Hundreds of Teens Gather in NYC: Stage “Reverse Rebellion” in Times Square

"We're fed up with culture telling us it’s cool to be rebellious and that you have to sleep around and get high on drugs and alcohol to be accepted.” - Zim Tahir, 19, RECREATE '08 rally participant

DALLAS, Feb. 11, 2008—Some 500 teens from across the United States rallied in Times Square Friday, Feb. 8, to counter a culture they say glamorizes drugs, sex and violence. The RECREATE '08 rally showcased TEEN MANIA teens who are out to RE-create entertainment, fashion, the arts and the Web into products that demonstrate positive expression for their generation-the largest generation of teens in U.S.  history.*

With teen suicide, drug use, STDs, eating disorders, violence and anxiety at an all-time high, these teens are determined to cause a "reverse rebellion" by RE-creating an American pop culture that builds up-not tears down-their 29 million-strong generation (U.S. Census 2006).

CALLING ON THE CANDIDATES
The teens will also issue a list of 8 QUESTIONS for the presidential candidates that reflect their top concerns including: youth exposure to Internet pornography, media glamorization of drugs, sex and alcohol, and the AIDS pandemic.

(Click to view Teen Mania's ReCreate '08: Top 8 Concerns)

Fueled by their faith, these TEEN MANIA teens have sparked a movement of more than 400,000 like-minded teenagers who have gathered at arena events from coast to coast during the past two years for inspiration to rise up, reject destructive pop culture messages, and RECREATE teen culture on their own terms.

"We're committed to create a new ‘cool factor' that doesn't enslave us to drugs, premarital sex and Internet porn but rather offers a voice of hope to a self-destructing generation," said 21-year-old Jason White of Virginia Beach, Va., a former "cutter" who creates videos and entertainment with positive messages to rescue his own generation while building his skills at Teen Mania's Center for Creative Media.

The RECREATE '08 rally in Times Square featured teens in the act of RE-creating some of their generation's favorite products including:

• MTV videos

• Teen-produced TV shows and movie-shorts running on the Panasonic jumbo-tron in Times Square

• Tag/Graffiti artists

• Dance

• And more…

The rally also included teens from across the country who have not only cried out for change but who have orchestrated change on their own by:

• Insisting a retail chain remove "porn-aments" from store shelves

• Producing a decent MTV video that the network aired to its national audience

• Urging a retail chain to remove posters featuring lingerie models from store window displays

"We can't just sit back and think someone else is going to make changes for us," said 14-year-old Brittany Serra from Phoenix, who rallied to have pornographic Christmas ornaments pulled from the shelves of a national retail chain. "No matter how old you are, if you see something you don't believe in...do something about it. It only takes one person to make a big difference."

Following the rally, more than 10,000 teens gathered at New Jersey's Izod Center for a two-day RECREATE '08 event featuring: New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree, New York Yankees' pitcher Mariano Rivera, six-time GRAMMY® Award winner Kirk Franklin, David Crowder Band, Bishop T.D. Jakes and Ron Luce, founder of TEEN MANIA-one of the world's largest youth organizations.

*BattleCry for a Generation, Ron Luce (*David C. Cook, 2005)

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