As we start to re emerge into our communities post Covid it seems timely to reflect on how we fit in and use community for for our own self preservation as well as the greater good.
There is no doubt in general the human species as evolved to live and interact within groups,be it family or groups of families,as a rule without too much outside influence we all rub along quite well.It would take pages of writing to discuss those outside influences that disrupt the ideal utopian society such as greed,religion,class and caste systems so I’m best leaving that for another day.
During this period we’ve mostly all had to adapt to new ways of living and working within our communities and re asserting our sense of Belonging.For some that has been easy and others not so but one thing is for sure we nearly all rely on some sort of community to survive and live a fulfilling life. It will be interesting to see how we all react and adapt. Will it quickly become the same as before or will we take them less for granted and become more active and involved.Has the way we interact changed forever.
Communities come in all sorts of shapes and sizes,as I said maybe your community comprises of only your close family but what about those communities outside the norm.
For a start without doubt this past year was made easier by the use of digital technology,imagine how only 10 or 20 years ago the lack of zoom meetings or social media would have affected the way we have all coped and created new communities online . Of course we all would have survived but that technology is the basis for a new kind of community. Since before the Covid crisis our communities have expanded almost world wide.Where once for instance buying a rare record or piece of information was a long period of researching,of seeking out physical groups of people who may have the same interest,often way more localised we now can join online communities,discuss topics with like minded people thousands of miles away,make new friends that we may or may not ever meet in person but none the less build relationships with. Last year I rebuilt a non working jukebox purely via the help and discussion of the people I met online,I even was able to locate hard to get parts from far flung places to get it up and running.These types of alternative communities are growing and for the younger generation completely the norm.
Does this mean the end of real life communities, I doubt it personally,it’s just another way.Of course the down side is the magnification of the aforementioned plus more bad side that upsets the ideal.For some reason the proliferation of bullying,cyber attacks,racism etc is an issue that whilst reflects the wider community is unchecked less online. Maybe when both types of communities become more of the norm that will be self policed and not tolerated much as it is offline.
Alternative communities of course are nothing new.People have been living outside of the norm for millennia but usually alone or in very small groups often outcast involuntarily.
What about those that choose a life style “off grid”. Nomadic tribes of the Middle East,Romany or Irish Gypsies have been doing it for Centuries but perhaps more in the last half of the 20th century we saw a rise in dissatisfation of living within a community based on wealth and status.We saw the rise in the UK of travelling communities,off grid living communities formed around like minded families and people who choose to live an alternative lifestyle les reliant on those ideals and perhaps more simpler.
A community where happiness is the most important thing and can only be sought without the constraints and stress of modern lifestyles.Often vilified and seen as odd I wonder how many people will seek out an easier existence as time goes on.
In the US already there is a growing Nomadic community being formed,highlighted recently in the brilliant Oscar winning film Nomadland by Chloe Zhao.As probably the country most built on the ideas around wealth equalling status within community ( I realise race and many other factors also apply but even they are linked to wealth) as the economics fail the American Dream does not compensate or allow for those falling by the wayside.With little choice left those finding themselves in this situation are forced initially to form their own communities,for some the realisation they actually prefer to live this way means wider,stronger more permanent new types of communities are being formed,an alternative.
I once went to the Burning Man festival on assignment,whilst a fabulous idea of self sufficiency, a town in the desert where no money is exchanged for goods and services it relies on outside forces. Perhaps if it was not only a week long experiment and the needs of the residents were based more on the everyday,if there was a sustainable bartering system formed similar to those in the film Nomadland maybe it could form the basis of a good lifestyle.As it stands when the goods you bring form the outside run out the fun is over. Great for a weeks fun but not sustainable.
Lastly I couldn’t leave this post without talking a little about sub cultures.Again they have been around for centuries,gangs formed in Victorian times,Mafia groups even religions,think of Jesus and his disciples surely one of the most vilified at the time out there group of people of all time. Hated so much by those in charge worried about the upset of their own self perpetuating status quo they tried to put a stop to it by killing the leader !
I’d like to though talk more about those sub cultures formed mostly in the latter half of the 20th century.Up until this point most young people became very much a clone of their parents but with the rise of the teenager ( a phrase coined by the advertising industry) and more disposable wealth amongst this group post war sub culture’s were being formed amongst the working class.
We’d of course had the Bright young things,the flappers etc before but they were small groups and wealthy with time and money to hand.
The sub cultures post war were more than that. The young had seen what two wars had done to their parents,governments post war were rebuilding with haste,the recognition of unions,the forming of the welfare state all contributed to this new outlook on life,one that was not the same as before,small groups of like minded young people rebelled against their parents ideals,spent money on frivolous things like clothes,fashion for the masses was becoming a thing,not just something to wear for sunday best,new technology such as record players and records allowed easier access to the music they heard on the radio,television started to spread the word. It was exciting and certainly not the dreary world of their parents.They had a voice of their own.
These sub cultures not only became a means to rebel,they became and still are alternative communities,in some cases acting as surrogate families or even alternative families with life long bonds formed over similar ideas and ideals.
Maybe its as simple as a similar taste in music or an idealism or political stance. From Teddy Boys,Mods,Punk Rockers ,New Romantics,Goths,Emos or even religious based cultures such as Rastafarianism they all offer an alternative often discovered in youth that matches an ethos or way of life that inform many life choices into adulthood and as such the communities around us at large.
Many of the people involved in these sub cultures go on to hold positions of influence and power in the world at large,it’s interesting to see how those ideas create change within the world of media,music,the arts and even politics.All things that make our communities tick along.
DEAN BELCHER CRITICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 