There's Culture, and there's Counter Culture
There is no such thing as a perfectly individualistic individual.
For eons, man has been trying to act 'cool', stand out from among the group, be the centre of attention and be the first to do this and do that. But I would like to point out to you that, Too bad, you ain't the first one to do it.
Nothing is new under the sun. Everything has been made by a creator and that ain't you. Man does not have the ability to create anything. He just merely harnesses its power. Edison did not invent light, he found a way to change electricity into light. Dear Mr. Bell didn't create electricity, he learned the tricks of nature and found a way to harnessed the power that he studied in lightning.
So too are we, today. We are all trying very hard to come up with something new, fashion, ways or writing, ways of thinking...
So the news for you today is... You aren't the only one who thinks like that!
Whenever you engage yourself into a form of culture, say gothic mixed with punk mixed with whatever, you are actually performing out of your culture, and whatever culture that you've studied and assimilated. That is called innovation.
The poorest of you guys out there are those who think that you are starting a new trend, and that you are the only one who's doing this in your neighbourhood. Sorry to say that if you would look around at other people more than you would look at yourself, you'll find that you are either the direct opposite of some form of culture (counter-culture) or you are just mixing a few cultures together and call it a new culture.
So there's culture, and there's counter culture.
This posting is not meant to be understood.
posted by SaDdNesZ.jc @ 8/29/2005 05:54:00 pm
5 Comments:
Oh, I forgot to mention about the Habitus, and the notion that you can never perform out of your own box.
So the next time someone asks you to think outside the box, then you shall direct him to this page.
We can only think within the boundaries of what we know. We cannot think from the perspective of what we do not know.
Gab: Culture is what makes us walk and talk like we do. This post is to make people realise that whatever they may think, they cannot perform outside of their own habitus (Habitat).
A habitus is the boundary of your own knowledge. Your past experiences, knowledge and studies will dictate your habitus. You cannot act on something that you know nothing about. It is as simple as, You can't perform an act that you do not know.
Therefore, in culture, whenever some guy 'thinks' he's started a trend of some sort, he is merely innovating on something that is already out there.
Some people like to be outstanding and therefore, they act and wear clothes differently to what is the norm for society. But he cannot act/wear anything that has not been done before, because he hasn't got the ability/knowledge to do something more than his habitus will allow. You can cut holes anywhere on your shirt, and you can argue that it's a different cut, but then, it's the cutting of holes on a shirt has been done before.
So in actual fact, he didn't create anything new. He improvised.
And some people merely act in rebellion to the norm of today. But if you can think the opposite then chances are, there are other people out there who can think the same. So in the end, whatever form of counter-culture is still culture.
You are not as individualistic as you would like to think you are. Whenever you act in the direct opposite of some form of culture, you'll find that there's someone else who's got the same idea.
saddening??
I'm a communications graduate... :)
counter-culture is when you act in rebellion of today's culture.
If wearing a bra is the norm, you would act and perform the exact opposite, a form of counter-culture, but you're not the only one who's gonna do that.
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