WHAT DO TRENDS, AND OUR COMPLIANCE WITH THEM, SAY ABOUT US?

A Sociological Analysis (very amateur)

I remember back in the late 70’s there was a restaurant that I frequented a lot on Balboa Island. A waiter there had a goatee…..NO ONE had goatee’s back in the late 70’s. It was very unique…he had no examples or “support” in wearing a goatee…he was on his own….he stood out to me as being very much of an individualist…

Of course, sometime in the 90’s goatees became very trendy…and ubiquitous….why didn’t people like them in the 70’s or 80’s? What was it that made them so amazingly popular in the 90’s, but completely absent in decades prior?

It’s a phenomenon. When a trend hits…tattoo’s, hairstyles, clothing, piercings..…wow, it can take everyone by storm….I was noticing today when I was at breakfast in malibu just how many men have this fairly new hairstyle……just about everyone is going with this look. There is a stampede to the salons. And, if you have the tattoo…you are really keeping up. NO ONE had tattoo’s when I was a kid....except for sailors and bikers.

I don’t know for sure what this says….but it makes me wonder….complying with the trends of the day has to say something, profound..…the trends aren’t inherently good or bad…most all of the people sporting this new hairstyle would never have thought to have it at any other time in their life….in fact, they would have resisted it....not wanting to stand out. This isn’t a new hairstyle….it had been popular at different times and with different segments of society, the military, etc., in previous years….

I remember my dad when he had a 60’s look…short hair, dark rimmed glasses….narrow ties….and then the mid-70’s hit and he combed his hair down and he got metal rimmed glasses and fat ties….virtually everyone melted under the gravity of the trends. People like to follow the trends.....I am guessing that there is a security in it....like knowing that you belong.

What might it say? It is very unlike the “smartphone” or some new technological device….devices are the modern inventions that offer greater conveniences….everyone is going to want those, they are qualitatively and quantitatively superior to what we had before...….hairstyles and fashion are totally different….they aren’t based on technology….they don’t offer a better quality of life......a hairstyle that was in style during the Civil War might come back 100 years later and catch on like a wildfire….it wasn’t necessarily good or bad then….nor is it now…..the masses determine if it is ”good” or ”bad” at any given time.

We all do it to one degree or another….or, at least, most of us…

Here is what I think (opinion)….

People like to belong..in general…they don’t want to stand out from the crowd (some do but we’ll talk about them later)....they want to identify with a certain “group” or “club”. Notice how the biker groups ALL dress the same…lots of denim, black leather…..skulls, rivets….beards…you don’t see any bikers in bright colors, orange or red, or green, …..yet, you ALWAYS see bicyclists in bright colors….covered with advertising….everyone wears the uniform….golfers, tennis players, etc..

People gain comfort from “looking the part”, being a part of the group…it’s a form of identity…and people are striving to have identity…..clothes and hairstyles are two of the best devices…..it’s a way of telling others....”put me in that category; I’m one of them”.

How about country singers …they wear cowboy hats almost all the time….even when they are indoors…they certainly don’t wear them for practical purposes…have you seen the size of those hats?….they are almost like sombreros…but, they let people know, from a distance, that you are “one of those”.

“Punk” rockers do it…though not as much as in the 80’s. The black clothers, Doc Martin boots, gothic look, rivets (they must say a lot), black makeup, etc.

How about when you see someone who is attired in a totally different way than anyone else….like that guy who I would see at the restaurant those many years ago? And, what if he liked classical music?, or jazz music, and not the music that was popular at the time…?

Music is the same way, I think….I just know that my dad, if he had been born when I was born, would have listened to Peter Frampton and Boston…just like I did……I think context truly influences what we consider “cool” or pleasant, or desirable….if , as a child, we had been sequestered from any form of music….or even from any culture…and, when turning 12, we were exposed to music for the very first time…..and the different styles of music were all played for us…like a buffet….from classical, to big band, Doo Wop, psychedelic, rock, folk, disco, rap, new wave, jazz, etc….which music might we select as our favorite?, our least favorite? What factors would go into our choices? When we hear music and in what context determines (for most of us) if we are going to like it or not. That is noteworthy.

I have noticed that recording artist Jackson Browne has not changed his haircut for as long as he has been in the public eye….over 40 years…..he just might be one of the only ones….what does that say about Jackson Browne? He certainly isn’t trendy, that is for sure.

Frank Lloyd Wright was America’s greatest architect…he created 6 different architectural styles on his own. He was very avant garde. He designed buildings in the 50’s that looked like they were too modern for the Jetsons (Guggenheim Museum in New York). His was a total original….he dressed very uniquely…often with a cape, and a cane and a unique hat…..there has never been anyone like Frank Lloyd Wright….before or since.

How about the avant garde Salvador Dali…a totally unique artist, who had a very unusual moustache and style…and he was one of the original surrealists…no one painted like Dali’. He had his own style…

You know what you do when you are trying to get people to act like each other?…you get them to wear uniforms…and you cut their hair short…like in the military….you remove their ability to express themselves differently.....everyone ends up looking the same because there is an emphasis on being “Uniform”. The military is very non avant garde, as our most of our institutions…..they de-emphasize the individual in an attempt to get group compliance and obedience-------religion is definitely that way....look at the way a Hindu will dress, or muslims, Jewish people, and even Christians. Almost all Christian ministers dress and comb their hair about the same, don’t they?

I wonder if it would be easier to govern a group of people who were very trendy vs. a group of people who were very avant garde and distinguished from the crowd. I don’t know the answer but it is interesting….After reading about Frank Lloyd Wright the way I have, I wouldn’t want to be put in charge of getting Wright to conform to something….it would be a near impossible task.

Food for thought….