Goths, Punks and Cultural Rebels: Our Rebellion is Dead and Hot Topic Killed It

I always knew I was a different. Was is because my favorite place to read when I was little was in the dark under the dining room table covered by the tablecloth, or was it because I was reading Brave New World and 1984 at 10 years old? (Ironically enough it was 1984.) Maybe it was because by the time I graduated from private Catholic elementary school in eighth grade I owed more money to the local library for overdue books than I owe now in school loans and the list of the books I had read would have landed me on some government watch list if we had been under the "Patriot" act back then, who knows.

When the other girls in my high school were listening to U2, I was listening to Depeche Mode, Throbbing Gristle, Front 242 and Ministry. I think that's a result of coming from an exceptionally musical and yet very turbulent family. My siblings were gifted musicians who all liked different styles of music ranging from what is now "Classic" rock to 70's pop (that one is all on my sister) and New Wave/ Alternative 80's pop. I'm not sure what mix of factors in my home life contributed to making me odd, but I always knew I was different. And as long as my grades were good, and I didn't get arrested, my parents pretty much let me be. My mom always said that because I am the youngest of many siblings, they were just too tired to care what I did as long as it didn't result in serious trouble. There were limits though... I distinctly remember some very anxious hours while my parents decided whether or not I was allowed to continue living in their house after I dyed my hair blue the first time at 16. Back then, dying your hair 'unnatural' colors was a subversive act.

No one likes to be judged on appearance, but the fact is that we do use visual cues to try and identify people who might share our ideas and beliefs. Back in the day, people like me used to hang out at local coffee shops and record stores, striking up conversations or at least giving the 'nod of solidarity' to anyone wearing black, Doc Martens, a motorcycle jacket, pink hair, a mohawk, or some other style which identified them as members of the subculture tribe. Back then, we were all constructing our own social identities from scratch, drawing from books, music, films and philosophies bits and pieces that we found compelling. We created a community for support, and hung out at goth/industrial/punk clubs all together, with minimal cliquishness and territory pissing contests. We all were in danger of getting harassed or beaten up when we walked down the street, but that bonded us. We were respectful when dealing with each other and helped each other.

Now though, the trappings of our cultural rebellion have been adopted and corrupted by advertising companies and retailers who figured out sometime in the mid 90's that there was a sizeable market out there of disenfranchised freaks, geeks and other outcasts who were now beginning careers and making money. Other cultural groups started appropriating our rebellion as well. Rap and Techno music videos sported women in fetish clothing. Thanks to Grunge, wearing Doc Martens became ubiquitous. Stores like Hot Topic sprang up, mass marketing "rebellion" to kids. Used to be when I saw someone wearing a CBGB's shirt, that person had either been there or knew someone who had been. Now, you can buy them at any mall. Ad companies are using The Clash and Blondie to sell cars.

I've heard the argument that all this mass marketing is a good thing, that it allows more people to really express themselves and live authentically but I disagree. I don't see how having the same t-shirt that 20,000 other people have makes you an individual. Mass marketed angst isn't authentic.
I was reading a collection of responses to the question "What is goth?" recently and one response really struck me. The respondent said that she had become a goth as "a response to being rejected by society." That stood out for me because choosing to be different from mainstream culture should be an authentic choice, a reflection of your attitudes and beliefs, not a reaction to mainstream society. I understand it can be difficult to find a way to live authentically in this kind of culture, especially these days. It can be kind of overwhelming to figure out who you are when all the things that used to influence us like family, neighborhood, religion, ethnicity, heritage etc have all broken down and melded together. But, just wearing black and forming your own little clique because the popular girls or boys won't let you play with them does not make you different. Stop mimicking them, stop mimicking us, and find your own path.

One night at a club I was chatting with an acquaintance who is the epitome of "cyber-industrial"in dress, musical tastes, cultural references etc but when I asked him if he was going to the Sisters of Mercy show the next month he looked confused and said he didn't really know who they were, so no. But he knew every band who had cropped up in the last two years who sounded exactly like them. And I was disturbed by that.This is music and art and philosophy that started, and continues to foster, a cultural revolution. Rivethead or Industrial culture and Cyber/Electro culture which grew from it, belongs to a very small group of subcultures that never were adopted into mainstream consciousness. In the mid 90's what had been Goth/Industrial culture split and became Goth and Industrial/Electro cultures. Industrial managed to stay off the societal radar, while Goth (pardon the pun) died. The death knell of any subculture is when a chain store in the mall starts selling subculture identity at a price any alienated teenager can afford. I blame Marilyn Manson, Hot Topic, and bad interpretations of romantic literature for that but the future of Goth culture was always questionable. How long can a subculture as over the top and drama heavy as Goth exist before it becomes a caricature of itself? If the late 80's/90's are anything to go by, about 5 years. It was all over when they franchised The Crow into what, 4 movies? When Goth poster child Robert Smith denies being Goth, it's all over kiddies.

What I find disturbing is that the ideas, the art, and the sense of community that we created is fading and a weak copy of the subculture we created is being adopted by people en masse who know nothing of the history behind it. . We were among the few groups in history to really exist happily outside the mainstream, and to create our own culture. We defied cultural norms and stereotypes, risked alienation and ridicule, forged new families among the kindred spirits we found drinking in dark dive bars or foraging through record bins in seedy record shops well off the beaten track. We carved a niche in society for ourselves, and then we watched while our lifestyles, interests, fashions, music and political statements were turned into mass-marked teenage angst.

I'm not advocating glorifying the past. Culture has changed, we need to change with it but that doesn't mean we have to abandon our authenticity and sell out. There are so many artists who are creating phenomenally interesting music and art for the new millennium, and that should definitely be explored. But you need to know the history of the culture to fully understand what comes next. In society today where education is being dumbed down to the simplest common denominator and special interest groups veto any discussion or exploration of anything 'unpleasant' or not 'politically correct' we are in real danger of losing perspective on the world. It's never been so important to critically examine the barrage of information we get on a daily basis and we've never had the kind of access to independent or non mainstream information, art, music, and culture as we have now. Our love of the non mainstream music, old and new, and commitment to live in a way that makes us happy even if it doesn't conform to traditional standards, remains but we can't forget the past, or we'll lose it.