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Corporate Casualties
Culture Robbed From the Cradle
Ben
Erwin
Arts editor
I believe artist Andy Warhol said it best while
explaining his art when he commented, “Everything comes
back twice in its lifetime. It first presents itself as something
cultural, something with significance and meaning. During
its second coming however, most movements, instead of being
a cultural happening are merely a commercial liability, and
usually end up in the end as dead as their creator.
Not only were Warhol’s words extremely prophetic concerning
his own work, but also in many ways foreshadowed many “second
comings” which he would never live to see. Think to
yourself for a moment and try to come up with just a few of
the things in the 90s and beyond that have resurfaced.
Well, there was the second long swing revival, a momentary
renewed interest in the clothing of the late 60’s and
early 70’s, and a resurrection of the putrid ghost of
disco just to name a small few. In many cases, original cultural
phenomenon are given a second chance through a resurgence
in interest that starts as a mere blip on the radar but gradually
grows larger, in many cases because of nostalgia, and somehow
continues to pick up momentum. That is, picks up momentum
until a corporate conglomerate sees it, wants it, grabs it,
bastardizes it, chews it up, regurgitates it back up with
intent to sell, and ends up making a hefty profit; killing
it dead.
Just ask the Coca Cola and Gap companies where swing went
after those “clever” ads appeared on television
for four months non-stop. Or ask the Subaru Company how many
cars they sold in the early 90’s using the slogan; “
It’s like punk, except it’s a car!”
These are prime examples of how something so pure as resurging
musical forms can be ground into the dust by industry. Alas,
these things are fads and should be treated as such. What
however happens to slang and the teenage axiom of reinterpreting
and rearranging language to make it their own?
Inevitably, every year, as some sort of ritual rebellion against
authority, young adults effortlessly come up with a new batch
of slang and expressions that they can rightfully call their
own. Yet as soon as they are thought up they disappear.
In years past, much of teenage culture has been by large ignored
by the populous, but somehow, starting in the eighties and
continuing into the 90’s, there has been a renewed interest
in all things teen. This may be in part due to the profitable
teen market, nostalgic businessmen trying to connect to some
lost piece of childhood, or a plethora of other just as easily
dismissed notions. Whatever the reason, people now seem to
go out of their way to exploit teenagers especially when it
comes to their culture and vocabulary.
One look at movie multiplex billboards or a perusal of Billboard’s
album charts will give just about anyone a glimpse into the
stir that teenagers have somehow managed to cause. In some
cases, films like John Singleton’s “Boys in the
Hood,” Kevin Smith’s “Clerks,” or
to a lesser extent, Larry Clark’s “Kids,”
made a valiant effort to accurately represent generations
X and Y. Sadly these movies still fell into the trap of creating
badly made archetypes and even blatant stereotypes of people
in their early twenties and late teens.
Even magazines like Spin, Rolling Stone, Webster’s dictionary,
and small town papers have delved into teen culture and slang.
The moral is this, while adults may have a fascination with
teen and popular culture, most attempts to cultivate a piece
of the language and the style end in the death of a purely
positive creation. It’s just that some attempts ring
hollow and therefore completely negate their purpose.
In the words of punk revolutionary Johnny Rotten, “Do
you ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”
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