|
by Jennifer Bowman
Emo. The word can describe a mood, a type of music, or a group of people involved in an odd subculture they think makes them original somehow.
According to UrbanDictionary.com, emo the music style is "punk rock on estrogen", the group of people consists of "adherents who profess to excessively melancholy temperaments", and the mood is merely short for the word "emotional".
Now, the emo society is prevalent amongst teenagers who vary between the gothic and nerd subcultures. Obviously, those who are part of the emo clique often listen to emo music. And this spawns feelings of oversensitivity, narcissism, whininess, and a general bratty attitude. But that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that.
Oh wait. YES THERE IS. I will never understand why well-off, spoiled rotten, middle class children group together over bad music in an attempt to be individual. First of all, there's a cute little oxymoron there. Grouping together for non-conformist purposes is a hypocrisy that is evident in two places: with whiny teenagers and communists.
It's an interesting theory, mind you, that could be watched and even admired. After all, everyone, at heart, wants to be accepted. You never want to be a loner. So it's natural to look for people who have the same interests as you, and talk to them and hang out with them for the sake of conversation and sanity.
However, when people bond over hackneyed music and the simple belief that they are superior to the rest of humanity, nothing good can possibly occur. There is a t-shirt with the saying "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." And nothing could possibly be truer than that proverb right there. But add a nice "PS. With Dashboard Confessional CDs" at the end of the line. And then, American citizens, you have a growing fear.
Perhaps, though, I am a bit harsh in my judgments of the subculture. Perhaps I hold on to the stereotypes too closely as facts. Perhaps I'm just tired of seeing scrawny, eighteen year-old boys wearing the same clothes as my fourteen year-old sister.
If this is the case, then maybe I myself am in dire need of a reality check and horn-rimmed glasses.
But I certainly hope not.
I cannot belong to any one subculture. I find it hard to understand those who do. It's like you have one mood constantly, and you're trapped in a web of a community with strict rules and regulations to adapt to. I definitely feel "emo" every now and then, but always? Well, I don't know. I don't think it's possible. I think I'm right. I swear I'm right, I swear I knew it all along.
.
|
|
