It used to be that a subculture had to build up a certain attraction "lore" around itself, translated in ever-more elaborate pieces through the eyes of photographers and freelance writers and student filmmakers, before Commerce would look up from its newspaper and see what pieces it could turn into quarterly profits. That took time, usually 3-5 years.
These days, Commerce is much more invasive; it doesn't wait for a culture to grow before it snatches the sapling from the ground and chews it for juice; then casts the husk aside when its few drops are exhausted. The attempts by commercial brands to "steer" an ersatz aesthetic or culture into wide acceptance without that natural accrual of lore are exhausting from the jump; one can almost feel the pitch-deck presentation behind them, and their febrile insistence upon themselves has a de-sensitizing effect upon the targeted "audience".
That's kind of why the mainstream feels so flat; so many conflicting, half-baked "signals" so loud that the sum total is nearly impenetrable "noise".
Even the realest signals can no longer get through, bc you never can know what's organic and what's designed.
It's such an interesting piece; Amartya Sen used to say about London that "cultures cross like ships in the nights". I think this argument is even more true with social networks; what seems to fade is actually very much alive somewhere, but not in your feed.
If subculture is absorbed into brand deals, is it really subculture anymore? I think not. The problem is that there is no bohemia anymore. No cheap place for creatives to live and work and exist outside of the capitalist matrix. There is less and less opportunity for the working class artist to make art that doesn't adhere to the values of capitalism.
The only thing I would add is that the indie twerp hipster aesthetic of the late '00s grew into the ethnic nerd early '10s subgenre, which paved the way for woke culture, which became its own college-backed subgenre. Woke was so easy for companies that already had a version of it in their arsenal. It was more about refining what they already had. Still have black sitcoms, but sell them as mainstream, no homophobic or sexist jokes and throw in some Twitter speak.
Now that this aesthetic is done, even with influencers (All Eyes on Rafah was literally one whole day and was certainly limited in its appeal with mainstream American celebrities [the only American celebs that shared it were already pro Pali, like Jenna Ortega]) there are two options: go with the fringe Dimes Square subculture, which is conservative and would certainly fit the pro-Israel media's conservative pvot; or wait for whatever anti-mainstream, left-coded subculture comes out and try to cannibalize that. The second option will not follow the standard immediate cannibalization. It will be more like the '60s, when they have to make sure everybody is into this.
There is, of course, a true possibility that no new left-coded subculture comes forward that doesn't mimic corporate wokeness because most youths, raised w influencer culture, can't fathom trying to create any culture without selling out. It's either sell out or stay out.
Still, fascinating stuff though and yes,fringes do exist.
It used to be that a subculture had to build up a certain attraction "lore" around itself, translated in ever-more elaborate pieces through the eyes of photographers and freelance writers and student filmmakers, before Commerce would look up from its newspaper and see what pieces it could turn into quarterly profits. That took time, usually 3-5 years.
These days, Commerce is much more invasive; it doesn't wait for a culture to grow before it snatches the sapling from the ground and chews it for juice; then casts the husk aside when its few drops are exhausted. The attempts by commercial brands to "steer" an ersatz aesthetic or culture into wide acceptance without that natural accrual of lore are exhausting from the jump; one can almost feel the pitch-deck presentation behind them, and their febrile insistence upon themselves has a de-sensitizing effect upon the targeted "audience".
That's kind of why the mainstream feels so flat; so many conflicting, half-baked "signals" so loud that the sum total is nearly impenetrable "noise".
Even the realest signals can no longer get through, bc you never can know what's organic and what's designed.
brilliant, yes!!
It's such an interesting piece; Amartya Sen used to say about London that "cultures cross like ships in the nights". I think this argument is even more true with social networks; what seems to fade is actually very much alive somewhere, but not in your feed.
A perfect read.
thank you!!
If subculture is absorbed into brand deals, is it really subculture anymore? I think not. The problem is that there is no bohemia anymore. No cheap place for creatives to live and work and exist outside of the capitalist matrix. There is less and less opportunity for the working class artist to make art that doesn't adhere to the values of capitalism.
The only thing I would add is that the indie twerp hipster aesthetic of the late '00s grew into the ethnic nerd early '10s subgenre, which paved the way for woke culture, which became its own college-backed subgenre. Woke was so easy for companies that already had a version of it in their arsenal. It was more about refining what they already had. Still have black sitcoms, but sell them as mainstream, no homophobic or sexist jokes and throw in some Twitter speak.
Now that this aesthetic is done, even with influencers (All Eyes on Rafah was literally one whole day and was certainly limited in its appeal with mainstream American celebrities [the only American celebs that shared it were already pro Pali, like Jenna Ortega]) there are two options: go with the fringe Dimes Square subculture, which is conservative and would certainly fit the pro-Israel media's conservative pvot; or wait for whatever anti-mainstream, left-coded subculture comes out and try to cannibalize that. The second option will not follow the standard immediate cannibalization. It will be more like the '60s, when they have to make sure everybody is into this.
There is, of course, a true possibility that no new left-coded subculture comes forward that doesn't mimic corporate wokeness because most youths, raised w influencer culture, can't fathom trying to create any culture without selling out. It's either sell out or stay out.
Still, fascinating stuff though and yes,fringes do exist.