Metaphor criticism Metaphors are also not tangible, but we use them in our every day life. A metaphor is a type of figurative language that allows us to say exactly what we mean, without truly saying it. A common metaphor is, “You have a heart of gold”. A heart of gold is not realistic, but we connect this phrase to someone who is genuine and kind. These types of metaphors are called dead metaphors; we use them so often the meaning is engraved to our mind. However, when we dissect complicated metaphors, we can separate the metaphor as the vehicle and the tenor. The vehicle is the description, and the tenor is what is described. The key to an impenetrable metaphor is to create ground; we want our audience to have enough knowledge so they’re able to make their own assumptions. Without ground, we would be comparing a thumb tack to a small nail. Similarly, a metaphor needs tension. If there is too much tension, the audience cannot make a connection. They would compare a thumb tack to an axe: these two items have no correlation. In order to dissect a metaphor, we identify the vehicles and the tenor. Then we unpack the ground, and the tension. Finally, we explain how the metaphor acts rhetorically and if this metaphor aligns with our interpretation.

Analysis Vernacular method In Teenager Teenager by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, we observe a gathering in a familial living room. The adults sit next to one another on the couch, all within reasonable distance from one another. Instead of their regular human heads, they are replaced with stones. The children roam the floor, hidden in a box with four peep holes. Occasionally, children outside of the exhibit play around the boxes and the stone heads. From this exhibit, we watch the children play around the floor, oblivious to the world around them and only aware beyond the four peep holes. The adults lounge with indifference. Before I interpret the scene, I will identify what the stones, boxes, and the peep-holes symbolize. The stones symbolize stability, wisdom and time. On the contrary, they can also symbolize denseness, stubbornness and ignorance. The boxes symbolize protection and shelter, but they can also depict isolation and inexperience. Similarly, the peep-holes force the audience to understand that the children within the boxes look at the world with limited lens. I believe that Teenager Teenager forces the audience to digest the separation between two generations. The elderly, immovable and aloof, do not interact with the life inside the boxes. They choose to sit still, perhaps weighed down by the weight of their stone heads — a comment that emphasizes the burden of adulthood. Meanwhile, the children continue to play their games, unbeknownst to the world around them and to the heaviness of responsibility. Then we look at the children who play around the exhibit. Yuan and Yu did not hire these children to be apart of their exhibit; instead, the children are free to run around the boxes, and they are encouraged to play their games because people believe they are truly apart of the exhibit. Their freedom and existence outside of the box symbolize the connection between the elderly and the youth. These children take the stone heads and their boxed kids into perspective; instead of isolation or the burden of the world on their shoulders, they are liberated. They are free to be children. They are free to enjoy art. They are free to enjoy one another’s company. With all our symbols identified, we can compare and contrast similar exhibits that showcase innocence versus experience. In Oscar-Claude Monet’s Madame Monet and Child created in 1875, Monet paints his wife and baby in a beautiful garden. Because of his Impressionist style, the audience is consumed with a mirage of colors; from pastel pinks, to passionate vermillion and shades of emerald, a sense of serenity and calm captivates the viewer. At the center piece, Madame Monet knits peacefully while her daughter scribbles in a small notebook. The stark contrast between Teenager Teenager and Madame Monet and Child establishes what an aloof family looks like, versus a nurturing one. By using the vernacular method, I conclude that the best interpretation for Teenager Teenager is a wealthy, impassive family, accustomed to distance and separation. The stone heads are the adults of the family; they are dressed in rich fabrics. Their accessories scream wealth, while their children are caged in simple boxes. By using their experience as adults, they shelter their children from the harshness of the world. They neglect the children’s needs, despite their pure intentions, and keep them from experiencing a world where they feel burdened. They want to keep their children from feeling responsibility and reality. Meanwhile, the children are oblivious to the invisible force that holds them within the box. To them, the box is all that they know; the box is safety. And through the peep-holes the stone heads provide, they see all that they need to see. They see their siblings, and through their peripheral, they can play their games. The children’s innocence is reserved because of the box. They will never know the truth of the world. Metaphor criticism Sun Yuan and Peng Yu create an interesting narrative in Teenager Teenager. Through the vernacular method, we are able to understand the common interpretation of the symbols used in this exhibit. But as we delve deeper into Teenager Teenager, the vehicle and the tenor become exposed. There are two sets of vehicles and tenors in this exhibit. The first set are the adults. The vehicle revealed is the stone, and the tenor are the stone heads. When we think of stone, we think of weight. Like the metaphor, “You’re my rock,” the stones hold something in place. In Teenager Teenager, the adults are weighed down by the stone. Without context of Sun Yuan and Peng Yu’s work, the viewer may find it difficult to understand what the stones represent. The adults are weighed down by the pressure of life. When we look at their body language, none of the adults look remotely comfortable; one of the stone head woman sprawls along a couch. She seems completely disinterested in her environment. As we explore more of the stone heads’ body language, we should consider the substantial space between their bodies. None of the adults look interested in the children, and they share no interest in one another. The pressure of life absorbs any life they have, and it weighs — nearly sinks — them into their sitting position. The second set are the children. The vehicle is the boxes, and the tenor is children and wonder. The implication here is the weightless child. The children are not weighed down by the stones. Instead, they float throughout the exhibit. By being weightless, they are free to wonder; they are able to move beyond the pressure of life and continue in ignorant bliss. However, the second interpretation that could be made about the children is that they are imprisoned. By implying the children are imprisoned, we can take a closer look at how the box is constructed. The design itself is simple, except for the tape that wraps around its perimeters. The juxtaposition that lays between the weighed adult and the weightless child are the differences in material; similar to my approach through the vernacular method, the audience sees the opulence in how the adults are dressed, versus the cheap bindings over the cardboard box. Akin to a prison cell, the tape represents steel bars meant to hold the inmate; the peep-holes that allow the children to see glimpses of the outside world are callbacks to the limited perspective inmates face when they are in the system. In both of these metaphorical sets, both the adult and the child are weighed down by different systems.

Discussion

Based on a study conducted by Jenny Padilla, Susan McHale, Michael Rovine, Kimberly Updegraff and Adriana Umaña-Taylor called “Parent–Youth Differences in Familism Values from Adolescence into Young Adulthood: Developmental Course and Links with Parent–Youth Conflict," they discover that a parents’ view on familial values directly impacts their children’s perception on dyadic relationships. Familial values is defined as “…family support, solidarity and loyalty” (Padilla, et al. 2016). Their goal for the study is summarized by their curiosity in family dynamics; they wished to uncover how an individual parent could influence their child’s view on family support, and if this could increase relationship quality. To an extent, they find this hypothesis to be correct. The development of family values may increase or decrease how a child views their relationship with their parents. In another study named, “Changing times, changing perspectives: Reconciling ‘transition’ and ‘cultural’ perspectives on youth and young adulthood” by Andy Furlong, Dan Woodman and Johanna Wyn explore the ways sociology can help the youth advance as a generation. They focus on the different lives of young people in different locations over time. There is a distinct separation between youth and emerging adulthood. They write that, “To ignore or sideline youth culture results in a one-dimensional picture of young lives in which the active way that young people negotiate constraint and opportunity is portrayed as marginal to the process of social reproduction” (Furlong, et al. 2011). Furlong and other contributing authors acknowledge the inequality that youth studies face, but they also advocate for change.

In relation to Teenager Teenager, I believe these two studies generate an underrated conversation we dismiss in academic and social circles. In a society dominated by authoritative figures, the youth’s voice is lost among the elderly. The youth is continuously silenced because of their lack of experience in the real world. Even in their homes, their connection to their families is distilled because of the belief that the youth is just too innocent to grasp the straws of reality. We learn from a young age how to survive in this world; from how our parents raise our familial values and how we navigate through society with only our instincts, it is crucial that we form solidarity. But how can we form strong bonds when the bonds we view in our childhood are through a limited lens? We watch our childhood through rose-colored lens; or in Yuan and Yu’s case, we watch our childhood pass us in an isolated box. I think the bigger picture of this exhibit is to dismantle the relationship of power between the elderly and the youth. The gimmick of experience versus innocence is another form of control poured onto us by a capitalistic society. By designing a society where one individual holds all the power and the other holds none, we are doomed to repeat the cycle of Teenager Teenager. I believe that if society continues to play along to the power dynamic of the elderly versus the innocent, we will eventually become stone heads and limit our children into boxes. I promote a dynamic where adults extend their wisdom to the youth, rather than see them as liabilities or hinderances.

Conclusion

In Teenager Teenager by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, an exhibit of stone head adults and boxed children capture the attention of on-goers and art critics. Yuan and Yu are revolutionists in the contemporary art sphere; they are champions of social awareness and force their audience to contemplate the systems of life. The conversation they invented in Teenager Teenager bridges two timelines of life, the elderly and the youth. The topic that dances around the academic sphere is of experience versus innocence; but the truth is, the dynamic is unhealthy and unfulfilling. In this essay, I covered two rhetorical methods that summarized why Teenager Teenager is able to persuade our pathos into understanding the dire bond that is deteriorating between our elderly and our youth. I find that the meaning behind Teenager Teenager is to showcase the youth’s bountiful curiosity while the elderly are depicted as observant, dormant ‘stone heads’. The key to avoiding an unfruitful life is genuine, real human connection between our elderly and our youth.

References

Finnegan, C. A. (2008). Recognizing Lincoln: Image Vernaculars in Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture. In L. C. Olson, C. A. Finnegan, & D. S. Hope (Eds.), Visual Rhetoric: A Reader in Communication and American Culture SAGE Publishing. Furlong, Woodman, D., & Wyn, J. (2011). Changing times, changing perspectives: reconciling 'transition' and 'cultural' perspectives on youth and young adulthood [Paper in special issue: Youth: Identities, Transitions, Cultures. Geldens, Paula; Lincoln, Sian and Hodkinson, Paul (eds)]. Journal of Sociology (Melbourne, Vic.), 47(4), 355–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783311420787 Padilla, McHale, S. M., Rovine, M. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2016). Parent–Youth Differences in Familism Values from Adolescence into Young Adulthood: Developmental Course and Links with Parent–Youth Conflict. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(12), 2417–2430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0518-y

#art criticism #nonfiction #analysis #rhetorical criticism #sun yuan #peng yu #teenager teenager #literature12 #ejslit

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