21/04/2010

Where Are The Subcultures Gone ?

Has any real subculture emerged in the last decade ( or even further back ) that was not a re-do of a pre-existing one or some kind of marketing product ? The answer is difficult but clear , it's a No. Feels like Brit Pop and maybe Brit Indie Rock was the last and latest one, the New-Rave cloud was an half a second story built up by a couple of bored fashion editors nostalgic for original acid house bright colored rave energy, but there was not enough popular ground to make it a movement, and certainly not much for a subculture.
What Else ? asks George Clooney on all TV screens, well.... not much really, fashion designers, in menswear especially, keep rebooting the goth and post punk imagery until total exhaustion, while the other feed on anecdotal time patches, sixties here, seventies there, more eighties all over, a hint of nineties, naughties not quite yet.... All previous subcultures are now available on high streets shops, in television advertising, used and re-used for all means, making possible the fun and scary fact that my grand mother knows exactly who are Cradle Of Filth, Afrika Bambaataa and Morrisey...Ok, I might be pushing it a bit far there, but am I really ?!
If the post modern era saw the end of the utopia, ours is seeing the death of subcultures.

1 comment:

  1. it's not the death of subcultures, it is the death of counter-cultures, because there is no one dominant culture anymore.
    subcultures are weak at the moment (specially visually speaking) but will thrive again as they do not plan to conquer the world.
    malcolm mclaren is dead, long live yoko ono.

    ReplyDelete