Depression sets in... an overall look at shallowness

I was browsing people in locations near me.  See, because you know, I'm in high school and many bloggers are high schoolers.  So I came across this class project for English 9 in one teacher's class and I know several of the kids on there.  And it made me want to kill myself.  In fact, one of them was a close friend's ex-boyfriend who broke up with her and is currently crawling back.  Also a pastor's kid.  Whaddayaknow?

And I was reading their reviews and it was terrible.  The fact that they have to be forced to read and spoon-fed it through the computer to get them to read one book is pathetic.  The teacher (who I had once and is good) 's review was great, and of a not-so-great book, but the funny part was it directly assaulted the shallowness with which he probably new they were going to approach it with, and in their comments, some of them didn't bat an eye to drop it from high up into the wading pool.

One person, who I know kind of well, said: "If explaining internal struggles is the sacriest [sic] thing about this book, then I would not read it."

Another, who I'm not sure if I know because of the generic first name, said: "This book does sound interesting because there are zombies, but the popularity issue is the only thing bad about this book."

The synopsis of the opposite pole was:  "Well, zombies, like, no, but, like, you know, did someone say popularity?  Popularity?  I {(have attained Godlike status in my own skewedly naïve teenage female mind in this respect)/(want this so badly that I carry a copy of Twilight around even after I finish my monthly pilgrimage through its 500 sacred pages)}!

The review basically said it was social commentary about teen shallowness, in fact it almost made me want to read the book, which is quite outside my regular genre...  Here's a quote from the review:

"Applying the zombie theme to a high school setting reveals some interesting things about teenagers. Are kids raised on MTV, the Internet, and video games like a bunch of zombies? Don’t they all act, talk, and dress the same way? Are they just brain-dead slaves of popular culture? Doesn’t the media just brainwash kids by telling them what’s cool and how to act?  And what about issues of popularity and fitting in?"

The author of the book even stopped by on comments and said thanks for the intelligent review.

"Social commentary?", I can picture one of them saying.  "Whooooa, like, what's that?  OMG I got a new text!" Or maybe "Is that like saying something about your society? WICKED, mannnn!  I have some of that!  Legalize it!" Perhaps "Sounds cool and everything.  Does Twilight have any social commentary?" 

Which brings me to my next point of exasperation.  Their actual reviews were puke-inducing.  So liberal with 9/10's.  Have they no standards to measure it to?  "Oooooh, it was SOOOOO good, you know, it was all about popularity and hot boys and cutting yourself in the bathroom during study hall, and, you know, things us sheeple teen girls love to read about, and this author is so cool, cuz like, you know, they know what we want to read, can you imagine?! Totally!  But, you know, it was full of plot holes and there was a part about internal fears or society or God and man or, you know, something beyond my intellectual capacity.  So, yeah, had to skip a few pages so I could save my precious mind for texting and not have to worry about important questions and stuff.  That's for, like, grown-ups, you know?  I'm here to shop and party and get pregnant because I think he's the one and oh he's so perfect and watch I'm like Bella in Twilight.  Ooooooh Robert Pattinson!!!!! OMG!!!!! HEART STOPPED!!!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMG!"

The guy version of it was also stereotypical, but their book was almost invariably about war or sports.

Or some pseudo-serious analysis on some bullshit (pardon my French... I'd been avoiding that but it was inevitable) Halo dime novel about exquisite images or something.  Halo.  Really?

I have officially lost all faith in humanity.

Never mind.  That's not the first time I've said that.  It always finds its way back somehow, only to be crushed by something like this.  

Bravo to the teacher for trying to get kids to read, but most of them are insalvageable.  Sorry.

...

After thinking about that, it is probably the most cynical thing I have ever said.  It's not as bad as I make it.  I just don't believe the shallowness of a significant number of those around me.  Granted, there were a couple intelligent reviews with a smaller amount of grammar mistakes and no TTYL-ese.  Incidentally, one of those was by my friend's ex.  Whaddayaknow?

I'm not going to put the link here.  That would be rude.  If you really want to find it, with all the quotes and hints I've dropped, it shouldn't be hard to find it on Google.  If you know me and therefore some of the people I'm talking about you can just email me.  But still.