Openness, respect for differences key to thriving subcultures

B-class culture has already established its own status in the West.

Perhaps one of the best terms depicting the spirit is “kitsch,” a term derived from the German phrase “verk itschen (make it cheap).” Though the initial focus was strictly on the tight-budget aspect, it slowly came to be used to express mocking or refusing the major conventional high-class arts.

The 1997 film “Austin Powers” was a phenomenal hit with the geeky, dorky and troublesome man in horn-rimmed glasses emerging as a “mojo spinner.”

“Napoleon Dynamite,” a 2004 film featuring a high school nerd stuck in a rut, living a dull life, became so popular that even the city of Preston, Idaho, where the film was shot, holds an annual festival named after it. 

BBC’s “Doctor Who” has attacks by extraterrestrial beings on Earth and a quirky superhero fighting against them. In hits such as “Star Trek,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and several others the computer graphics or the storylines are from time to time tacky, but those “flaws” draw millions of fans to the TV and the thousands of websites dedicated to the films. The fans gather annually at large conventions to express their fandom and pay respect to the cult.

Punk music was a catalyst for subculture followers. Vivienne Westwood, the “godmother” of British fashion, made her name through dresses composed of deconstructed tartan patterns, often distorted and crumpled. Her love for the unconventional sexual, sensual style, coupled with ultra-punk rock group The Sex Pistols that was popular at the time, caught on like a whirlwind with the youth and her pieces are still sought after by her fans around the world.

Rap stars talking about drugs, sex and violence while dressed in track suits and sneakers with corn-row hair and “bling” accessories were once regarded as sleazy but are now one of the most imitated fashion icons among youngsters.

“People in the West are somehow more open to different ideas and are less concerned about what others do. Respecting other people’s ideas and the rich history of content all have stabilized the so-called subculture as a regular part of the society,” said professor Lee Dong-yeun of Korea National University of Arts.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)