Subcultural Moments + Amusements (as dictated by one with a short attention span)

While most homos, driven out of the house due to a fight with the husband-in-future, would find solace in the arms of either liquor or kind male strangers, I – the most nerdotronic one – got myself to the nearest used bookstore.

“Summer is the season to re-read Harry Potter”, as I like to sardonically imagine, but I also stumbled upon this awesome gem

The Aum Shinrikyo Cult gained notoriety when they executed a sarin gas attack, in the Tokyo subway system back in 95. Haruki Murakami interviewed tons of victims from that attack a few years ago.

This book, however, goes into interviewing members of the Cult. In a broader sense, Lifton is trying to break down what drives people in general to such strong Fundamentalist urgings. What’s fascinating is that a lot of what motivates people to join up with these more extreme forms of religion, are really not that much different as the reasons most people subscribe to the specific subcultures that they do. Geek. Punk. Queercore. The power of small worlds/scenes, where your actions seem to have impact and merit.

Then I keep running all this around in my head this weekend, and think “Well, how can I apply this to advertising?” Thus sealing my fate as a sell-out for all eternity.

Anyway, this is all to say that this has been terribly interesting summer reading, even if that admits a fascination with such things as Contemporary Apocalypse Cults. Not that I have any sort of sanctified legs to stand on – considering I spent Saturday night seeing fag punk band Pansy Division rip apart a Bible on stage while singing about blowjobs. Considering I’m going into advertising, I suppose that I am exactly that which Good Christians fear.

Who knew it could come in a package quite so cute as this?