Defending The Emo Culture…Sort Of
My younger brother is totally an emo. Chat to him about school or his girlfriend and he always finds some way to include an obscure philosophical lyric from some eyeliner wearing band into the conversation. It’s pretty cute. In a few years I’m hoping he’ll start quoting Nietzsche or even Dawkins, but for now, it’s My Chemical Romance and AFI.
One of the strangest things I’ve noticed though, being quite into subcultures myself, is how much the emo scene is detested by so many other niche groups. I find it hilarious that scruffy metal heads, painted goths and ageing rockers even have an opinion. Heck, even live action role-players will have a go at a kid in skinny jeans before going back to their pretend life as magic conjurers. Do you see the hilarity? A teenager romanticising suicide, writing poetry and feeling all philosophical is nothing new – we all thought we were awesome and original for some silly reason when we were 17.
So, my brother obviously identifies with the emo vibe, spending hours sculpting his fringe before heading out in his green skinnies, black rimmed glasses and cut off gloves. He’ll find meaning in obscure lyrics posted to various mobile social networks from his BlackBerry and ponder the meaning of life and death in his room. How on earth this makes him any different from someone who wears a trench coat and a dog collar while head banging to Viking metal is a mystery to me. It’s just a look; it’s just a preference … mostly, it’s just a phase. An androgynous emo or a goth dressed in pleather – who cares?
As for the danger that parents, organisations and dare I say, churches, preach about kids being into emo blogs, music and culture – it’s really quite pointless. Whether your kid plays Dungeons and Dragons all weekend, wears corpse paint like Cradle of Filth or scruffs their hair and hangs out with post rockers smoking a joint – if they’re stable they’re stable and ,unfortunately, if they’re not Death Cab for Cutie won’t send them over the edge – life will.
All that being said, the one and only problem I have with emo kids are the pictures they post online. Ever noticed how they’re often in a bathroom, wide-eyed and pouting into the camera with a toilet behind them? I’ve banned little brother from posting these pictures online or on his emo blog – it’s just weird. Most other subcultures are off the hook when it comes to this one, so maybe we need an emo chat room picture revolution, and everyone will get along a little more.
