One Counter Culture to Rule Them All.

I’m reserving my right to an opinion right now. Right reserved. We discussed counter culture in class and there seemed to be an overall consensus that there was no such thing as counter culture because as soon as a culture forms that is against societal norms, it gets co-opted and becomes a sub culture.

I’m evoking my right to an opinion right now. Right evoked. After a little bit of thought, I’ve decided that punk culture, the way I have known it, is a counter culture. Punk culture thrives on subverting societal norms. To the point where even federal and state laws come second to the laws one creates for themselves. Punk, or anarchist, movements scorn society for a variety of reasons, and therefore reject current culture patterns. The only thing that could be co-opted from punk culture is the aesthetic, which, as we discussed in class, doesn’t mean that the culture itself is being co-opted, just the look.

For example. Blink 182 was considered a punk band, and one of the greatest punk bands in history until they signed a record label. The current punk generation rejected Blink 182, the heroes of punk, for being sellouts. As soon as Blink 182 entered the mainstream market, they were no longer true punk rock stars. They became posers. They had the feel, the aesthetic, and the appeal, but they had been kicked out of their own culture for breaking the most fundamental rule of that culture. That rule being individuality above all. The idea that cultural norms and patterns are something to be destroyed, not followed. Signing a record label put Blink 182 into the hands of the man. It made the band subservient. Which made them no longer punk.