The Impact Of Nonconformity On Society

In everything that I do I decide to go the road less traveled, I make the choice to see something in a different way than everyone else. I choose not to wear the same clothes as most people do, I choose to always say what is on my mind and I try my hardest to not let what people may think of me interfere with what I say I and do. I consider myself a non-conformist for these reasons. Even when it comes to culture: I would much prefer the independent, locally-owned video shop where I can find obscure movies to the gigantic Blockbuster. I don’t choose to listen to Popular music or buy the CD’s of artists being shoved down our throats by MTV. I choose to find my own flavor, to disregard the overwhelming majority to the best of my ability. My feelings go along with Emerson’s again in “Self-Reliance”: “A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition, as if every thing were titular and ephemeral but he.” Continuing on the subject of conformity Emerson provides the famous line: “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” Stressing again the view of answering only

Kurt Cobain was one of rock’n’rolls most well known musicians. He was the main founder of the band Nirvana, Kurt was the lead singer and guitarist. He's most known for his song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ which was released in 1998. Kurt had a rough adult life which was influenced by his rocky childhood. When he was in his early teens he began experimenting with drugs, which he continued to use in his adult life. On April 5, 1994 Kurt was found dead in his home where he had overdosed on heroin and shot himself with a shotgun, it was ruled a suicide by officials but many think that his wife, Courtney Love, had something to do with it. Kurt Cobain is an example of a tragic hero because he was a very dedicated musician, who tragically took his life during the height of his career

“The Nonconformist” by Robert I. Brownstein focuses on the idea of conformity through a young boys eyes. It examines limited individuality and a constricted society. Brownstein uses “ The Nonconformist” to reveal that you cannot believe everything you are told. To explore this idea, Brownstein combines characters, setting, point of view and literary techniques.

“I'll spread my wings, and I'll learn how to fly, I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.” This quote by Kelly Clarkson describes how she will do whatever she can to reach the impossible, what society says can not be done. The transcendentalist idea of nonconformity is used all throughout America in art, literature, drama, movies, and music. Transcendentalism is absolutely inescapable in the pop culture forms of literature, movies, and music. This idea of transcendentalism was started in 1836, in New England and was carried out to the foundation of America.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the Seattle based grunge rock band Nirvana. As Nirvana's lead songwriter, guitarist, and singer, Cobain took the music industry by surprise and is considered the godfather of the grunge rock movement. Cobain and his band had a prevalent influence on young teenagers of the 1990s and were considered idols by numerous individuals. Nirvana took the popular music industry by storm when they were able to revamp the genre of grunge rock and cause a dramatic shift in music, away from the dominant genres of the 1980s. The success of Kurt Cobain was overshadowed by numerous of his psychological problems including drug addiction, his unstable marriage to music celebrity Courtney Love, and constant pressure from the

Nonconformity is someone who does not follow the generally accepted beliefs, customs, or practices. Although it is easy to conform, it is hard to be yourself, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude…” (Emerson 11). Emerson stated in his essay that a man must follow their own ideas and not conform to society like everyone else. He also believes that when you are self-sufficient it gives you the freedom to find out who you really are and this is when you become fully independent. When you conform to society you are like everyone else and that can make you happy, but all of the fame and fortunes can make you corrupt. That is why Emerson believes that living a life of nonconformity is best for one’s overall happiness. “Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh” (Emerson 11). As Emerson compares these different philosophers, he explains that although nonconformity creates misunderstandings, it is also what makes you greater and different.

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.

One of the five principles of transcendentalism is nonconformity. Nonconformity is defined as failure or refusal to conform to established customs, attitudes, or ideas. It is to think higher than what society allows and to be above and beyond the accepted social standards. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a popular transcendentalist, demonstrates this principle in one of his compositions, Self-Reliance, “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist,” (Emerson, Self-Reliance, 392). Emerson is saying that you should not be like others but to build your own personality and to be your own person because you could be of great influence.

The unique thing about nonconformity is one gets to be himself. Nonconformity is a principle trait associated in Transcendentalism, an idealistic philosophy that reached its peak in the mid-19th century. Transcendentalists follow five major beliefs that have to do with the way people live their daily lives: nonconformity, self reliance, free thought, confidence, and the importance of nature. Two notable authors and transcendentalists of this time were Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. They wrote the essays Resistance to Civil Government and Self-Reliance, respectively. Resistance to Civil Government deals with the belief that

One characteristic of transcendentalism that has had a great impact on society is non-conformity. Non-conformity has inspired people all around the world to release the fetters that had left them to die in the cycle of what is considered “normal.” Without transcendentalist authors like Ralph Waldo Emerson telling society that, “... envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he

Led by singer / songwriter / guitarist Kurt Cobain, their music rejected the entire rock star apparatus and was instrumental in the alternative rock movement (Covach and Flory, 473-76.) In “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “a simple tune with a catchy guitar pattern on low sings” is repeated throughout the song while the lyrics are “delivered with calculated carelessness ” to create “tortured spontaneity while driving toward the intense and aggressive chorus” (Covach and Flory, 476). The contrast between mellow verses and high-energy, frenetic chorus sections reflected alternative rock aesthetic and the commercial appeal to the genre. Covach and Flory writes, “Despite the rejection of commercialism that was central to alternative rock, Corbain was clearly skilled at working with the traditional elements of pop songwriting and arranging, as this and many other Nirvana tracks demonstrate”

All these bands contributed to the Grunge Revolution, but it was Nirvana that really took everyone on a whirlwind. Right before the Grunge Revolution, Rock music had become something of a show with all the glitz and glamour and puffed hair and make-up. At this point people were yearning for real rock music to make a comeback, people wanted something meaningful and the new 90’s generation wanted a new voice. This is what Nirvana gave the people, through music, and through Kurt Cobain’s radicalness and “I don’t care what you think about me, this is who I am” attitude, he made it known that it was ok to be who you are. No matter what you’re going through or think, there was no judgment in his music, but more rebellion and the people wanted to rebel against all that society believed was perceived as correct, even if it wasn’t. It is no secret that Kurt struggled with many things, he struggled with his fame that sky rocketed overnight, struggled with the emotions of a very harsh childhood, and then came drugs to numb it all. All these emotions though, flowed through his music, and people felt as if they knew him personally and a lot of the generation of the 90’s felt they could relate to his music. What he didn’t realize is that he was inadvertently bringing back the realness and rawness to Rock that everyone was yearning for.

Early critics of the spiral of silence pointed out that there are people who will never be silenced. Even though their cause appears hopeless, they continue to voice their opinions. Noelle-Neumann now describes two types of individuals who form this vocal minority that remains at the top of the spiral in defiance of threats of isolation. She calls them the hard core and the avant-garde. Hard-core nonconformists are those who "have been overpowered and relegated to a completely defensive position in public. The avant-garde are the intellectuals, artists, and reformers who form the vanguard of new ideas. Unlike the hard core, they seek public response, even though it's usually negative. "Those who belong to the avant-garde are committed to the

As a child, Cobain’s main influence was Evel Knievel, and he was determined to be reckless and fearless like his hero. As Cobain grew older, however, his influences became primarily musical, and included Neil Young, nicknamed the “Godfather of Grunge,” the Beatles, and various alternative bands (DeRogatis, para. 8). His major accomplishments were his recordings, as Cobain was known as a lyricist more than a musician, despite his short-lived career.

To start off with the idea of non-conformism, we need to understand why a non-conformist behavior is good for society. Speaking from experience. I enjoyed being a non-conformist person. It made me who I am today, a person who never follows society blindly but a person who challenges society’s actions. I believe every person enjoys being himself but it is the society’s pressure that makes them a conformist. A person will always show its true nature whenever he is free of society demands to follow ideas and actions. With this new age of loneliness more and more people are finding their true self. I didn’t start with a non-conformist ideology in one day, my experience comes from being alone at the start, being alone made me connect to myself and my identity more and more leading to enjoying it, I enjoyed loneliness cause I was aware of my actions instead of following