I personally think cringe culture killed any form of counterculture

So, I was watching one of my favorite films by one of my favorite directors, about one of my favorite bands ever—I was watching Oliver Stone’s The Doors.

Now, if you haven’t seen this movie, or heard The Doors’ music, or don’t even know who Oliver Stone or Jim Morrison was… what are you doing? Seriously—get off this website for a second, watch the movie, listen to some Doors music, and then come back.

But anyway, I noticed something: Jim Morrison would probably be called “cringe” nowadays, and that honestly saddens me. The reason I say that is because it feels like you’re not allowed to have an original, different, or just plain weird thought anymore. You’re not allowed to be edgy. You’re not allowed to be cutting-edge. Everything feels so… uniform.

Like, what—are we really heading back to the ’50s now?

I mean, I’ll say this: it seems like there are two factors at play. One is this overwhelming political correctness. And don’t get me wrong—I am bisexual. I hate that word, because it puts me in a box, but yes, that’s the label. Still, I don’t like how it feels like you can’t say anything, joke around, or even explore deeper thoughts without backlash.

And on the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got “cringe culture,” which just… ruins things, honestly. It basically says that if you don’t fit yourself into a neat little box, you’re somehow not normal.

But what the hell even is normal? And why do we want to be that, anyway?

So yeah—tell me what you think in the comments.

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FreddieUK · 70-79, M

By the time I was your age, Morrison was already past his peak notoriety, so I wouldn't be too surprised if many people in the younger generations don't know of him. Well done you for raising keeping the flame alive for him. When The Doors we're at their height, from memory, they were very much the 'bad boys' as far as conventional culture was concerned. They've become saints mainly because of their music these days, I suggest. I've always enjoyed their music, while not following their lifestyle.

I very much agree with you about labels, but I suspect we're all guilty of applying them as it makes life simpler in dealing with other people. I try very hard to fight against it and it's interesting that even on SW we are asked to put ourselves in certain boxes, although fortunately you can leave them empty if you feel they don't reflect your full personhood.

Why would one want to be 'normal'? Fitting in seems to be a basic need for us, whether that's fitting into what one might call traditional culture or counter-culture. It's probably my age, but the term 'cringe' perhaps means something to you which it doesn't mean to me. I still have my moments with The Doors on a 45yo CD (never bought the vinyl) and my extremely conventional lifestyle, the same as I do with Bach whose lifestyle I also do not live.