Impatient Generation
My head is full of dates. Album release dates, television show and movie premieres, etc. The calender in my mind overflows with snippets of information, waiting to be crossed out when their date finally comes around.
In this thoroughly modern society, the act of waiting has become an art form, a practice which is primed and conditioned through constant fortification. It is often said, in publications written by elder people, that Generation Z (or, our generation) is one of instant gratification, of wanting things fast and cheap, and our coveting of the cultural countdown is a side effect of this demanding nature. Talk of future events helps to cope with the unbearable wait, the forced patience that time inevitably brings.
The question I would like to ask, is this: Is our obsessive countdown ruining our consumption of culture? Are we so enamoured with the build-up that the big reveal is left feeling empty? Or, does anything ever justify it’s own hype?
#Culture
The hashtag, the symbol of our troubled times. I feel that the hashtag has been forced upon our generation. It didn’t rise from the depths of the internet into mainstream culture, it was introduced as a way to divide information on Twitter in 2009, and it quickly spread through Facebook and Instagram, and later into text messages, t-shirts, mugs and whatever else is cheap to print. Like most things that originate on the internet, it’s intended use has been obscured by endless appropriation.
Hashtags, in their pure form, are used to collect together information on a particular subject, and have shown their usefulness as a way to gather details on a national or international event, usually before traditional news sources have checked their sources (see: #baltimore). On the flipside, they have become a powerful and invaluable marketing tool for big business. Companies can create a semi-artificial ‘buzz’ for a certain product or event, and identify public opinion on a musch larger scale than ever before. This means that ‘suggested hashtags’ are the new go-to marketing tool of choice, and you will see them popping up on adverts, TV shows, movie trailers and advertising posters.
Exploring a popular hashtag on Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram allows you to act as voyeur to the overwhelming world of the ‘fandom’. Fandom is a rather annoying term that allows people to communicate with others who share the same interest. A modern version of the fanclub, but with less pen pals and more ‘Twitter wars’. Before an impending release, the fandom becomes a hotbed of activity, collectively counting down the days with commentary, gossip, leaks and speculation. Fans and critics come together and manufacture hype, and companies can monitor this activity, as the hashtag opens the door to information.
I have to admit to giving into this hashtag culture on a regular basis, because when you really enjoy something, you want to do two things: find out more, and tell everyone about it. The hashtag taps in to our human nature of sharing, and of course, showing off.
I Am Here
The way that this hype builds says something important about how much our culture has changed to fit into our super-connected times: If we do not record our actions, do our actions really exist?
The coining of the term ‘humblebrag’ and the popularity of documenting the more photogenic times in our lives shows our generations “we are here” culture for what it is — endless documentation for the sake of entertaining, impressing or angering our digital audience. Whether we like it or not, we have all become simultaneous performers and voyeurs of this action. Whereas previous generations put their names to books, music, buildings and other things of true substance, we slap our names on 140 character messages, snapchat stories and selfies. We are all brands and our products are all parts of ourself.
Everything Is For Sale
Unfortunately for some, being a brand with products does not mean that money is on the table. Information and media is now so easily accessible and in such an abundance that paying for news, music, movies, or anything non-physical is now just an option, not a necessity. I’m not talking about about illegal downloads or piracy, but about music and film streaming and the free-sharing society which exists through blogging platforms such as Tumblr. Up-and-coming musicians, and even a handful of established artists, are giving their work away for free to subvert the outdated release system implimented by big record labels.
As a reaction to widespread leaking of music, artists have begun to allow their music to stream before it’s release date, allowing fans to listen to it without making the commitment of purchase, and crucially, building buzz for the actual release. In an over-saturated marketplace, few musicians can command attention through a ‘surprise’ release, without any previous official build-up (an exception would be Beyonce’s self titled album dropping onto iTunes with no prior warning), so the idea of producing a countdown, an artificial hype, is a very attractive one.
Is It Worth It?
It’s easy to get swept away in the excitement of the countdown, sometimes the anticipation is so big that it can eclipse the event it has been in waiting for. Outside of my personal interests, I am aware that much of the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe relies on this idea of fandom and hype. The list of their upcoming films, just titles and dates for now, is long and spreads through the next 5 years, driving their stake into the centre of our culture. It’s a brilliant marketing ploy as the product has no forseeable end, if you aren’t a fan of the recent Marvel film, there’s 15 more that you’ll probably pay to go and see after that. It’s the same idea as planting 1,000 small crops instead of one large one. Some may die out, but overall, the harvest will be larger. Unfortunately, money will always be the biggest part of filmmaking, as long as big companies rule Hollywood.
Whether something justifies it’s hype is of course, an opinion, and opinions are never in short supply when you have access to the internet. The problem with assessing the opinions of fandom members, or hashtag users, is that it’s hard to find a middle-ground. The most vocal are the extremely positive, and the extremely negative. You’ll often here stories of a ‘backlash’ if something is not as pleasing as expected, or that people are ‘losing their shit’ if something is good. The internet is a microcosm, a swirling vacuum of opinion that is constantly regurgitating and reaffirming itself.
Patience is a Virtue
Waiting is something that although we often have to do it, still seems bothersome to our generation. I don’t think that this is down to our nature, but that it is something that has been imposed on us by the media, and that is encouraged by this type of hype-building marketing. We are worked into a frenzy by this countdown and our hunger is routinely quenched by teasers, trailers and leaked information. The consumption of these bite-size pieces only makes us hungrier, more desperate to devour the whole meal. When the meal is served to us, we consume it too ravenously to really think about it.
Upon reflection, we are left feeling unsatisfied, and hungry enough to keep on consuming. Surely, the wait is justified by my ability to now have an opinion, to share it on social media and to let the world know that I am here.
