Grunge Fashion: A Textual Analysis Of Postmodernism

In the introduction of Chapter 1 “Consuming Passions” “The Culture of American Consumption,” it talks about how American popular culture is grounded in consumption. With the media in our hand, it is a huge influence towards the advertising world. With how styles of clothing have been changing over time, this talks about how from the earlier times wearing a simple type of blue jeans can change between who wears them over the years. As stated, “ By the 1950s, however, blue jeans began to bear an additional class significance as “casual wear” for middle-class Americans.” (72). In 1970 these pants have then become a simple fashion wear. They have also been introduced as a hipster type wear. Then in 1980 through the early 2000s, baggy jeans were

This essay will explore the effects social and political changes had on fashion in the 1980’s. This period was chosen because the new romantic fashions were so different to the punk fashions that had been before, this essay will therefore identify the changes that had taken place to influence this change. Primary evidence used to support findings will include interviews and photographs which will show a firsthand account of the period.

The transition from the multicultural era of the eighties to the postnetwork era of the nineties triggered abrupt changes in American media and culture. [6] From fashions to family life, relationships, and attitudes, many new cultural elements subsequently changed television portrayals of ordinary American culture within this time period. More specifically, the culture of the eighties is often characterized by the rise of MTV and megastars, techno music and club drugs, and popular fashions such as leather, leggings, and Ray Bans. Eighties culture can be described as the ‘bombdigity’ and nineties culture can be described as more toned down, moral, and ‘sweet’.

The term postmodernism has been defined in different ways over the past years but it still hasn’t had its official definition. Postmodernism is a daunting subject because of the disagreements between people of how they interrupt texts and art. Postmodernism is a critic of what we assume to be real or a fantasy of what we want to be real. Postmodernism raises an importance of identity. Postmodernism is a style and concept of the arts, architecture and the criticism that shows a break from modernism. Postmodernism highlights ideas and theories. It can include different artistic styles in art. For example, an artist can mix pop art with an icon image such as Marilyn Monroe, or make recycled garbage into new art. Watchmen

The grunge music of the 90’s might be a product of the times and changing of opinions, it still has a strong presence and legacy in the modern age. Music critics can argue about whether grunge music’s effects on rock music were positive or negative but the main point is that it did affect the music, fashion, and cultural world in a huge way. The grunge movement affected not only the music world and but the overall society of the 90’s and every decade that followed. Grunge emerged from Seattle in the late 1980s. This genre of rock and roll helped create a bridge between mainstream 1980s heavy metal–hard rock and post-punk alternative rock. Eventually, grunge faded—partly because of the death in 1994 of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who had become a generational spokesman. Some people say that “grunge music ruined rock and roll” when in reality it gave way to new forms of the genre and helped bring harder rock songs to the mainstream audiences of the time.

When the 1980s rolled around I was finishing university. I was still sad that my high school years were behind me and nostalgic about the music I enjoyed while growing up. During this time in Los Angeles, California started a new musical trend known as “glam rock”. It blew in with bands such as Motley Crue performing in the clubs around the city. Pretty much this kind of music was either you liked it or you didn’t care for it. However a band changed all that by showing a different side to his music that was a tender side.

Fashion was all the rage back in the 1980s. Mostly men and women wore a mullet, kids wore their jelly shoes, and teens had their boom boxes. But there’s way more to it than fashion. There’s also fads. Fads such as the slangs “PSYCHE!” and “Not!” But fashion choices were really interesting such the fingerless gloves or the jelly shoes

The time of emergence of the ‘grunge-era’ is of great significance. It was during this time that America saw several changes under the policies of President Ronald Reagan. People began to feel frustrated at the rising levels of poverty. Students were dissatisfied with the minimized financial aid they were granted. In her paper ‘Grunge and Blues, A Sociological Comparison: How Space and Place Influence the Development and Spread of Regional Musical Styles’, Tara Talley states, “… many young Americans in the late eighties and early nineties did indeed feel disenchanted, isolated, and somewhat hopeless. The popular music of the time did little to express this mindset” (Talley 232).

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Punk bands typically use short or fast-paced songs, with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produced recordings and distributed them through informal channels.

“I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.” Kurt Cobain was widely known as being the lead singer and guitarist of the world famous punk band Nirvana. Not only was his band remarkably successful in their musical endeavors but they were also a big innovator in the punk rock scene. Kurt had early ambitions of becoming a huge success but personally did not expect to become so widely known, so when they quickly blew up Kurt didn’t know how to handle all of the attention(Montage of Heck). In their time, Nirvana released three primary albums called In Utero, Nevermind, and Bleach. Kurt put in mass amounts of time into the music he wrote and the image he put out. He wanted everyone to see him a certain way and didn’t take

In the 1960s and 70s when Disco was popular, so were the bell-bottoms and tie-dye shirts mainstreamed by the popular artists. In the 80s, clothing saw a creative mix of tan and browns and rainbow colors. By the mid-80s, pop-stars like Cyndi Lauper had begun to push in a new style that is still the way people view the 80s today. However the 1990s and late 2000s were colorful and loose-fitting until the grunge genre popularized by Nirvana changed the style. Suddenly it was all about flannel, ripped jeans and long hair. The late 90s could also be stylistically directed by Rap and Hip-Hop

In the article “Fashion in the 1960s”, Paul Phipps describes the fashion trend and style of each year from 1960 to 1969. It mainly talks about the ‘trend’ of each year and how the ‘trend’ impacts art, music and problems. It contains how women were showing more skin than ever. They wore incredibly short skirts. The topless bathing suit also created lots of problems. A woman got arrested for wearing it in public. In the beginning of 1960s, the fashion was all bipolar. But later in the 1960s, people wore brightly colored, tie-dyed clothes. In 1950s, everyone was pressing themselves down, then they exploded in 1960s. Paul Phipps’ purpose of writing this article was to learn more about fashion in 1960s himself, but to let the readers know how fashion has evolved through the 1960s. Paul Phipps’ work is important because his article lets the readers to gain knowledge about the fashion through 1960 and 1969. Paul Phipps’ article describes how people’s fashion trend and the idea of fashion changes through time.

The book, From Goodwill to Grunge: A Story of Second Hand Styles and Alternative Economics, is in complete adherence with my view of the world, especially as teenager in the 21st century. I believe that fashion, and what people wear is, unfortunately, such a big part of life in 2018. Many teens and young adults are expected to dress a certain way, and shop at certain stores, and if they don’t , they risk being bullied, especially in middle and high schools, which can be extremely deleterious to a teens mental health as well as self esteem. In today’s day and time, thrifting is as popular as ever, with many teens adopting the thrifting lifestyle exclusively for the aesthetic. In the chapter “The Invention of Vintage Clothing” , Le Zotte states,“Vintage

What makes Cool distinctive is its extreme variability as it is more affiliated with people rather than objects. Although Cool is meant to reflect what is inside, mainly the internal change and the revolutionary inclination from within, still one can not fail its manifestations on the outside. These are clearly demonstrated in the way the subcultures express their ideology through dressing and fashion. According to Pountain and Robinson, “Fashion has always been the key signifier of Cool.. It is the court in which Cool displays itself.”

Postmodernism refers to a broad term used to explain movements in philosophy, art, music and critical theory. Postmodernism is viewed as a reaction to the pioneering modernist movement. In literature and art, postmodernism responds against classical ideas. With respect to post-structuralism and structuralism, there is a great difference between postmodernism