Welcome to the 178th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode, we question the longevity of subculture in the contemporary age, debating weather or not it still exists, and where you might be able to find it.
Before we begin, let’s be clear, subculture while rather undefined in beginning or end, is usually referred to as just about everything that followed the Teddy Boys. Most popular in the 50s, this gang was predominantly rooted in Britian’s rock scene and was plagued as violent, alternative youth, before becoming a trend and gaining widespread notoriety.
We can use this example as a base for subculture’s persistent dilemma, and reasoning as to why many think it’s dead. On the surface or not, many have an individuality complex, meaning that alternative groups constantly face endangerment. Now emphasized by our digitized, interconnected world, it’s difficult to hide or simply indulge in something on one’s own. It feels as if the second interest stirs, the group’s ethos are pillaged for all to see.
With the Internet’s accessibility, enthusiasts don’t have to commit to a singular coterie, as it’s easier to open four Google Chrome tabs a minute than it is to attend a concert a week. As a result, newcomers are unlikely to share the personas or traits a certain band may have been built upon, in essence swearing allegiance to something they’re unacquainted with and uncommitted to. This mentality can in turn ‘commercialize’ the niche, killing aspects the core following once fell in love with, which is why sub-culture is thought to be extinct, or religiously gate-kept.
But this mentality is just simply wrong. No matter how many social media warriors grow an affection for Kurt Cobain, or wear Raf Simons because they heard it in a Rocky song, the core community with always retain their rooted interest. It isn’t fair to blanket subculture as dead, it’s simply different, hiding in the Internet’s shadows, out of view. Just because you haven’t heard of it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there, as that’s the nature of subculture.
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