Interesting coincidental postings last Thursday on two Core fave blogs--Design Observer and io9--that gain an added dimension when viewed one after the other. First, Steven Heller at Design Observer constructs this impassioned (though familiar) accusation of the predatory nature of mass marketing, lamenting the ever-shortening space between the growth of a sub-culture and its appropriation into popular culture and commerce. Then, sci-fi blog io9 gives a near perfect example of it happening at this very moment: a compelling list of examples indicating fan-glam as the next big "authentic underdog" to get yanked into the mainstream.
What's fascinating about reading these two together is realizing how quickly we forget that many now-hip subcultures were once genuinely lame, scary, or deeply obscure. It's one thing to note that pop-art was something only a handful of weirdos were into before Laugh-In used it in their set design; it's quite another to realize that the Trekkies and comic book collectors getting tossed into trashcans last year are on their way to becoming The Next Big Thing.
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