Monday, April 22, 2013

Subculture osmosis


I have always found it interesting to watch how the establishment consumes or devours the antiestablishment. Initially mainstream establishment usually is frightened by it and fights against it but eventually it destroys the new antiestablishment movement by the process of osmosis.

I recall how the original punk rockers wore jeans that were old, had all holes in them and had not been washed for a couple of months. A few years later such jeans with manufactured holes, made to look old and unwashed were selling for $200 a pair.

ES1

This person, who is called Esmerelda (What self respecting Gothic would ever be called Esmerelda) made it to the Goth Girls site. Clearly the Gothic subculture has been swallowed up by the establishment. The soul of Gothic is completely lost in this photograph. But it shows how establishment can adopt aspects of the Gothic culture and turn it into the acceptable. 

I read recently how a local council were I live is now not removing graffiti that looks good. Maybe this is how the establishment will finally devour the graffiti subculture and make it establishment.

Graffiti

2 comments:

  1. Better to see graffiti on the walls than most of the advertising glaring out at the world.

    I think Goth has been eaten up by Steampunk - which I would say is more what Esmerelda is wearing. Goth is not sexy per se, Steampunk has a sensual and decadent look about it. Goth has angst and bleakness.

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  2. Hi Linda, a few others on FB have mentioned steampunk and agree with you. The pictures I use come from a website called Goth Girls. So they are publically presented as gothic, but maybe as they have been taken on by the mainstream they have morphed into this thing called steampunk and become socially acceptable.

    G

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