American Highschools and the Cliche Myth
Created | Updated Apr 18, 2005
This was orignially a response to a message board somewhere, and then went on my site (via.0catch.com), and now has made it here, being changed slightly every time. What can I say, I like this one. Here goes:
First, schools in America are not as bad as TV always shows, even though some people would like them to be.
After all, on TV it's much more interesting. The preps are air-headed, rich blonds who love NSync, the Goths are misunderstood, righteous victims, etc. Which ever group is favored by this particular TV special is clever and able to devastate the other with a single witty comment in front of the entire school that is helplessly enthralled by the going-ons of the various cliches. In the end the witty hero gets the boy/girl that they are obsessed with, most likely snatching them out of their rival's hands. This is great, and who wouldn't want to live it?
So I think people are seeing cliches where there are none. No, seriously, I've done it. I outgrew it, but I did the the whole "abused victim of the all-powerful preps" thing for a while. And I've seen other people do it. The "goths" wear this outfit with black fishnet leggings and black eyeshadow that takes up half their face and a spiked collar and then play wounded innocent when the terrible "preps" (who no one can satisfactorily identify) attack them for their beliefs. Which, of course, the "preps" are completely ignorant of, and randomly flew into an unprovoked attack with completely false information.
Even if one's never been so tramatizingly set upon, if the subject is brought up they will go into long complaints of the ignorant cruelty of the all-powerful and popular cheerleader preps. Who still no one can really point out.
Well, look, there's some there. One "goth" might say, pointing out a group of cheerful-looking girls in light colors, some corresponding to the school colors, and lots of makeup. Do you know them? No, but you can totally tell! Ah.
And do I need to do this rant from the other perspective? Suffice to say that a cliche is always a cliche, and one cliche doesn't really vary much from another, nevermind what they call themselves (and imagine others are spitefully calling them). A cliche will always be closed toward other cliches, and rather hostile toward anyone they perceive as belonging to another cliche, pretty much by definition.
So perhaps I can't say that cliches don't exist, rather that they aren't as tight-knit and active as TV would have you believe, nor as clearly deffined. It's very unlikely that you'll see two gang-like cliches facing off in a hallway making witty comments. One never really belongs to a cliche, and is rarly able to identify those who actually belong to the cliche that's so hostile to one's chosen stereotype.
Second point: if you're not allowed to judge people by their clothes and music tastes then what are you supposed to judge them on? You don't judge people on skin color or family economic status or things they're born into, and that's good, but people aren't helplessly born into cloths and taste in music. The problem is that the people doing the judging are basing their judgments on the templates they got off the TV, forming stereotypes. But it's not like the people being judged are unaware of these. If you just coincidentally like the same cloths/music/makeup/whatever as a stereotype that doesn't describe you, then that can suck. But you should be aware of that, and you can't get mad at people for assuming you do fit the stereotype you look like. If it looks like a duck and listens to duck music, it's probably a duck. Or in any case, it wants you to think it's a duck, and it'd probably be polite to play along. It is not a casual social encounter's job to understand the inner you. It's not anyone's job but your own.
Sometimes people are just rude. "Goths" are rude to "preps", "preps" are rude to "goths", people are rude to random people in the grocery store.
The "cliche" myth is just that: a myth.
First, schools in America are not as bad as TV always shows, even though some people would like them to be.
After all, on TV it's much more interesting. The preps are air-headed, rich blonds who love NSync, the Goths are misunderstood, righteous victims, etc. Which ever group is favored by this particular TV special is clever and able to devastate the other with a single witty comment in front of the entire school that is helplessly enthralled by the going-ons of the various cliches. In the end the witty hero gets the boy/girl that they are obsessed with, most likely snatching them out of their rival's hands. This is great, and who wouldn't want to live it?
So I think people are seeing cliches where there are none. No, seriously, I've done it. I outgrew it, but I did the the whole "abused victim of the all-powerful preps" thing for a while. And I've seen other people do it. The "goths" wear this outfit with black fishnet leggings and black eyeshadow that takes up half their face and a spiked collar and then play wounded innocent when the terrible "preps" (who no one can satisfactorily identify) attack them for their beliefs. Which, of course, the "preps" are completely ignorant of, and randomly flew into an unprovoked attack with completely false information.
Even if one's never been so tramatizingly set upon, if the subject is brought up they will go into long complaints of the ignorant cruelty of the all-powerful and popular cheerleader preps. Who still no one can really point out.
Well, look, there's some there. One "goth" might say, pointing out a group of cheerful-looking girls in light colors, some corresponding to the school colors, and lots of makeup. Do you know them? No, but you can totally tell! Ah.
And do I need to do this rant from the other perspective? Suffice to say that a cliche is always a cliche, and one cliche doesn't really vary much from another, nevermind what they call themselves (and imagine others are spitefully calling them). A cliche will always be closed toward other cliches, and rather hostile toward anyone they perceive as belonging to another cliche, pretty much by definition.
So perhaps I can't say that cliches don't exist, rather that they aren't as tight-knit and active as TV would have you believe, nor as clearly deffined. It's very unlikely that you'll see two gang-like cliches facing off in a hallway making witty comments. One never really belongs to a cliche, and is rarly able to identify those who actually belong to the cliche that's so hostile to one's chosen stereotype.
Second point: if you're not allowed to judge people by their clothes and music tastes then what are you supposed to judge them on? You don't judge people on skin color or family economic status or things they're born into, and that's good, but people aren't helplessly born into cloths and taste in music. The problem is that the people doing the judging are basing their judgments on the templates they got off the TV, forming stereotypes. But it's not like the people being judged are unaware of these. If you just coincidentally like the same cloths/music/makeup/whatever as a stereotype that doesn't describe you, then that can suck. But you should be aware of that, and you can't get mad at people for assuming you do fit the stereotype you look like. If it looks like a duck and listens to duck music, it's probably a duck. Or in any case, it wants you to think it's a duck, and it'd probably be polite to play along. It is not a casual social encounter's job to understand the inner you. It's not anyone's job but your own.
Sometimes people are just rude. "Goths" are rude to "preps", "preps" are rude to "goths", people are rude to random people in the grocery store.
The "cliche" myth is just that: a myth.
