Why are people so hell bent on being like everyone else? I expect this sort of mindless conforming when it comes to fashion, because nine times out of ten fashion is nothing more than a designer, who has the necessary ties to the manufacturing companies, stealing an original look that they saw on the street.
Fashion is rarely anything more than duplication. If you don't believe me take a look into the histories of such fashion trends as the faded jeans, the baggy "gangsta" look, or even bell bottoms. These all have roots in a poor urban youth culture. The faded jeans are obviously a knock off of urban bohemians who have to buy faded jeans at the Good Will because they spend all of their money on art supplies and admission to the shows of the newest sensation of crybaby college rock. The baggy look originated in the idea that if you buy really big jeans, cinch 'em up with a belt and roll up the cuffs, a growing kid could wear the same pair for four or five years. It wasn't a fashion statement. It was poor people trying to get their dollar's worth. The same goes for bell bottoms. The first bell bottoms were hand made by people who outgrew pants in terms of length, but could still squeeze into them in terms of the waist. So they took scraps and sewed them onto the bottoms to extend them. This allowed them to continue to wear them as pants and explains why they were always skin tight.
I'm pretty sure even that god awful Sherpa look from Old Navy the last couple of winters was stolen because recently I saw some pictures from a charity fashion show in New York that took place in 2002 and a few of the participants had the same overall fuzzy look with their clothes and those same stupid boots.
But like I said, I expect this from fashion.
The arena where I see intolerable mindless conformity is on the dance floor. You've probably heard of the newest uniform dance craze, Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat". Why do these retardations of our culture continue to raise their empty heads? Is there anybody who honestly looks back at a time when they were doing the Macarena or the Shuffle and thinks to them self Wow, that was a proud moment in my life. I was dancing the exact same way as every other person at the club. It's like we all had an unspoken bond to be mindless zombies and finally I didn't feel awkward when I danced.
To avoid feeling awkward when they dance is the only way I can rationalize why people would so willingly hand over their sense of individuality. But I ask you, is it worth it?
Letting go of inhibitions and enjoying the moment you spend in an intimating motion with music is what dance is all about. Dance is an art form and what's great about it is it's one that pretty much any one can do. Most of us can't paint or play music, but practically anybody can tap their foot, bob their head and sway their hips to a rhythm. Because of this, dance is the art form of the masses. But there isn't any definition of art that includes handing over one's sense of individuality to those masses. If this happens, it ceases to be art. It becomes mindless conformity.