My (//_+) EM[o]pinion
April 15th, 2008 by bonbinEMO means "emotional"…
Emo is a slang term known to be short for emotional,
but that doesn’t make much sense really. If you claim "emo" were to mean
"emotional" it then becomes an all encompassing word. It becomes
extremely vague and it has no limit as to what it can describe. Emo when
wrongfully used to mean "emotional" describes every living thing,
every song, every word, every breath, every statement.
EMO is a subculture…
The term emo is used to describe a subculture
which has evolved dramatically over time so the emo of yesterday and today will
be discussed.
[To the Top!]
Emo of yesterday…
Emo was created as a shortened term to describe a specific thing, in this
case "emotive hardcore" developed out of the D.C. punk scene
in the 80s. In its original incarnation, emo was short for emocore, or
emotional-hardcore. The name was applied to hardcore punk rock bands who
distinguished themselves from their peers by adding an emotional element to
their music. Themes of sadness, love and angst were dealt with in their lyrics.
The music was also characterised by particularly dramatic vocals which left the
audience in an emotionally charged state, crying or screaming. Real Emo was
manly and hard. It was fast and thrashy sung in a way that wasn’t pretencious
and whiney. This genre is still alive today, although very obscure and unknown
to most.
The history of emo is somewhat less ambiguous than its current meaning which
is detailed next.
Emo of today…
The culture continued to develop through the 90’s and into the new
millennium really kicking off around 2003 and reaching the height of its popularity
to date. The word has been adopted by a whole generation of teenage music
lovers for whom a melodramatic attitude and style of dress is just as important
as musical taste. It’s now seen as one of the more consumer-driven subcultures,
and one of the most brand-obsessed.
Initially defined as a genre of music, nowadays the cultural phenomenon that
is Emo is much more than that encompassing its own set of fashion, style,
behavior, and perspectives on life within the definition. The music is also
significantly different to what was once classed as emo. These
changes/evolution obviously are the subject of debate and anger
"yesterdays true" emos. At the end of the day its just a word that
has horned its way into popular usage while shedding many of the qualities that
originally defined it.
Punk
which can be described as Emo’s predecessor also evolved to encompass a
diversified set of lifestyle suggestions above and beyond the kind of music,
including certain behaviors, fashion imperatives and identity traits which are
indicative of an emerging new culture. Emo still has its roots firmly planted
in music with "emotion" is at its core though.
The behaviors, attitudes, and values expressed through the music involve
emotionally turbulent themes often associated with adolescence such as despair,
nostalgia, heartbreak, hope, and self-loathing. The various and sometimes
conflicting social practices associated with Emo subculture contain valuable
insights into what it means to be an adolescent today. For many youth, Emo
subculture facilitates identity formation, social interactions and emotional
involvement. It is a place where many adolescents share their experiences about
the world and express
their feelings about life through music.
Emo Music [read more]
By the millennium arguably "emo" bands were garnering regular
rotation on MTV, Kerrang, etc and radio
stations nationwide. These days, emo (inc. screamo, etc) music has been
popularised and sent into the mainstream through bands like Dashboard
Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, MCR, Aiden, Atreyu, Hawthorne
Heights, Silverstein, Funeral For A Friend, etc…(see emo bands)
Bless The Fall & Panic At The Disco
Emo Fashion [read more]
Probably nothing characterises the Emo look more than the Emo hairstyle - long
fringe (bangs) brushed to one side of the face or over one or both eyes, dyed
black (or other colors), straightened and layered… Spikes are occasionally
accentuated at certain angles of the hair.
Emo clothing is characteristed by skinny jeans (usually black), tight band
or vintage looking t-shirts or zip- hoodies, studded belts, converse or skate
shoes, black nail polish and eye liner on both genders. Black thick-rimmed glasses
are another popular feature.
Today’s emo fashion derives its influence from the gothic
subculture as well as from punk.
Emo Lifestyle [read
more]
An emo person is shy, quiet, mysterious, introvert, angst ridden and
sensitive often identified by his/her music and fashion (generalising here).
Artist talent is known to be associated with the emo culture along with a
degree of sophistication and depth. Emos can feel they are misunderstood by
society.
Emo’s like to go to gigs, write poetry (of the romantic and morbid kind),
gather on online communities such as Myspace, etc. They are like any normal person really!
Self-harm is
wrongly associated with the emo culture and the media has played a large part
in this describing the emo scene as dangerous for example!
Confusion and Criticism
The term’s definition is still the subject of debate, with some question as
to whether it can even be defined. There is no one definition of emo, nowadays
it is seemed to describe anything that’s a little bit different from the social
‘norms’ if you will.
Many other music-centered cultural movements are difficult to define.
Meanings evolve, replicate, and recombine so that Emo, which started as a
somewhat "agreed-upon" collective subculture, has become a highly
contested set of meanings and collective practices. "Emo" will just
get harder and harder to define as time goes on…You can get into a hundred
pointless debates about the definition and origin of emo.
In the years since emo music’s rise in popularity, it has attracted
criticism, often severe.
Society sometimes considers emos as failures; they are not strong enough to
hide their emotions, they’re sensitive, shy, introverted, and often quiet. The
outward expression of feelings makes them a target for ridicule. Usually, Emo
kids like to express their feelings writing poems about their problems with
depression, confusion, and anger; all because the world fails to understand
them.
Emo has been characterised as a fad that will be discarded and forgotten in
the near future. Critics cast the music as lacking any artistic merit and/or
musical skill, the fashion as embarrassing and the people as imagining or
pretending that they lead harsh, painful lives when they actually live in
comfortable, middle- to upper-class homes.
The ones who are emo not because they feel it, but because they like to be
trendy are named ‘posers’. Apparently a big percent of the current emo
subculture is formed by posers.
The emo subculture is accused that it is celebrating self-harm. I think
you’ll agree this is pretty stupid though! A lot of the pathethic anti–emo
quotes shown below link emo to self harm:
"It’s like the Emo culture has taken Punk and sprayed it with girly
deoderant."
"I’m so Emo, even surgeons are impressed with my skills with a
blade."
"I’m so emo, its a lucky day if I get a papercut."
"I’m so emo, i’m changing my name to Gillette."
"I wish my lawn were emo…then it would cut itself."
"I’m so emo, i attempted to drown myself… in my own tears."
"Im so emo, id cut my wrists and hope to die with tears of blood running
from my eye."
Future
The themes underpinning the Emo revolution will never go away. They will
always be prominant feature of mainstream youth culture. Emo, as a catch-all
phrase, will eventually phase out and be replaced by a new word-of-the-day
befitting the emotional character of the times.
The term "scene" has become popular since the emo subculture
kicked off. Scene kids I believe are more about the style and looking like an
emo without the personality of it all. In other words, scene kids are the ones
that dress emo, but only because it’s a trend or you could say Scene is Emo
without the emotion. The term is subject to a significant debate like emo
though.
eNJoY YouR EMo - Be BoHeMiaN
