It was not too long ago that we witnessed the prominence and decline of an incredible species. In that faraway time of the 1990s we saw boy bands reach their primacy in pop culture.
N’Sync, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, 98 degrees, B2K, Bell Biv DeVoe and the like would compete regularly for the affections of the general public (teenage and prepubescent girls).
But as with the Mesozoic era, this carefree time met its inevitable end around the year 2000.
That is not to say that the boy band as we know it is extinct. The population is just decimated.
The boy bands of today not only have access to more resources, but also have access to technology that their’ ancestors could only dream of.
The best example of this could be in the new Jonas Brothers movie entitled “The Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Experience.”
And while there is a long list of things I’d have rather done than see this movie, as a scholar of pop culture I felt compelled to learn more.
The 3-D experience seeks to capitalize on the band’s popularity with the young XX chromosome demographic, as the boy bands before them did.
That would be female, for those of you who haven’t taken biology.
However, the catch here is the improvement and inclusion of 3-D glasses.
One can almost reach out and touch Kevin Jonas! Not that I would want to, of course.
But if you are from the XX demographic, this might be your dream come true.
Regardless of how talented these individuals may be, their boy band status made me reluctant to take them seriously in the movie. Most of the songs included in the concert set have to do with young love.
As I move farther and farther from the age that recognizes that kind of love, I find it difficult to enjoy the lyrics.
Still, the Jonas Brothers are more than able to perform their instruments in such a way that makes you wonder just how much they had to practice as children in order to play as they do now.
As an added bonus, the movie goes back and forth between the concert itself and the Jonas Brothers out in public. We see them at the hotel they stay at while on tour, the sound test and the trip downtown before their New Years’ performance. This adds a level of intimacy that allows the audience to better connect with the group.
Of course, on stage performance is a big part of concerts, and the choreographer for this concert kept this in mind. There will be an occasional flip here, and a stage dive there, all of which drives the audience absolutely crazy.
The bottom line is this: non-fans are unlikely to have an epiphany during “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Experience.” However, if you are already a fan, the movie should have what you would expect out of the Jonas Brothers and more.
