On the day before Halloween, my friend and I ventured to the Hot Topic at Altamonte Mall for a quick visit. At the very entrance of the shop was a large table catered specifically towards Harry Potter fans, with significantly more merchandise for Gryffindor and Slytherin than the other two houses (what were their names again?). Seeing this shrine-like display reminded me strongly of an article I had read last year in CMC 200 about the commodification of fetishism. I realized that shopping here was the equivalent of satiating the obsessive fan of various different fandoms—Hot Topic commodified subcultural signs, effectively making profit by simply printing images from the Internet onto different types of clothing items.
Jonny mentioned in class that Hot Topic was the perfect place for people-watching, because it was the place for "alternative" people to shop. A ThoughtCatalog user (who wrote an article about being 30 and still shopping at Hot Topic) deemed their fashion as "countercultural drag," a look that went against the normal, the "basic." Considering the fact that Hot Topic converts subcultural signs into the mainstream, calling Hot Topic fashion "countercultural" feels ironic. The mass production of Gryffindor sweaters and 90's choker necklaces completely erases the "counter" from "countercultural," because retrospectively, Hot Topic is a culture itself. Being immersed in the Hot Topic culture was like reliving my early high school days—I wore my self-proclaimed title as the "Alternative Kid" with misplaced pride. Needless to say, the 14-year-old me was much more mainstream than I had taught myself to believe. If I could go back in time and tell my younger self to stop wearing those fingerless gloves and avoid from razored haircuts, I most definitely would.
I had a similar reaction to Hot Topic the first time I went to the store. I grew up in Brazil, a place where alternative merchandise is rare. I spent my teenage years looking for alternative shops, but I could never find any (despite living in a big city). I had to resort to crafting and buying the same clothes/accessories/merchandise everyone else had.
ReplyDeleteWhen I arrived at the United States for the first time, I also felt like I was in heaven. So many options! And everything was so cheap! I instantly became obsessed with Hot Topic. All the goods I had searched for years were in one small store!
Now, however, especially this week’s readings, I understand the negative side of the commoditization of subcultures. This trend actually makes me incredibly mad. I feel exploited and I feel like millions of pre-teens and teenagers out there are being exploited as well. The capitalist system is using our insecurities and our alternative/marginalized identities to make money and profit. Being able to express yourselves shouldn't be tied to the monetary gain of companies.
I honestly don’t know what could be a solution for the situation. At the same time that it bothers me that subcultures are being appropriated by mass consumer ideologies, I wonder what can these teens do to be able to enjoy their own cultures/identities without being engulfed by this vicious cycle.
And, in a more broad question, are there still subcultures? Or have them all been appropriated by the overarching “general” culture (a culture of consumption?)? Culture is such a hard (but interesting) term to explore. As a person who is constantly in-between different cultures, I don’t believe there are black and white answers to many of these questions. Our world views will also influence how we perceive the topic and the stances we take on cultures. I do think, however, that as CMC students, we should be constantly trying to analyze and explore these concepts.
Since I don’t have all the answers yet, I’ll just keep shopping at thrift shops and trying to ignore my participation in the capitalist way of life…
I find the extent in which the Hot Topic fashion has permeated the online shopping world extremely interesting. With the cultural stigmas that seem to have spawned around Hot Topic, I notice that as people get older, they tend to shift to online purchases of similar clothing; one wonders if the stigmas or surrounding culture has anything to do with that evolution. I admittedly have always been a sucker for ironic novelty t-shirts – Hell, I still have the Mighty Ducks Jersey that I got in 8th grade – but I no longer go shopping in public for quirky clothing because as a 23 year old, I don’t necessarily want to be openly shopping for a Chewbacca onsie or a Ninja Turtles t-shirt.
ReplyDeleteI think that Hot Topic caters almost exclusively to people that have not yet realized these social stigmas, which is why many of its customers are “alternative” teenagers. Stores like Hot Topic make this sense of “alternative” so generic that people tend to grow of the phase of shopping there, however people tend to develop their “alternative” tastes. I find it interesting that now when I see shirts at Hot Topic or even Urban Outfitters, I immediately disregard its value to me because of how generic I feel it is. However, I will admit that if I were to see many of those shirts or trinkets on a website, I would most likely be more interested. Furthermore, when I see a shirt that aims to look retro and aged being sold for $45, I can’t help but laugh at the lack of authenticity. Shopping at places like Hot Topic or Urban Outfitters is almost a right of passage into “alternative” fashion simply because they go against the grain. I find that as the customers of those shops mature, they realize that there more satisfaction in finding that cool retro outfit at the thrift store and showcasing an authentic retro or quirky look.
For me, I find it fascinating that Hot Topic itself can be seen as playing into a sort of "main stream" ideology now. When I was younger, it felt like there was still an authenticity to those that shopped at Hot Topic; it didn't feel like the masses shopped there for their daily looks, but rather those who truly attempted to live outside the box. Now though, they are selling items representing certain subcultures, but they also sell items that represent those well known main stream culture icons. For example, when looking at the wall of band tees, you can find a Justin Bieber t-shirt almost as easily as you can find a Foo Fighters t-shirt. Initially, Hot Topic may have truly been about the "subcultures", but now, they try to be about the subcultures while also being about the "main stream" and the mass cultures. It has blatantly become about what sells best, rather than what appeals to these certain groups of people.
ReplyDeleteHas Hot Topic, though, ever truly been about the subculture? By capitalizing on a subculture, doesn't that defeat the purpose of a subculture to begin with? By limiting products and items representing fandom and following within these subcultures, you are limiting them to those who truly follow and live by the ideologies of said subcultures. By profiting on them though, and presenting them to the masses, yes, you are making them more accessible to those who live within the subcultures, but they also more accessible to those who may not even understand the merchandise or the fandom behind them. Hot Topic is then, a perfect example of how subcultures become mass culture, and then are redefined by the mass culture into something that the mass culture can fit within its ideologies, this particular example playing into consumerism. I think that this goes to show that, no matter how deeply rooted a subculture may be in its own ideologies, it is extremely difficult to resist the normalization into those mass ideologies that surround it.
Wow, three responses already? Hot Topic has really become a hot topic this week… And speaking of semantics, I think the fact that the store is called “Hot Topic” at all is so contradictory; for a chain that markets itself as catering to subculture, they chose to adopt a name that implies their products reflect the hot topic at any given moment. The term “hot topic” itself implies that it’s a topic relevant to many people, the masses… An ironic choice on the whole, I think. Maybe it was intentional. Self-deprecating corporate irony—you probably wouldn’t get it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the subject of Carmen’s post I’d like to focus on is her reference to one of my favorite articles from CMC 200: “Harry Potter and the Commodity Fetish.” So much of what was written in that article is applicable to the discussion around the commodification of subculture and fan culture, and it was so interesting. The authors, Waetjen and Gibson, analyzed the Harry Potter series in terms of the messages it conveys about consumerism. “Throughout the first six texts, Rowling indeed provides readers with a powerful condemnation of class inequality and stratification. At the same time, she also celebrates the power of consumption as an agent of personal and social transformation” (Waetjen and Gibson 8). My generation is frequently (and appropriately) referred to as the Harry Potter generation. The series affected us so deeply that it only makes sense that the series has even had an ideological impact, and I’d never considered the implications of this. It ties into the readings by Dorfman and Mattelart; children are so impressionable when it comes to ideology and cultural messages. Not even Harry Potter is exempt from this rule: “Rowling’s portrayal of Harry as a gadget-loving hero, when combined with her vision of an economic system seemingly devoid of labor exploitation and commodity fetishism, could be read as a full-throated celebration of guilt-free consumption” (Waetjen and Gibson 5).
Hot Topic still carries just as much Harry Potter merchandise as it did when the books and movies were coming out—it’s obvious to see that the series has become commodified, but it’s more disturbing when you realize that consumerism as an ideology is so insidious within our society that it even manifests (quietly and subtly) in one of the most beloved children’s series of our generation.