my fiery passion

Mainstream is to individuality, as the Anti-Christ is to Christianity. In essence, a vile force responsible for a social standstill of culture, lack of individualism and achieving nothing but a social conformity. The term mainstream is generally used in reference to categorizing the arts – music, media, literature and media. Mainstream can be defined as something that is ordinary or usual, and a conformity to a standard; ie. A lack of individuality, personality, and shows no evidence of any introspective motives. The mainstream is accepted because it’s simply what’s popular, what’s accepted, and what follows the latest trends. Mainstream culture, or the popular culture- which ironically lacks any culture - is evident beyond just the arts, it also extends to fashion trends, sports, architecture and design. It has been deemed: “superficial, consumerist, sensationalist and corrupted.” These facts are gospel, and can be related to even the studies of science to be proven. Mainstream in the greater scheme of things, has consequently come about due to our society’s sociology. People feel they have to conform in order to be accepted. But why would you want to be like everyone else?

Popular culture can be easily identified; basically, if you want to be experienced to the few wonders it has to offer, turn on your TV, tune your radio, look in your mailbox, log on to the internet or even simply just talk to your friends/colleagues/family! (The entire previously listed are applicable to 96 % of society)Mainstream music is everywhere. People accept it because they think: “Well if it’s what everyone else listens to, it must be good, right?” Music plays an essential part in modern, contemporary society; this is heavily liable to the advances in technology throughout the 21st century. Not only can we listen to virtually any music desire, but we can download it, share it, and take it everywhere with us thanks to the revolutionary portable music players. These days, the masses are basically spoon fed the bands they should listen to, no one bothers to delve beyond the realms of mainstream. Websites such as myspace, youtube, facebook, lastfm etc; programs such as videohits, rage, [V], MTV etc; radio stations such as 92.9, 93.7, 94.5, 96.1; all showcase the latest, and ‘greatest’ current hits and pop tunes - And people rely on these sources to provide them with their latest feed of musical rubbish. When Johnny Cash started gigging, people thought his music was satanic. It was so different to anything they had ever heard. Country music wasn’t mainstream; he was one of the earliest advocates of the genre. At the beginning of his career, he was told by a producer: "go home and sin, and then come back with a song I can sell." Johnny Cash is a prime example of someone who went against the status quo, he rebelled, and he went on to become one of the most influential musicians of the contemporary music world. Hence, the nature of the iconoclast reveals three ironic summations; mainstream music discourages individuality; mainstream music encourages conformity and lastly mainstream music translates into mainstream sociality. Since people create social identities for themselves which not only reflect a bad taste in music, they are also based upon what corporations decide people will like, and easily place these people into stereotypes – and no one likes being stereotyped!

Technology has changed society beyond measure; some would argue for the better, others would have a great counter-argument to that statement. Thanks to technology, wonderful things such as the media exist. Technology has the potential to be used for great things; however, it is often abused. The media know full well how effective streaming trends and the latest ‘goss’ via TV, Internet, magazines etc. We believe anything we hear on the news, anything that is ‘scientifically proven’, we waste our time deepening the rot with vulgar and inhumane depictions of anything and everything, ranging from violence to black people, sexuality to politics. Shows such as dancing with the stars, taken out (now cut from prime time air), the biggest loser, home and away, neighbours, today tonight, a current affair, 60 minutes etc. offer nothing but a measly stint of half hour mind numbing backwash – no stimulation; well not for me anyway. Our society is too willing to allow the media to form their moral systems and provide them with the information necessary to function in a modern world. One such example is the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon – the first manned vessel to successfully touch the moon and return. There has been much speculation as to whether this is a hoax or not; much debate has been had in reference to: shadows cast, star visibility, camera tolerance of the temperature extremes, highlights that do not appear naturally, similarities with other Apollo footage, appearance of coke bottles in the lower left of the screen, and the list goes on and on. Society trusted the media to provide them with the events which would in turn change the whole human race’s knowledge and existence. But what if these events were simply faked? Should we always rely on the mainstream media to provide us with local and world changing events alike? Again, the answers to these questions (even if they are rhetorical) begin with two concepts – ‘individuality’, and ‘lack of it’. Society has become a product of the media, all too willing to participate in the questionable garbage.

As sad as it may be, mainstream is affecting everyone’s life, like it or not. People are succumbing to the corporations; to the media; to judgement; to peer pressure, to the human yearning of acceptance. The means of satisfying this yearning has been translated into conforming to society’s views of “what is the norm”. In addition to the visual influences, print media is cementing mainstream ideas and trends into the oh-so-ambiguous-not-to-mention-captivating gossip magazines. If something is written down or broadcast, ‘written in stone’, people are convinced that it holds some sort of reliability that is associated with the publication. Human instinct tells us that acceptance will generate a peaceful existence; people are afraid of being judged and labeled. The media reinforces that a perfect body image is essential to live a wholesome life full of love, laughter, prosperity and happiness. This is clearly evident amongst young girls, who feel the need to be ‘model-thin’. This is a negative influence, like most of the media, which can have serious repercussions when practiced religiously by teenage girls; results can be major illness and even fatal sometimes. It is unfortunate that some people have to conform to believe that fit in – or are ‘cool’. We fill our minds with these demeaning ideologies constructed by the media to benefit the corporations, which once again result in a severe lack of individuality and reinforce conformation.

I’m not trying to turn people around; I don’t strive to make people realize they’re boring. I’d hate for everyone to like what I like – I’m glad the world is populated with this kind of ‘filler’. Everything in this universe is relative; in order for something to have a point and a meaning, it has to be contrasted to something that doesn’t. For someone to be an individual, their traits have to be compared to the smorgasbord of uninteresting people. To challenge the normal, there has to be a bar set at where the normal is. Newton’s theories of relativity do apply to more than the science of physics after all: "A body continues to maintain its state of rest or of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force." The media is that external force, people are the body, they are acted upon, and their inertia is thus submissive to how the media sees fit. "F = ma: the net force on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration." People are the product of conventional, normal, ‘boring’ ideas. "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." It is thanks to these actions, notions, beliefs and people that it is realized that there is an opposite. Everything is relative; conventional, widespread, typical mainstream ideas, beliefs, and attitudes can be seen as the contradistinction to individuality. I am by no means the ultimate testimony to my beliefs, but I do believe I’m well on the way to it. To make the ultimate summation, I am thankful that I have realized these facts at such an early age – I’d hate to be the product of anything other than my parents; and hopefully I’ll one day live an original and extraordinary life.