I promised Miss L I would find a way of referencing that MTV gem ‘The City’ somehow in this blog. So here goes.
To all those City aficionados… Remember the pains Jay and Olivia went to in highlighting the cultural differences between the Williamsburg and Upper East Side crews? Did you laugh and think how arbitrary such a split was given a geographical chasm of merely miles?
http://www.greatstufftv.com/mega.html?file=69RH4O9T
Don’t be so quick to giggle… such arbitrary labelling and division occurs right here in the Emerald City, Sydney.
So I’m talking branding. Not branding of cows, nor the stereotype of Sydneysiders as brand-name rather than style-conscious in sartorial selection.
No, instead I’m talking about personal branding- the apparent ever-present need to brand individuals. In saying this, I refer to categorisation of people according to superficial indicia supposedly demonstrative of all facets of character.
The indie kids fight their definition as scensters. The North Shore kids battle it out with the Eastern Suburbanites. The two warring factions combine in a show of strength against the ‘Westies’ and Shire folk invading the ‘hallowed turf’ that is ivy.
None of this is new of course, and in fact this posting serves to reinforce the notion that society splits itself. From the beginning of time tribalism existed. In Elizabethan times the issue du jour was the Catholic/Protestant split. Much of the 20th Century was spent embroiled over competing ideologies of Nationalism and Self-Determination. Even 1960’s London served as a battleground for the Rockers to spit on the aesthetically driven Mod movement.
But in the case of all the aforementioned examples (and thousands far more worthy throughout history) there remained characteristic differences in perspective, background and idea. The conflict pertained to something that whilst intangible, was nonetheless worthy.
The Sydney split appears more concerned with postcodes, fashion and music than anything of actual merit.
But surely such a shallow and seemingly arbitrary source of bias should fail to rile me? Especially given all the problems the Retards of the world are creating for me?
Alas, my gripe is a personal one. Having grown up on the ‘leafy North Shore’ of Sydney, attended North Shore private schools, befriended similar people and indeed spent the better part of five years of University still associating with this same type of person, I was well versed in all things North Shore.
My outfit of Ralph Lauren Polo, Sass and Bide skinny jeans, and ballet flats is not complete without hair-ribbon. I can discuss at length the merits of the St Josephs College Rugby team versus the Shore First 8 in terms of both sporting and sex appeal. I withstood the Baptism of Fire that was the ritual Greengate/Commodore-Greenwood/Cargo/Kings Cross initiation to adulthood. I know feel completely at home poolside at ivy complaining with my fellow clones as to the calibre of folk they allow in the general admission section of the Hemmes behemoth .
I was conditioned to be inherently insular, and be wary of anything which did not fit within my narrow conception of the world. I was, in short, a geographic xenophobe bound by a few local council areas.
However I reject this conditioning, and like so many others, seek to break free of these subtle rules and exclusions
But what happens when you seek to break away from your cultural clique?
Get ready for the backlash…
(also known as Part 2 of this posting- what happens when you outgrow your old world…
which I shall post later.... sleep time now)
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