"Die richtige Kleidung kann alles wettmachen": the representation of adolescent identity in selected German pop novels

Abstract

Florian Illies' Generation Golf (2000), Christian Kracht's Faserland (1995), Jana Hensel’s Zonenkinder (2002), and Jakob Hein's Mein erstes T-Shirt (2001) are representative of a literary style termed "New German Pop Literature" which show the intensive influence labels in the areas of clothing, styling, food, and body care can have in young people’s life. I argue that in these texts teenagers are shown to develop their identity and relationships in response to brands, to create a sense of generation, yet they still feel alone. Within the discourse of pop literature I will show how brand names can be criteria for constructing self-images and social relationships. In addition, I will demonstrate why labels have obtained such an importance in adolescence by mainly focusing on the representation of the characters' memories and their perception of themselves and others. The construct of a generation under the influence of products will also be examined. For a theoretical background Iuse Eva Illouz' study Consuming the Romantic Utopia, and Leora Auslander's book Taste and Power – Furnishing Modern France in order to investigate the relationship between identity and consumer products. Illouz, a sociologist and, Auslander, a historian, show how social life is influenced by capitalism and consumer practices, especially how relationships function in a mass media community which I show is also verified for the representation of adolescent identity in German pop texts.