The age of the double sell-out
Behavioral changes have been happening at such a rapid pace that patterns and assumptions that were common one or two decades ago completely elude me. W. David Marx’s article reminded me of one of them: the aversion to the mainstream, or the idea of not being a “sellout.”
In the last three decades, youth culture has moved from a deep suspicion of commerce to a passionate defense of anti-anti-commerce to an entire generation of “creatives” who leverage the commercial market… to do even more commerce
At what point did becoming a salesperson on Instagram (aka an influencer) become a life goal, a childhood dream? Or working proudly for large corporations? When did the all-consuming nature of mass-produced, canned culture (the “franchises”) take over the imagination of the masses?
The 20th century taboo against selling out was, at its heart, a communal norm to reward young artists who focused on craft and punish those who appropriated art and subculture for empty profiteering. Now the culture is most exemplified by people whose entire end goal appears to be empty profiteering.
Any hypothesis?
The age of the double sell-out (em inglês)
culture.ghost.io