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| Picture source: reddit.com |
'Yes, Karen, my jeans are ripped... No, Karen, I'm not going to kill you in your sleep...'
Gah, not to sound like a Monster-drinking, wristband-wearing, head-banging emo here, but I'm pretty much a Monster-drinking, wristband-wearing, head-banging emo (I prefer the term evolved-and-established-emo) and I'm sick to death of the countless side-eyes and snide comments even to this day. Like pretty much everyone my age (let's put it this way, I was born before 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love' was released) I had an emo phase: winged eyeliner, blue hair and all, and just never entirely grew out of it. That isn't necessarily even a bad thing, either.
The purpose of this article isn't to whine atop muffled Black Veil Brides blasting in a poster-clad room, crying that you're judging me for being 'unlike the other kids' and pushing past me in school corridors. Again, like most people that peaked in the primetime of emo, I have far outgrown that period of my life and frankly couldn't care less what you think of me. However, I do have an issue with the constant stigmatisation and scapegoating of every realm of thinkable alternative cultures.
Again, I am not referring to trivial matters and I do not intend to moan and groan. I'd like to think I'm slightly more mature than that, even if I do have to flip my fringe out of my eyes sometimes. What I'm actually referring to are the unjust assumptions that people have on individuals with slightly divergent interests or presentations. Alternative-leaning people, whether that means having a favouring for heavier music, liking of macabre media, or dyeing your hair every colour under a Twilight moon and piercing your face, are often the subject of scoffing - and that's really not okay (trust me).
Let's start off with one of my favourite conversational topics - horror movies. Without straying into a territory wherein I gush for an entire article about how much horrors and thrillers fascinate me, I just want to touch upon why fans of creepy movies are probably not as sinister as you perceive them to be. While, yes, there have been circumstances in which people have committed unthinkable acts and used horror films as a guise for their instability (Chucky is an example, read further here), people often approach films in this genre because of their complexity. The motives behind horror movies are usually inexplicable, and it is simply human nature for the mind to be drawn to what it does not understand.
I don't know about you, but I cannot even begin to fathom why serial killers and the like do what they do, regardless of whether I wear dark clothing or dye my hair sometimes. For me, at least, this is a major drawing point of the genre. Horror movies test and warp the mind to realms often unexplored, trying and testing the audience while presenting simultaneous thrills. Being enticed by these types of films does not make you innately violent or dangerous at all, rather curious and inquisitive. Using such media to scapegoat one's butcherous antics is cowardly and threatens the credibility and reputation of an entirely intelligent and mindful community.
The purpose of this article isn't to whine atop muffled Black Veil Brides blasting in a poster-clad room, crying that you're judging me for being 'unlike the other kids' and pushing past me in school corridors. Again, like most people that peaked in the primetime of emo, I have far outgrown that period of my life and frankly couldn't care less what you think of me. However, I do have an issue with the constant stigmatisation and scapegoating of every realm of thinkable alternative cultures.
Again, I am not referring to trivial matters and I do not intend to moan and groan. I'd like to think I'm slightly more mature than that, even if I do have to flip my fringe out of my eyes sometimes. What I'm actually referring to are the unjust assumptions that people have on individuals with slightly divergent interests or presentations. Alternative-leaning people, whether that means having a favouring for heavier music, liking of macabre media, or dyeing your hair every colour under a Twilight moon and piercing your face, are often the subject of scoffing - and that's really not okay (trust me).
Let's start off with one of my favourite conversational topics - horror movies. Without straying into a territory wherein I gush for an entire article about how much horrors and thrillers fascinate me, I just want to touch upon why fans of creepy movies are probably not as sinister as you perceive them to be. While, yes, there have been circumstances in which people have committed unthinkable acts and used horror films as a guise for their instability (Chucky is an example, read further here), people often approach films in this genre because of their complexity. The motives behind horror movies are usually inexplicable, and it is simply human nature for the mind to be drawn to what it does not understand.
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| Picture source: consequenceofsound.net |
While this is not always the case, horror fans are usually alternative-presenting to one extent or another. Therefore, the stigma that stems from eerie films seeps into alternative cultures - society's bias becomes lost in translation and applies to once unrelated communities as a result. The moral of this segment is ultimately that alternative people are not inherently violent. There is no correlation between an individual's presentation or interests and their actions. Stop assuming as such.
As this is an article with the intention of derailing preconceived stereotypes, I think it's appropriate to touch upon the baseless presumption that heavy music promotes violent behaviour. This is simply not true. In fact, one of its many functions is to incite quite the opposite. Granted, I understand that the perspective of those unfamiliar with rock, metal, and the like, may be skewed by the aggressive-sounding delivery of these genres, but the technicalities underneath the screams elevate such tracks to a level of unmatched intricacy.
If you're familiar with the alternative side of social media, there's a pretty high chance you've seen those god-awful memes about how rock music is superior to the cringe-fest that is pop music. You know the ones, with the overly filtered, grainy photos of Gerard Way versus Nicki Minaj and the like, with a thickly-bordered, superlative caption? Despite being grossly outdated and datelessly gross, there is some backing to the claim, 'Rock music helps people, *insert generic lyric here*, but is looked down upon by many'.
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| Picture source: mzstatic.com |
Of course, this does not cover the entirety of society. Not anymore, at least. Alternative music is becoming more popular among the mainstream, much to the disgust of many, but I'm somewhat referring to the stigma planted onto such communities by older generations in particular.
Contrary to popular belief, alternative music encourages community because such groups are used to being turned away by society. These outskirts of the media expanse band together for the exact reason that they are alternative, thus creating solidarity that defies many negative stereotypes placed on such types of people.
Alternative communities are extremely celebratory across the board. Common denominating interests among such subcultures, like horror films and heavier music, only serve to be appreciated and shared without the potential for judgment. Because of this expansive positivity, alternative people are often the most genuine and intelligent people in society, as their exposure to various media texts, views, opinions, et cetera, allows them to be extremely open-minded and engaging.
Just because you can hear punk beats emanating from the headphones of the guy with a mohawk on the bus, doesn't mean you have to move to another seat, Karen. Maybe just spark up a conversation - you might surprise yourself. For all you know, you could have similar interests. Even if you don't, perhaps you could open up your pierceless ears for a second and acknowledge another more passionate perspective. What bad could come of it? You'd only spend your afternoon sneering at the sight of someone's kneecaps through ripped jeans or scoffing at a nose ring anyway, so why not?
Article by: PJ
