I'd rather humble than hero
I'd rather humble than hero
Tramway, Glasgow
Mary Brennan
In fact there's something heroic in the way that the members of Junction 25 - ages ranging from 11 to 18 - open up to an audience, use their own names, personal experiences and future hopes to deliver a slice of social comment on the whole yen-for-fame game.
In a world of giddy self-promotion - because nobody ever goes on Facebook to say they're boring or their life is unexciting so don't even think of ticking the "friend" box - there's an everyday pressure to be the enviable star in your own constantly documented 'show', and who knows: maybe you'll go global.
Maybe you'll be spotted, told 'you've got potential, kid' and - like Niall, in one of the pithiest aspects of the production - be packaged and promoted into a mega-superstar, without ever opening your mouth.
The clever on-screen footage of his rise to glossy celeb-status reinforces the spoofs on market influences that are woven through the episodes of bitching one-upmanship, throwing poses like those on the sampled music videos or auctioning off brand-leading sweets at over-inflated prices.
It's all about appearance, grabbing attention, being hot'n'cool. Never more so than when all the performers - male as well as female - don wigs and shades, as if their own looks and personalities are too humble to be the glam heroes that dominate the media.
Tashi Gore and Gary Gardiner have the overview as directors, but the devising of material originates with the young performers themselves.
And the current line-up, with several new faces in the ranks, are refreshingly able to spot that it's better to be yourself than an identikit cipher or a desperate wannabe - mind you, I bet there are loads of teenagers longing to be in Junction 25 now!
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article