Peasants of Dogtown

Here we go, not another beach-teen culture movie. There was already a movie about Dogtown made, why do we need another one? Maybe because the popularity of shit like the OC would prompt producers to milk that subculture until its teats wither. Yes, yes...I know the two are different..but the audience is the same.

Meanwhile, skateboarding purists from the dogtown era are shitting themselves. As did the Goth purists of the 80's when the gothic subculture became popular in the mainstream and was no longer "sub." As did the first handful of hippies when gypsy beads were first being sold in department stores. The list goes on and on. There is no longer a subculture of any kind. Underground is mainstream and mainstream is underground. Nothing is special or unique anymore.

When I was a teenager my friends turned slightly goth, but I refused. There was no way I would fall into that category. Because that's all it was, a category, be it subculture or regular culture, you still have a label on you, cattle-prodded into you. And back then it was definitely more "rebellious" and "original" to be goth, but it made me think, if it had a name, how original could it be?

Even my refusal to be Goth was ordinary. I dressed, acted, and lived plainly. I escaped the plainliness of the goth lifestyle, to live another plain lifestyle.

Mediocrity is all around us!