Random

[textualdeviance]

What the heck is it with knee-jerk contrarians/rebels?

I really, really don't get people who act out against something just because they perceive it as popular or because someone they don't like likes it. I mean, fair enough if the underground band you like gets shitty after they get a contract or if you're opposed to the recording industry on principle. But if they're otherwise still the same band, still doing the same good stuff, wtf?

Likewise with the liking something just because it's non-mainstream. (Especially when said non-mainstream stuff has become mainstream on its own. Hi, Hot Topic? Is not counter-culture. Sheesh.)

Grow the hell up, y'know? Y'know what really IS cool and independent? Liking what you like and disliking what you don't like regardless of how many other people like those things.

And this goes for everything, btw: Pop culture, politics, religion, fashion, w'ev.

Mindless trendoiding is stupid, but so is mindless trend bucking. Assess each thing on its own merits. Learn about it from experts in that field. Find out what's good or not so good about it, using reliable sources for that information. And then make up your own mind based on all that data collection. If it turns out that the thing has merit, go for it. Don't look around you to see whether everyone else is on that train.

Comments

[van.livejournal.com]

All I can say is that in some cases it's disliking the fans who now like what you used to like. I've been turned off many TV shows and things, because when they got "mainstream" they attracted a lot of fan types that gave the fandom a bad name and I didn't want to be lumped in as "one of them." Sadly, they can frequently make me dislike a show too, by talking only about how hot (or not) some celebrity is, or how canon (or not) some pairing it, and so forth. It shouldn't ruin my enjoyment, but it definitely has happened in the past, even if I try to pull away from the fandom.

I also know that in the past if I imported some rare, say, shirt with a character logo on it, it was a symbol of my interest in said show. If someone complimented my shirt they got it and we were sort of friends based on both getting this sort of obscure reference. You had to be a pretty big fan to "Get it." Nowadays, you can buy the same or similar shirt in Hot Topic (or whatever) and have no idea that it's a logo for a band or show or whatever. I've actually gone up to someone before and said, "I like your shirt, I'm a fan of that show too" and the person has had no idea what I was talking about. Just a bit depressing. It took away the... hunt and fun of it, for me, I guess.

I agree people should like what they like for their own reasons, but sometimes I can't help it. People who hate a band when they sell out just because they sold out are morons. But if in the process of selling out, the quiet little private venues they used to enjoy going to and hanging out with the band become huge 5,000+ crowds of mobs and over priced and it loses the fun? I totally understand why they might move on, even if the music stayed similar.

[rebeccama.livejournal.com]

Grow the hell up, y'know? Y'know what really IS cool and independent? Liking what you like and disliking what you don't like regardless of how many other people like those things.

Agreed. Disliking something because it is popular is being as much a tool of popularity as automatically liking something because it is popular.