Crop tops, Yeezys and techno-music
As Andrea trudged along the busy streets of Manhattan, she allowed herself the opportunity to silently observe the people around her. The more she walked and observed, the more hypnotized Andrea believed the people to be. The thing that irked her though was the fact that no one had spoken about this issue yet.
Andrea was an anti-follower of trends and things that go viral, which sent the people of Manhattan (and possibly everywhere else) into a spiraling frenzy of imitating these trends and viral activities. She just simply couldn’t fathom how easily these individuals allowed themselves to blindly follow such absurd and meaningless things just for the sole purpose of gaining a sense of belonging and to be classified as normal.
Was this what it was like to be normal?
Andrea wondered. It was palpable that Pop Culture held an intimidating grasp upon society’s perceptions of what was claimed to be customary and what was ludicrous; people searched for what was popular, and they made it their life’s mission to follow up on it. In a world where citizens were brainwashed into keeping up with society’s global trends and imitating the popular artists of the current day, it was safe for Andrea to believe that pop culture was worshipped.
She could see the billboards of all these uprising music stars with their … unique insight of music which heavily depended on technology rather than actual instruments. However, Andrea was aware that art was meant to be challenged and therefore could not be ruthlessly judgmental about it. Then again, how could she allow herself to give in to the strange music of Billie Eilish, when she was aware of Frank Sinatra’s art?
If music was in fact, a universal language, then why did Andrea not seem to understand the upgraded version of it? Why could she only comprehend the classics, the jazz, and the orchestra? Why could she not bring herself to enjoy The Chainsmokers, Skrillex and Dua Lipa?
Did music no longer hold any true form of cherished value, or was Andrea simply hanging on to a past pop culture era?
It was not just the music, much to her dismay, but Andrea sullenly sulked when she realised that fashion had also tremendously morphed into a horrendous trend. She glanced down at what she was wearing, which was a pair of white sneakers, pink pastel coloured pants that flowed with the wind, and a basic white turtleneck with full sleeves.
As her gaze lingered on the people walking all around her on the streets, she could see the difference. Infinite pairs of Yeezy shoes were stomping on the sidewalk and crossing the road. Tight skinny jeans flashed all around her, and crop-topped hoodies mockingly stared right back at her.
If one was to not dress the way the current trend demanded you to, then one was instantly an outcast to society — shunned and neglected, and given the nastiest looks imaginable.
Andrea pitied Pop Culture worshippers.
She sympathized with those who preferred to watch endless hours of Netflix instead of spending endless hours engrossed in an extremely exciting adventure of a marvelous book. She felt empathy towards those who watched Youtubers vlog their trips to tropical islands, instead of saving up money and going on these trips instead.
In the end, it all came down to how comfortable a person is towards these unnatural trends that were claimed to be in fact, quite natural. Psychologically speaking, Andrea’s mental state was far more at peace when she sat by a window, holding a cup of steaming tea while reading a good book with Dean Martin’s lulling voice heard in the background. It was where her heart belonged.
If this current era’s pop culture was all about watching things from the bleachers, not appreciating the valued things the world offers, and staying idle with a rusty mind that isn’t challenged and nurtured, then Andrea wanted nothing to do with it.
She’d much rather be an outcast — shunned and neglected, and happily accept the nastiest looks shot her way.
