Website idea: does (subculture) like (whatever)?

[AlexanderPeregrine]

I'm writing a novel that uses goth, heavy metal, and hipster subcultures as contrasting motifs without having been part of any of those groups. Because I don't like when fictional works use the same extremely famous examples (e.g. all plays are Shakespeare), I've been doing a lot of research into what they do or don't like, but it only turns up said obvious results while leaving the nuances ambiguous. This gave me an idea: how about a website where you define a subculture, list its origins and influences, set relationships it with other subcultures, and then poll the members about every last possible thing it may or may not like. People can nominate an item and members vote with one of these options (all heavy metal culture and do forgive me if I made any mistakes):

- Embraced by all as part of the subculture identity (Black Sabbath)
- Entry level, more hardcore members grow out of it (Avenged Sevenfold)
- Only hardcore members like it (Cannibal Corpse)
- Part of the identity, but considered a poor reflection of the subculture (Metalcore)
- Like it, but not part of the identity (Depeche Mode)
- Fallen out of fashion (Metallica)
- Hate it with a passion (Hip Hop)
- No opinion (L. L. Bean)

Think this website would help everybody conform to their anti-conformist subculture better? It would certainly help writers craft stories involving them. Tell me what you think.

 

[DoPo]

Think this website would help everybody conform to their anti-conformist subculture better? It would certainly help writers craft stories involving them. Tell me what you think.

Awful idea. No offence. People are too diverse to stack them neatly into boxes and label them Culture A to Z. I do listen to metal, if asked what my favourite music is, I say rock/metal but I also listen to stuff. Just the majority of the music I have and love is rock and metal. I certainly don't hate Hip-hop at all, in fact it's my second favourite. And I've never listened to Avenged Sevenfold (I've heard the name, though....and that's it). I have three other close friends who are into metal - and we are not alike, really. we listen to some common stuff, but like/dislike different bands outside of them. And each has different attitude to other genres. I've talked with other people, too, and all seem to have tastes at least slightly different to one another. I have yet to meet two metal fans who like exactly the same things exactly the same way and dislike exactly the same things again.

 

[AlexanderPeregrine]

This is one of those things where individual people might have their preferences, quirks, and path of development, but it's not really about them. It's about the more fanatical groups that impose arbitrary "if you are X, you like Y or you will be shunned as not a true X" restrictions (e.g. ban people for saying they don't think nu-metal is shit). Giving them a way to show how they tick might lead to interesting revelations.

 

[DoPo]

Giving them a way to show how they tick might lead to interesting revelations.

No it wouldn't. Well, unless you look at this from a really weird angle. Just for a moment assume that this website exists and the true "hardcore fans" go there to describe their groups. 1. They are still individuals and would not create The Ultimate Guide To Being One Of Us 2. A flame war of epic proportions will follow about 0.3 seconds after there are at least three people on the website. All genres will fight all the others and themselves. You'll get Eminem fans against Tupac ones against Metallica ones against pop fans etc. You'll get people shouting for missing their own niche subgenre. You'll get people shouting for including "false" subgenres. You'll get people trolling other genres.

 

[AlexanderPeregrine]

It would succumb to trolling and in-fighting really fast (and the super-hardcore fans would probably shun the site for being "too commercial" or something), but even that would produce quite a bit of viable data. If anything, it would be yet another experiment proving many of these groups take on a religious persecution mindset.