I’ve recently noticed a LOT of mainstream references to the resurgence of viability for independent local culture.
A few days ago I saw “DIY” praised on the front page of the New York Time’s business section. Martha Stewart’s new magazine issue says “Authentic” and “Local” on the cover.
And we all know that homemade YouTube videos and blogs (like those from whereintheworldismatt.com) are getting ten’s of millions of hits.
Recent losses by corporate media have them panicking. People are flocking AWAY from their wares. They’re wandering around looking for neat homemade stuff.
The trick is, I think, that people aren’t yet REALLY finding all that much out in the hinterlands. It’s scattered very thinly. Talent IS rare. I suppose that in most cases people are simply giving up on media altogether. Indy media is usually specialized—and as a result is partial and fragmented so that it’s hard to fit it into real life. The mainstream is patently bad, shallow, and LYING, biased toward one kind or another of power mongers that regular people can’t relate to.
Another twist is that the mainstream is trying to assume the mantle of authenticity on its own—not knowing what it’s doing. Insane ladies in Prada shoes are blindly reaching out from New York City. Or pretending to. They’re still avoiding teaming up with the roots people.
Expect to see a lot more hollow praise and “near-miss” support for the kind of truly authentic style, stories, links and info that has been steadily appearing in OYB since 1991 (pre-dating the zine scene, the boom in desktop publishing, and the Web).
