Maybe this will lighten the ever-dismal mood here on ProU a bit but still be thought-provoking? The Portland Phoenix has this great article about cute culture. Read all four pages--even my short attention span could handle it. Writer Sharon Steel analyzes the influx of cute things, "kawaii" culture from Japan, lolcats, twee music, and mainstream quirkiness into mass culture, with the thesis that we turn to these comforting, harmless images and ideas in times of trouble. Think about it--war, global warming, poverty, disease, civil unrest, economic troubles, etc. etc. We have a lot on our minds. We're looking for amusement, sometimes cheap amusement, to distract us for a little while.
A lot of people think lolcats are the dumbest things ever, but my roommate and I happen to find them inexplicably hilarious and have been know to use "teh" in sentences. (We are both English majors and should be ashamed of this, probably, even though we do a lot of stupid things ironically.) YouTube occupies just as much of a college student's time as--if not more than--activism or worldly concerns. Obviously, I'm not saying that we should be all serious all the time, but the aforementioned article made me question why we're always sitting in front of the computer screen, clicking away and looking for a laugh.
An interesting spinoff of this article might be our obsession with celebrity culture. I have discovered Gawker and celebrity blogs and do my best to avoid them, but if I'm tired or want a giggle I end up checking out what Hollywood's doing. I'm sure other people run into this guilty pleasure, perhaps checking Oh No They Didn't at work or buying a tabloid instead of a newspaper. I'm not trying to vilify anyone anymore: some people choose not to be informed, and even though I think that is sad, those are not the people reading this blog. I guess we all need to stay informed, stop and check the news after we've been watching cute kittehs on YouTube for an hour and a half or searching for Britney Spears' latest crazy-person shenanigan(s).
Cuteness and quirkiness accepted as mainstream might make it easier for eccentrics and outcasts (like me!) to feel like a part of society, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. However, I think Steel makes a good point when she says we are turning to these things as a comforting mechanism so we don't have to look at the world's problems. Something to think about.
Also, I would like to add that my computer crashed while I was writing this entry last night but Firefox restored it this morning. Yay for Firefox.
I'll admit it right now.
I wear poofy knee length skirts and ruffled blouses with calf-length leggings, an apron, a ruffle collar and cuffs, and yes, sometimes even a cat tail. An extreme to the kawaii movement. I run anime club at my school though, so I feel entitled to it.
I've come to believe that "otaku" (people obsessed with anime, basically) are kids who've imploded from the depression that is reality. I have a hard time with it, because I'm actually a realist. Looking at all those kids is even more depressing.
Then I go back to school, and everyone else has another escape.
Music. Mall. TV.
Escape anywhere, it's too easy these days.
But someday, it'd be nice for people be themselves and care at the same time.
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~ Raven
STAND for SOMETHING.