Mainstream

Something that has been bothering me for a while is the way in which people tend to start disliking something as soon as it becomes popular. I have often heard people cry out “That’s so mainstream!” in a condescending tone, without actually knowing anything about whatever it is that they are criticizing. I think this logic is rather twisted. How can the fact that a lot of people like something make it less likely that it is worth your time? People must really find themselves unique if they can define their opinion of something as simply being the opposite of the majority’s.
“Oh, I don’t read Dan Brown. He’s so mainstream.”“No, I don’t listen to Coldplay – they’re so mainstream.”“I don’t eat breakfast. It’s so mainstream.” (okay, that was far-fetched.)
I believe that people with this mindset (and there are quite a few, believe me) are missing out. There is a reason why things become popular. I often find it interesting to analyze what it is that makes vastly different people appreciate the same thing. It impresses me when something is able to appeal to a large number of people irrelevant of for example age and nationality. I often come across popular culture that I don’t connect with in any way, but I do not think that steering clear of something completely because of its popularity makes a lot of sense. Not that I am trying to promote conformity. Often, I find that the most interesting movies, books and songs are not necessarily the bestsellers and crowd-pleasers. I think it is important to look into the aspects of culture that are not as widespread and popular and to support them. But that does not mean that we need to shun popular culture completely.
Another sign of the fear of falling into the mainstream is the growing tendency to actively change your self in order to stand out. In Denmark, it seems to be ‘in to be out’. Some people have the need to declare themselves unique. Everything they do has to be Outstanding. It has to be strange in the Right Way. They claim to be open-minded. They don’t exclude. They are not racist. They are not prejudiced. They do not judge people – everyone is welcome. Except, they do not exactly practice what they preach. They claim to be all-welcoming, but I think these people are some of the most exclusive I have ever encountered. Sure, if you are a bit strange and rebellious you are welcome. But as soon as you are ‘ordinary’, you are not. If you like popular music and movies you are ‘boring’ and ‘monotonous’ and ‘mainstream’. I should think that if these people truly had an open mind they would accept even those who are not like themselves, although they might not be ‘special’. Because if everyone is trying to be different, aren’t they basically all the same anyway? I’d like to end with a quote from The Incredibles here, a movie that is indeed very mainstream:
Helen: Everyone’s special, Dash.
Dash: That’s just another way of saying no one is.