IS ALTERNATIVE CULTURE DEAD?

There was a time when you could tell what music someone was into simply by the way they dressed. Long hair and a denim vest full of illegible band logos: they were a fan of heavy metal, Dressed in black and makeup like an extra from Dracula, you got yourself a goth, Spiky hair that could take out anyone’s eye dyed in a garish color, that my friends was a punk. Ever since the concept of teenagers came about in the 1950s, there has always been a need for rebellion and self-expression. A decade ago, no boring British town was complete without a group of teens in ill-fitting Slipknot t shirts smoking cigarettes outside a decaying shopping Centre and scaring the old people. These alternative folk were outside the mainstream and often targeted. There was a clear dividing line between what the normal people liked and the “others”. But now a days it seems the lines are blurred. Platinum rap artists such as Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Peep and Playboy Carti dress like an extra from a Marylin Manson video and just the other day I received an ad for Slayer, Motorhead and Judas Priest t shirts (hardly surprising looking at my Spotify), but this wasn’t from Impericon or any other specialist store, it was from the fast fashion giant Boohoo man. Now I do not want to be a snarky gatekeeper at all (I have better things to do) and those bands are hardly the most extreme or underground artists, but it got me thinking, if the go to site of the love island wannabe, turkey teeth having influencers is selling what was once considered edgy and dangerous. Is alternative subculture dead.

However, it could be argued that the commercial availability and acceptance of alternative cultures is a good thing. There was and sadly still is many cases of people facing bullying and even murder (The tragic case of Sophie Lancaster in 2007) for simply expressing themselves differently and the fact alternative styles are being more accepted is after all a good thing. Plus, the fact that alternative clothing items are now easier accesses means people who live in areas without cool alternative shops can still express themselves.

Before we can kill something, we need to first define what it is and how we got there. The identity of the subculture is largely linked with teenagers, although I know and see many geriatric people still dress alternatively. After the horrors of the second world war and the deaths of millions of young million men the generation after them were a lot more nihilistic and faith in the institutions had begun to deteriorate. Suddenly young people realized that the older generation were pretty clueless and with the threat of nuclear war looming they thought, you know what lets rebel. The first real subculture was the Teddy Boys, young men riding motorbikes, big hairs in pompadours with sharp suits carrying knives and listening to early rock and roll. Almost immediately the older generation feared them and reacted negatively by trying to arrest and clamp down on them. After this a slew of rebellious subcultures came about, reacting to what the mainstream culture was doing such as the hippies or the 60s and punks of the 70s.

Lil Peep, , one of the first Pioneers of emo rap, an icon to teenagers who the worst thing to happen to them was their crush not replying on Snapchat

I think one argument for the death of subculture is that is no longer intrinsically linked to music or an activity it is now linked to consumption and fashion. Sites like Tumblr and TikTok have popularized the aesthetic, where anyone can find ways to look grunge, goth or like a skater without even partaking in any activities related to them just purely looking like one. In the 80s if someone dressed in a gothic fashion they probably liked bands such as Bauhaus and The cure, but now they can easily dress goth without ever having to bother listening to those bands. One such example of this is how skater brands have become trendy now, skate stores are making record profits, even your nan has a thrasher hoodie but think about this, when was the last time you actually saw that many people skateboarding.

Then there is the whole issue of people wearing band t shirts of bands they do not listen to. Frankly I think there is too much arguing over it. Sure it can be annoying seeing someone wear the top of your fave band without knowing who they are, but if the money goes to the artist then who cares. This debate always comes back into the spotlight every time a celebrity wears a metal t shirt. Theres always some boomer up in arms because one of the Kardashians wore there favourite death metal bands thirts. Sure I highly doubt Kim K listens to Morbid Angel (probably got better things to do). But even being a poser can have a positve effect.Who knows maybe a fan of that celebrity might end up checking out the band because they thought the design was cool. I actually thought it is really cool whenever I see Ben Affleck wearing T- Shirts of the underappreciated Boston straight edge hardcore band Have Heart.

Perhaps another factor is individuality has taken over as the biggest factor in deciding to be alternative rather than the other main factor of wanting to belong to a group. Now with social media hyper individuality is key, if everyone is different then everyone is exactly the same. Before people joined these groups as they felt outcasted and they did not fit into the normal culture but now people become alternative to show how much they stand out. Scroll through Tiktok and you will plenty of goths on your FYP but where have all the goths who used to hang round shopping centers gone. A key example of this is the rise of the E girl and E boy from Tiktok, the e people are one of the first subcultures who are defined by posting online and there social media presence rather than the music they listen to, often anyone can be one, you just have to look the part, common characteristics of this subculture include a weird hodge podge of hip hop, skater, emo and goth fashion all in one.