Emo on the web: exploring a subculture
Posted by Steven Parker on 09 May 2008 - 09:55 · 41 comments & 10607 views
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Full name: Steven Parker
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(4 replies)
#1 Posted by Typhon on 09 May 2008 - 10:09
- What a waste of life.
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#1.2 Posted by tom01 on 09 May 2008 - 15:30
- (Mango said @ #2)...being an emo or killing yourself?
Both. -
#1.3 Posted by theyarecomingforyou on 09 May 2008 - 21:19
- lol
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(7 replies)
#2 Posted by MightyJordan on 09 May 2008 - 10:44
- And as usual, My Chemical Romance are mis-labeled (read the full article). They're NOT Emo.
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#2.2 Posted by MightyJordan on 09 May 2008 - 15:12
- (rev3nant said @ #2.1)You're right. They're just crap.
True. I used to listen to them, but they've got stale now.
BTW, their actual genre is Alternative. I should have mentioned that in my OP. -
#2.3 Posted by Shadrack on 09 May 2008 - 17:32
- To everyone outside of EMO, My Chemical Romance is EMO. Only people who are all 'emo' seem to even care about the subject of MCR, it seems.
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#2.4 Posted by wetlegs6 on 09 May 2008 - 18:11
- Haha!
...Oh, you're serious...
Have you listened to the lyrics? -
#2.5 Posted by PureLegend on 11 May 2008 - 20:04
- MCR like to think they're not emo because they think emo is a pile of ****. Make of that what you will but it sounds like they're in denial.
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#2.6 Posted by The Gunslinger on 12 May 2008 - 08:21
- (rev3nant said @ #2.1)You're right. They're just crap.
LMAO...
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(1 reply)
#3 Posted by +Cy Bones on 09 May 2008 - 10:55
- There was an interesting discussion about this on BBC Radio 2 yesterday (Jeremy Vine).
The more coverage this is given, the more parents should question what their kids are feeling / how they are behaving.
Emo itself is not the problem - there are normally other issues that lead people to it (somewhere they feel less alone, can identify with others / express themselves etc).
It's very sad that this young girl chose the path she did but it is not the fault of the music / Emo scene - there must have been other, deeper issues. -
#3.1 Posted by Shadrack on 09 May 2008 - 17:35
- (Cy Bones said @ #3)There was an interesting discussion about this on BBC Radio 2 yesterday (Jeremy Vine).
The more coverage this is given, the more parents should question what their kids are feeling / how they are behaving.
Emo itself is not the problem - there are normally other issues that lead people to it (somewhere they feel less alone, can identify with others / express themselves etc).
It's very sad that this young girl chose the path she did but it is not the fault of the music / Emo scene - there must have been other, deeper issues.
100% agreed. More useful information would be the suicide rates within all teenage pop-cultures. People who aren't emo commit suicide all the time.
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(6 replies)
#4 Posted by onscreen on 09 May 2008 - 13:03
- Emo is not the problem, the people is. It is like MMO players blaming MMO for ruining their lives / families.
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#4.1 Posted by +GreyWolfSC on 09 May 2008 - 13:18
- (onscreen said @ #4)Emo is not the problem, the people is. It is like MMO players blaming MMO for ruining their lives / families.
Thank you. One should not blame mental instability on the media unstable people consume. An obsessive personality may be fueled by media, but it is not created by it. -
#4.2 Posted by C_Guy on 09 May 2008 - 15:29
- "It is like MMO players blaming MMO for ruining their lives / families."
Absolutely. If someone surrounds themselves with music that elaborates "pain, loneliness and depression" then it's only going to magnify those feelings. I think all teens go through this (I know I did) but not all teens drown in a culture emphasizing pain and loneliness.
I find it bitterly ironic that the Emo culture brings teens together in a sense of belonging when Emo is all about suffering and loneliness because that's all these kids really want at the core - to belong. -
#4.3 Posted by brianshapiro on 09 May 2008 - 16:37
- (C_Guy said @ #4.2)"It is like MMO players blaming MMO for ruining their lives / families."
Absolutely. If someone surrounds themselves with music that elaborates "pain, loneliness and depression" then it's only going to magnify those feelings. I think all teens go through this (I know I did) but not all teens drown in a culture emphasizing pain and loneliness.
I find it bitterly ironic that the Emo culture brings teens together in a sense of belonging when Emo is all about suffering and loneliness because that's all these kids really want at the core - to belong.
I don't think there's anything wrong with these feelings or music that explores these feelings or even some of the fashion. But there's something definitely off with dressing in the same pre-made style as millions of other kids and listening to the same pre-marketed music as millions of other kids and thinking your feelings are authentic. If anything is wrong with fashion this decade, thats it, everyone is trying to dress in a way thats individual and authentic, and they all end up looking the same, because they buy their look from the same catalogues.
As for emo kids who have emotional problems, I would guess for some people this culture distorts their identity. -
#4.4 Posted by brianshapiro on 09 May 2008 - 17:26
- I know people on here probably have strong feelings on decriminalization/legalization of marijuana; I think it should be decriminalized myself, although I think full legalization would be a mistake. However, its worth noting that (I would guess) plenty of emo kids ar likely to use marijuana, and this is a very believable study on marijuana use:
"That use can have serious consequences, according to the report. Teenagers who smoke marijuana to self-medicate can compound their depression, the report said.'
"Depressed teens are more than twice as likely as others to abuse or become dependent on marijuana, it said. And teenagers who use marijuana more than at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than teenagers who do not use the drug, it said."
( http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/09/depre...uana/index.html ) -
#4.5 Posted by balupton on 11 May 2008 - 10:14
- Did any of you read the full article? The article was a fantastic unbiased view into what is the emo culture.(onscreen said @ #4)Emo is not the problem, the people is. It is like MMO players blaming MMO for ruining their lives / families.
You are just agreeing with the article.(C_Guy said @ #4.2)Absolutely. If someone surrounds themselves with music that elaborates "pain, loneliness and depression" then it's only going to magnify those feelings. I think all teens go through this (I know I did) but not all teens drown in a culture emphasizing pain and loneliness.
I find it bitterly ironic that the Emo culture brings teens together in a sense of belonging when Emo is all about suffering and loneliness because that's all these kids really want at the core - to belong.
No, emo is not about "pain, loneliness and depression", not at all. Other teenage groups would spend their time wasted talking about boobies, farts, and sex, however emo groups mature by discussing the topics that are emotion driven.
Just the same, emo music is not just about the negative emotions that you believe, but rather all. For example the band "Dashboard Confessional", they are tagged emo, even though their music is about love and happiness.
Again, the focus and misconception about emos being depressed is well stated by the article here "In any case, most psychologists suggest that expressing feelings of angst or depression is healthier than bottling them up.". It is just because the emo culture are not not ashamed to express and discuss their emotions, whereas the other "boobies and farts" cultures are (dare I say due to their lack of maturity, talking about your emotions is gay, just like how girls have cuties, grow up).(brianshapiro said @ #4)But there's something definitely off with dressing in the same pre-made style as millions of other kids and listening to the same pre-marketed music as millions of other kids and thinking your feelings are authentic. If anything is wrong with fashion this decade, thats it, everyone is trying to dress in a way thats individual and authentic, and they all end up looking the same, because they buy their look from the same catalogues.
As for emo kids who have emotional problems, I would guess for some people this culture distorts their identity.
Again, the emo culture, they dress differently, but so does all the non-emo cultures. Each culture dresses the same. When you head out clubbing, the emo clubs have a fashion sense, the slut clubs have their own, the older clubs their own, the rave clubs, the general clubs, etc etc.
I for one, prefer the "emo" clubs over the other clubs, as the other clubs, they judge you on what you wear (eg. dress standards for getting into a club, and etc. that guy is wearing bad clothes, he is uncool), however, the emo clubs judge you on who you are. -
#4.6 Posted by brianshapiro on 11 May 2008 - 16:00
- (balupton said @ #4.5)Again, the emo culture, they dress differently, but so does all the non-emo cultures. Each culture dresses the same. When you head out clubbing, the emo clubs have a fashion sense, the slut clubs have their own, the older clubs their own, the rave clubs, the general clubs, etc etc.
I for one, prefer the "emo" clubs over the other clubs, as the other clubs, they judge you on what you wear (eg. dress standards for getting into a club, and etc. that guy is wearing bad clothes, he is uncool), however, the emo clubs judge you on who you are.
I don't really care for any sub culture that all dresses the same. My impression though was that while they're all dressing the same, people in the emo culture think they all have their individual style, while really they're just buying into a pre-fashioned style and doing their own variation. There's also nothing bad about focusing on emotions and deeper topics, but when you do that because its a cool thing to do rather than just being honest then you become very pretentious about it.
Spending all your day talking about deep angst that you think is cool is not better than talking about "boobies and farts". Normal people have feelings but they don't fetishize them and often get over them. If you think emo clubs really judge you on who you are, I wonder what you think the emo reaction to a Republican would be.
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(1 reply)
#5 Posted by Fluffy2k on 09 May 2008 - 16:26
- You know if this was Fark the comments section would be filling up with pictures of hot emo chicks by now.
Need more pictures!!
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(1 reply)
#6 Posted by GEIST on 09 May 2008 - 16:58
- What unknown sub-cultures will Times Online discover next for us? The mysterious, little known Goths?
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#6.1 Posted by brianshapiro on 09 May 2008 - 17:14
- FOSS nerds
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(1 reply)
#7 Posted by +mrbester on 09 May 2008 - 17:37
- The Telegraph thought My Chemical Romance are emo as well and had a couple of pictures of her in yesterday's edition, one in her emo get-up and another without. They had the nerve to caption the one without as "her looking normal". Patronising tossers.
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#7.1 Posted by brianshapiro on 09 May 2008 - 17:45
- I would guess at least the one where she was said to 'look normal' didn't have her wearing a cheesy getup. You know like how on daytime talk shows they always have makeover programs that make their guests look worse. Or how America Ferrara looks cuter in her Ugly Betty getup than how she dresses for award shows
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#9 Posted by tiagosilva29 on 09 May 2008 - 22:59
If life is so fair, why do roses have thorns?
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(1 reply)
#10 Posted by hotdog963al on 09 May 2008 - 23:48
- Emo Kids, you mean Scene Kids.
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#10.1 Posted by +Dakkaroth on 10 May 2008 - 07:48
- Wtf ever, just give us scene girls plz. kthx.
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#11 Posted by +dysmatik on 10 May 2008 - 00:32
- ...and the last generation (gen X) it was the Goth's
really people...
..however, while people thought Goth's were "sad" they were really more angsty in a more "I don't care what you think, I like spooky stuff" kinda way.
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(2 replies)
#13 Posted by Jock Horror on 10 May 2008 - 10:30
- pix -- there we go...
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#13.1 Posted by hotdog963al on 11 May 2008 - 19:43
- Wut? These two specimens are not emo children...
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#14 Posted by Oxuyoska on 10 May 2008 - 16:57
- Do not even try to connect this to Husker Du and the like. Emocore was good music, emo is just plain every day ****.
Edit:
Blaming the music these kids listen to is just passing the buck. I listen to Cannibal Corpse and you don't see me turning into a serial killer/rapist/or some combination of the two, just because I listen to Death Metal. People these days are too willing to just give up on their kids and give them some money to make them go away and stop bothering them. I always had strict rules and had to do this and that or else I got my self beaten up by my Dad. I didn't have the option to kill myself like these kids do, because I had simply to much stuff to do to have time to plan to kill myself.
Last edited by Oxuyoska on 10 May 2008 - 17:04
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#15 Posted by +lylesback2 on 11 May 2008 - 18:46
- i personally think parents allow too much freedom in their children these days, and once they pass that point, they are no longer accepted and parents just distance them selfs from their children.
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#16 Posted by Izlude on 11 May 2008 - 18:58
- Before the 1970's, it was spank spank spank. All you can spank buffet! For centuries CENTURIES coperal punishment has gone on. But this latest interruption has boomed this new era of teen rebels.
Just look at this hunky spunky cartoon! Beat dat ass! Don't take no sas!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cgxmiq_j5Ew
Thanks to my daddy murdering mah ass as a kid, I'm as happy as can be to this day! Now I KNOW how to behave.
Emo has deep and spreading roots, which few who are close to it regard with much alarm. What began as narrowly defined musical genre more than two decades ago has since broadened into an attitude, a lifestyle and a fashion statement that has found a spiritual home on the internet.
The movement sprang from Washington DC’s energetic mid-Eighties punk scene, picking up its name when the music was described, perhaps dismissively, as ‘emotional’ or ‘emotive’. After falling in and out of favour over the next decade or so, the bands and their followers migrated onto the web, where lyrical veneration of pain, loneliness and depression combined with a largely teenage fan base to create an extensive online culture.