Cult status, with regards to entertainment, exists at the crossroads of subculture and mega-fandom. When a community is somewhat formed around mutual appreciation for tele-visual art, whether it be commercially/ critically successful or not, one can consider cult status to be truly achieved. The term exudes 90s nostalgia, as the quintessential idea of what it meant to be cult was reborn in this decade – through the release of films like ‘The Big Lebowski’ and later ‘Donnie Darko’ (both of which I included in my drawing for this post’s art). Despite these contemporary ties, the term arguably applies to films as early as George Méliès’ ‘A voyage to the moon’, 1902, which featured in Scorsese’s 2011 film ‘Hugo’. As a result of the development of online communities, the commercialization of the alternative/hipster lifestyle, and perhaps even an evolution of what it means to be cool, cult status seems to have been diluted down in recent years to the point where an argument can be made for it not existing at all, at least as we knew it.
Since the aforementioned 90s we have obviously witnessed the rise of the internet, and the dawn of the ‘post-human interaction’ era, as sponsored by all social media world over. With this bought the creation of online communities, the greatest of which I consider to be fueled by dedicated ‘redditors’. Suddenly, the idea of being a cult film fanatic was radically altered, and the necessity for physical cult communities lessened (but did not disappear, places like comic-con have conserved their cult community roots in the face of a changing dynamic). Many argue this in a positive light, as communities grew and flourished, but in spite of this, I believe fan-based communities have been highly devalued in the modern day by the simple fact that anyone can join. Take, for example, the social media fan-bases for ‘Rick and Morty’, a show that could have definitely been considered cult up until the internet became aware of its existence. The show has generated numerous communities that exist to post harmful ‘memes’ and content that mocks the show. Because it was exposed to millions by Netflix and by a social media snowball effect, it is now so commercially viable it will practically be mainstream television upon its return to our screens. Exposure of the arts through online means has generated lots of positive results, fiscally and creatively, but it has stretched the boundaries of what can be considered cult so thinly that it is now an incomprehensible term.
This has occurred so rapidly and consistently because of the simple fact that being ‘cool’ means something different in the modern day. Something I have certainly witnessed in present culture is that we don’t find ‘coolness’ within the modern day, instead we steep ourselves in the dichotomy of both futurism and, aforementioned, 90s nostalgia. Louis Theroux, beloved BBC journalist, accentuates all of my points, and even gives hope to the attainability of cult status. His documentaries have been given a new lease of life through Netflix, and he is now such a figurehead within the documentarian world, and such a national treasure, that I read a university began the first ‘Louis Theroux Society’ the other day. This bought me great joy, because from intense exposure of his work small pockets of people have come together in a physical community to celebrate him – which can be considered cult behavior at its purest.
Finally, I wanted to take you through the thought process that led to this week’s (albeit quite rushed and messy) featured artwork, and how industry has capitalized on the alternative/hipster trend. A domino effect between different pillars of culture somehow made alternative likes and dislikes become mainstream among the young generation. In music, albums like Arctic Monkey’s ‘AM’ and Catfish and the Bottlemen’s debut ‘The Balcony’ made the sub-genre of alt-rock inflate beyond the bounds of what can be considered alternative listening. The same is true of films; the reason I found myself watching ‘Pulp Fiction’ for the first time was because of the hype around Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Basterds’. It was, and is still now, very cool to divulge one’s self in alternative media. Therefore, how can something be cult when this very status ensures it is an instant hit with the mainstream? Hence, I drew Frank from ‘Donnie Darko’, Jeffrey Lebowski from ‘The Big Lebowski’ and a smudged out t-shirt homage to Louis Theroux (pictured again below) in the shop window of high-street brand Primark, to allude towards the lengths to which commercialization will devalue something beloved if it is branded mainstream.
Joecrastination 