What's Wrong With Mainstream?

By definition mainstream means the principle or dominant course, tendency, or trend. Everything presented in popular culture are mainstream, and even though this is so people are against and constantly bash conformity. With the way people think now everyone might as well have pink hair, wear preppy clothing, cowboy boots and write “CONFORM TO NONCONFORMITY” on their heads.

It’s important, I believe, for people to think before they start committing mindless acts and ranting mindless things such as CONFORMITY IS BAD, BAD, BAD. Conformity and the mainstream are not bad, and people need to realize that deep down inside we’re all conformists. If a person considers him/herself a member of a group, guess what, that person is a conformist. If a person find themselves watching shows that reflect upon popular culture from his/her childhood that person likes mainstream culture. For example, I often find myself complaining about how rock music was better when I was a kid, and it seems to be the consensus that others also agree. I often do say, “Mainstream music today is terrible"! Now there is nothing wrong with anyone saying that, but what is infuriating is when people say, “I don’t even listen to mainstream music for that reason. I listen to Nirvana, Metallica, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and The Beatles”. First and for most all of those bands are examples mainstream music and were in their time. They are also still fairly popular. This is why I often find myself drawing a blank when reading blogs.

It’s very easy to be apart of mainstream culture, then it is to rebel against it. The only conceivable way an individual can separate him/herself from popular culture is to go live in a cave and become a hermit. If a person purchases clothing from a mall that person is conforming to fashion trends. The only way to not conform to clothing trends would be for people to fashion their own completely original clothing from scratch. Everything a person does thinks, listens to, dresses, or reads would have to be completely underground or obscure. For example, if I were so crazed about being completely original I would have to invent my own religion, invent a brand new style of clothing, create a new style of music that sounds like nothing out there, and so on (which seems rather tedious and mostly pointless).

What needs to be understood is that popular culture shifts and changes. In the quest for self development and self growth many separate themselves from what they may have always known into a completely different group of thought. It’s odd how everyone strives to be different, yet when all people usually want is acceptance. Is mainstream culture really terrible? Should we all start living in caves and become hermits? (Oh right we can’t because then being a hermit would become mainstream wouldn’t it?)