The Commodified Emo Subculture in America

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THE COMMODIFIED EMO SUBCULTURE IN AMERICA

THROUGH THE USED’S MUSIC VIDEOS

THESIS

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Sarjana Degree Requirement at English Department, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University

By:

RENA APRILIA TANJUNG

C 0306045

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2011

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MOTTO:

“Through the storm and raging sea, I will never be alone. When my hope seems out of sight, I know You will shine Your light” (True Worshippers Youth)

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Wholeheartedly dedicated to:

My Mom

My Dad My Brothers

My Sister Me &

“Hira”

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While the final product is the text on the pages, the true learning lies

in the unseen journey. First and foremost, I would like to thank Lord Jesus

Christ, My Redeemer, for the wonderful blessing and love given in my life.

Gratefully, I would like to thank Drs. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed., Ph.D.

the Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts. It is also an honor for me to

thank the Head of English Department, Prof. Drs. Djatmika, M.A. for

giving me a chance to write the thesis. This thesis would not have been

possible unless Dra. Nani Sukarni, M.S., my thesis supervisor, helps me in

every session with her patience and knowledge. I attribute the level of my

Sarjana degree to her encouragement and effort. Without her helps, this

thesis would not have been written or completed. I am grateful to my

academic supervisor, Mr. Yuyun Kusdiyanto, S.S, M.A. for the help dealing

with all of my academic businesses. I am also indebted to all of English

Department lecturers to support me in studying English and the contents

within particularly anything related to American Studies which has inspired

me to write the thesis up.

For my beloved family chiefly my Mom and Dad, thanks for

supporting me throughout all my studies in the university and providing a

warm home where I can complete my writing up. My lovely little twin

brothers, Yong Gi and Jonathan, both of you really enliven me every day.

My younger brother Ayub, and my younger sister Devi, thanks for being commit to user

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around me when I am in the progress to finish this thesis. Forgive me it

takes so long time for me to graduate that I hope both of you can finish

your college study faster than me. I love you all.

In my daily work I have been blessed with a friendly and cheerful

Nav family, Pak Yoyok, Bu Ari, Dek Ira, Dek Dea Mbak Upik, Mbak Dina,

Mas Setyo, Ika, Dewi, Nimas, and those who I can not mention in details,

thanks for loving me, helping me, giving me a space to grow up, teaching

me how to find a better way in my adolescence phase and lifting me up

when I am down.

Kiki „Quinn‟, my drummer girl, thanks for sharing a long friendship

since we were in the junior high school. The Used is eternally in our heart.

For my besties, Letizia and Astri, thanks girls for everything, for

unbelievable jokes and silly things we have shared. Letiz, you are very nice

to me. I can not forget every good thing you have shared with me. Go girl! I

am always behind you. Astri, well, you are still my best „partner in crime‟

in learning „what‟s beyond the normal Asian culture‟. I would like to thank

to Yuliana since with her kindness, she has implicitly taught me many

things in life. And also for Dheka, my longest classmate from junior high

school, thanks for plenty meaningful lessons in the past. Definitely for all

of my friends in ED 2006, girls and boys, thank you for the nice support

and unforgettable friendship.

The 2006 American Studies, thanks for the friendship, knowledge and

anything we have been going through together in both sad and happy time commit to user

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in finishing this final project. Risqi, how could I do my thesis without your

help? Thanks for the really helpful books, journals, and advices. You are the

best counselor. I am very happy for your cum-laude graduation. “Ipin”

Arifin, you are the most inspiring and most incredible friend that I know,

man! Thanks for trusting me and sharing many stories with me. Keep

fighting for everything. Pondra, the only „master of music‟ in ED 2006,

thanks for sharing many underrated yet good music with me. Aya and Rini,

thanks for encouraging me with your word “Semangat”. Iyum and Wisnu,

go guys, you can do it fast and well. For my friend Wulan in a peaceful

heaven up there, it has been my pleasure to know you and have a friend like

you. We will miss you.

I can not accomplish my work without the supports from my friends

who stand up for the idealism they choose: those who are previously

labeled as Emo Kids, HxC Kids and Straight Edgers. Thanks to Bocud Adit,

Neng Ireen, Bang Vivid, Kak Na Marina, both of Mr. Jack Jerk Skellington,

Joojo „Joe‟ Wilson, Reno, David Loserkid, Mbak Feri‟s gang and others.

Thank you all for giving me lots of colorful memories and inspirations for

writing this unusual thesis. I am also obliged to Twitter friends especially

Mbak Puspa, thanks for accompanying me in both surreal and real world.

Finally, for Bert McCracken, Quinn Allman, Jeph Howard, Branden

Steineckert and Dan Whitesides, the members of the most amazing band in

this world, The Used, thanks a million for making the best songs, sounding

youth‟s pain, inspiring me, connecting me with other eccentric youngsters commit to user

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in various remarkable youth subcultures and opening my eyes for the true

identity I should go for.

Surakarta, October 12, 2011 Rena Aprilia Tanjung

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PRONOUNCEMENT

Name : Rena Aprilia Tanjung

NIM : C0306045

It is hereby pronounced that the thesis entitled The Commodified

Emo Subculture in America through The Used’s Music Videos is originally made and written by the researcher. It is neither a plagiarism nor is made by other. The things related to other‟s people work are written in quotation and included in bibliography. If it is proved that this pronouncement is dishonest, the researcher willingly accepts any penalty from English Department of Faculty Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta.

Surakarta, October 12, 2011

The Researcher

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

THESIS APPROVAL …………………………………………………….. i

PRONOUNCEMENT …………………………………………………... iii

MOTTO …………………………………………………………………. iv

DEDICATION …………………………………………………………..... v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………….… vii

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………….. xi

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Choosing Subject …………………………… 1

B. Problem Statement …………………………………………... 13

C. Objective of Study ……..…………………………………. 13

D. Scope of Study ………………………………………….…… 13

E. Research Significance …………………………………….…... 14

F. Method of Research …………………………………….…… 14

G. Theoretical Approach …………………………………………. 17

H. Thesis Organization …………………………………………… 21

CHAPTER II : LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Emo As A Youth Subculture in America …………..………….. 24

1. The History of Emo …………………………………….. 27

2. The Identity of Emocommit …………………………… to user ………….. 34

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B. The Used‟s Biography …………………………….………… 47

C. Youth Subculture as a Commodity …………………..……… 50

D. American Social and Cultural Condition in 2000s …..……… 55

E. Semiotic of Music Video ……………………………….…… 57

1. Charles Sanders Pierce‟s Semiotic Theory ……………… 57

2. Semiotic of Music Video ………………………………... 60

CHAPTER III : ANALYSIS

A. The commodification of Emo Fashion in The Used‟s Music Videos

1. Clothing ………………………………………………….. 72

i. Upper Body ……………………………………… 72

ii. Lower Body ……………………………………... 100

2. Hairstyle ………………………………………………….. 107

i. Medium Long Straight Hair ……………………….. 107

ii. Side Bang (Fringe) ………………………………… 111

iii. Gunshot Wound ……………………………………. 113

3. Accessories …………………………………………………. 116

i. Shoes ……………………………………………….. 116

ii. Wristbands …………………………………………. 118

iii. Lips and Ear Piercing ……………………………… 120

iv. Tattoos ……………………………………………… 122

4. Make Up…………………………………………………….. 123 commit to user

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i. Eyeliner ……………………………………………. 123

ii. Black Nail Polish …………………………………... 126

B. The commodification of Emo Behavior in The Used‟s Music Videos

127

1. Youth Rebellion ………………………………………...….. 130

i. Blue and Yellow………………………………….. 132

ii. A Box Full of Sharp Object………………………. 135

iii. I Caught Fire……………………………………… 138

iv. Blood on My Hands ……………………………… 140

2. Youth Anxiety ……………………………………………. 142

i. Buried Myself Alive ……………………………... 144

ii. Taste of Ink ………………………………………. 150

iii. Take It Away ……………………………………… 152

iv. All That I‟ve Got …………………………………. 155

v. The Bird and The Worm …………………………. 158

CHAPTER IV : CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

A. Conclusion …………………………………………………..… 161

B. Recommendation ……………………………………………. 165

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDICES commit to user

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ABSTRACT

Rena Aprilia Tanjung. C0306045. The Commodified Emo Subculture in America

through The Used’s Music Videos. Undergraduate Thesis. 2011. English Department, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts. Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta.

This research is purposively made to analyze the commodified Emo subculture in America found in ten of The Used‟s music videos. With regard to the contested position of American youth, youth subcultures arise from various genre of music to give the alternative space for young people to grow up. The early function of youth subculture is to provide a place for young people to express the ideas which is out of dominant parent culture. However, the exclusivity of youth subcultures has been commodified by the media that the meaning of early subculture is lost. The commodified youth subculture can be seen in the commodification of fashion, music and behavior as the symbolic system of communication within a certain youth subculture. In analyzing the commodified Emo subculture, ten of The Used music videos are analyzed to give the clear explanation about the kinds of subcultural commodification found in it. The research is held using the descriptive qualitative technique which means that all of collected and analyzed data are in forms of words and pictures rather than numbers. Besides, the analysis is made to test the theory and apply it to the observed phenomena rather than to find the new theory from the observation toward the subject matter. In the scope of American Studies, it is necessary to consider the application of interdisciplinary studies in studying a cultural object as a representation of American way of life. The interdisciplinary requires the

relationship between text to be studied and the contexts from which they come. To find the context behind the American cultural object, the analysis cannot be

simply observed based on a perspective of certain discipline but from the assortment of perspectives related to the subject matter being discussed. Therefore, this research is apprehended using the combination of popular culture,

semiotic and sociocultural approach to reveal the context within the data which are analyzed.

In the end of analysis, it is concluded that Emo subculture has been commodified in fashion and behavior clearly found in ten of The Used music videos. The commodified Emo subculture in America is under the influence of

media related to the social and cultural background at the certain time when Emo is phenomenally thriving.

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In the scope of American Studies, it is necessary to consider the application of interdisciplinary studies in studying a cultural object THE COMMODIFIED EMO SUBCULTURE IN AMERICA as a representation of American way of life. The interdisciplinary requires the relationship between text to be studied and the THROUGH THE USED ’S MUSIC VIDEOS contexts from which they come. To find the context behind the Rena Aprilia Tanjung1 American cultural object, the analysis cannot be simply observed Dra. Nani Sukarni. M.S.2 based on a perspective of certain discipline but from the assortment of perspectives related to the subject matter being discussed. Therefore, this research is apprehended using the combination of ABSTRACT popular culture, semiotic and sociocultural approach to reveal the context within the data which are analyzed. 2011. English Department, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts. In the end of analysis, it is concluded that Emo subculture has been Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta. commodified in fashion and behavior clearly found in ten of The This research is purposively made to analyze the commodified Used music videos. The commodified Emo subculture in America Emo subculture in America found in ten of The Used’s music is under the influence of media related to the social and cultural videos. With regard to the contested position of American youth, background at the certain time when Emo is phenomenally youth subcultures arise from various genre of music to give the thriving. alternative space for young people to grow up. The early function of youth subculture is to provide a place for young people to express the ideas which is out of dominant parent culture. However, the exclusivity of youth subcultures has been commodified by the media that the meaning of early subculture is lost. The commodified youth subculture can be seen in the commodification of fashion, music and behavior as the symbolic system of communication within a certain youth subculture. In analyzing the commodified Emo subculture, ten of The Used music videos are analyzed to give the clear explanation about the kinds of subcultural commodification found in it. The research is held using the descriptive qualitative technique which means that all of collected and analyzed data are in forms of words and pictures rather than numbers. Besides, the analysis is made to test the theory and apply it to the observed phenomena rather than to find the new theory from the observation toward the subject matter.

1 Mahasiswa Jurusan Sastra Inggris dengan NIM C0306045 2 Dosen Pembimbing

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Choosing Subject

‗America is the fountain of youth‘ is a metaphorical term coined by

Robertson (in Campbell and Kean, 1997) to explain America‘s past perspective on

youth. The view of parent generation as the Old World and their children‘s

generation as the New World puts American youth in a contested space. Children

are filled with abundant expectations from their parents that encourage parents to

control youth‘s life which parents think it is good to create a better upcoming

generation. However, what Americans think it is good for their children does not

accomplish adolescents‘ desire of having their own way in defining the future. As

Campbell and Kean (1997) write, this order might run well in colonial age but

social system in America was continually formed with destabilizing and

established order to challenge the next generation. The system shows that there is

always a confrontation between parent and youth culture. Youth as a phase which

is filled with spirit and desire of acquiring identity has an obsession toward the

culture that encourage adolescents create their own space to oppose the dominant

culture. Subsequently, the need of having the space free from parent culture

triggers youth-based subcultures to emerge.

The basic idea of subculture comes from the accumulation of meaning and

also means of expression from thecommit subordinate to user groups to oppose the dominant

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meaning system (Murdock in Calluori, 1985: 44). Concerning on the contested

position of American youth, American youth subcultures emerge due to the lack of

support from parents in assisting them entering the adolescence phase.

Adolescence is a state when human trapped between ‗no longer being children‘

and ‗not yet being completely adult‘ (Weinstein in Eipstein, 2002: 4). In this state,

young people can not find the ultimate identity instantly because there is a tension

between childhood freedom and adult responsibility that reportedly proves to be a

fruitful ground for the growth of alienation (Calabrese in Eipstein, 2002: 4). The

asymmetry relationship between parents and children persuades adolescents to

experience a transition period using the alternative ways outside of their daily

zones which mostly acquired by parents culture like home, social institutions and

school. The condition has inspired various youth subcultures to come out since

through subcultures, adolescents obtain a space to find their identity.

In expressing the anxiety and alienated feeling in adolescence phase, young

people are often fitted with music. They are susceptible to be affected by music

because in this phase, they need to feel, to experience and to be motivated by

something or to allow themselves to be deeply affected by it (Pipher in Anastasi,

2005: 313). Since adolescents have more time to search out and listen to music,

those who have similar taste of music possibly make a certain subculture to

represent the similar ideology. Most of youth subcultures emerge from music

scenes because of this phenomenon: a tight relationship between music and

identity acquirement like what Williams explains as follows:

First, there is a dialectic relationship between music and identity, wherein music is seen as consequential in the commit creation to of user subcultures as well as consequence of perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id3

them. Second, through music and the musical experience—both making and listening to music—individuals are able to locate themselves in specific subcultural formations. (Williams, 2006: 174)

The preference of young people‘s music often defines certain subculture they

belong to. Each music preference brings each different idea. Therefore, youth

subcultures like Teddy Boy, Mods, Punk, Skinheads, Ravers, Metalheads, Goths,

Gangstas, Emo, and others are basically varied based on different music

preferences. The idea of each youth subculture is practiced through the symbolic

systems of communication which is also exclusively different from one subculture

to another.

Primarily, youth subculture is a space when young people are able to resist

the dominant system of a society controlled by parent. The members of youth

subcultures communicate each other using the symbolic system of communication

to emphasize that the members are assembled in a similar subculture. As Storey

states those symbolic systems are firstly used as means of communication among

the members of a specific youth subculture to show that they are engaged in the

similar kind of subculture also resist the dominant culture because they can fight

for their beliefs and ideology (Storey, 1996: 119). Currently, the resistance has

significantly changed because of an overconsumption of subculture symbolic

system of communication like fashion, music and behavior within a wider society

out of subcultural area.

All adolescents nowadays ironically can easily affirm themselves as

members of certain youth subculture by applying the similar subculture symbolic

system of communication through fashion, lifestyle, music preference and commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id4

behavior without considering the basic idea of a youth subculture. The resistance

toward the dominant culture has died. The media have a significant role on how

the early function of a subculture shifts. Stalling affirms that in one side, media

control the information of youth subcultures in a good way that it can be well

accepted by society, on the other side, the media abuse the basic functions of

youth subcultures through the exploitation of fashion, music preference and

behavior discarding youth subculture‘s ideology (Stalling, 1999). Through these

two opposite functions, youth subcultures are progressively popular that makes

everything related to youth subculture including its symbolic systems of

communication become public‘s attention. The media has purposively

encouraged people to buy new hip products, cool ideas and exciting lifestyle

equipment. They have consistently searched the outer limits of society to find

products to pasteurize repackage and sell to the mainstream (ibid). Therefore,

symbolic styles of youth subcultures gradually become profitable commodities

because these stuffs are potential to be the next hipping products considering its

uniqueness coming from the ‗rebellion‘ ideas of young people.

The changing function of youth subcultures symbolic systems from

exclusive means of communication within a youth subculture into the marketable

products consumed by wide people is often included in the commodification

process. The commodification process of youth subcultures happens in various

media. These media give all of youth subculture‘s elements like fashion, music

preferences and behavior a strong exposure. Commodification process omits the

original value and ideology of youth subculture. Media build a strategy to commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id5

familiarize youth subcultures to the society but for a hidden purpose like

advertising the symbolic systems of subcultural communication appears on the

video, magazine, posters and others. The unoriginal types of youth subcultures

slowly emerge as a result of this process. Brooks affirms that young people easily

identify themselves as resistors toward the mainstream parent culture by adopting

particular music or lifestyle which in fact, they are in effect sustaining the

commercial viability of the commodification of youth subculture (Brooks in

Saray, 2007: 25). The commodification process of youth subcultures can be seen

from the phenomenon of mushrooming music videos on television and internet.

Music video is an effective tool for promoting bands, singers and others

musicians‘ image to the public. Through audio and visual representation, the

music video does not only function to display the performers but also to create

them (Peeters, 2004: 9). The performers within the music videos can be the

effective ideological tools because according to the process of identification,

there is a period when audiences become attached to the performers ranging from

emotional affinity to projection, by which fans try to become their idols through

imitating speech, movements and consumer patterns (ibid). If the audiences have

become emotionally attracted to the performers, they will follow what performers

do including wearing, imitating and consuming everything appears there, not only

based on the appearance of the performers but also rely on the musical style and

the subcultural group to which the performers refer. By showing the subculture

symbolic system of communication such as fashion and behavior, the performers

have represented certain subculture they belong to. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id6

This phenomenon has miserably encouraged the commodification of youth

subculture through the exploitation of its symbolic system of communication in

the media. The market constantly sees this uniqueness subculture appears on the

music videos as something profitable. Some the obvious commodifications of

American youth subculture can be found through the exploitation of Hippies in

1960s and Grunge subculture in the late 1980s until early 1990s when Nirvana, a

phenomenal Grunge band, became the media spotlight. As Stalling writes:

At some point, someone notices. Society starts to recognize the subculture and explore it a little. Think of record label execs going to rock shows in Seattle in the late '80s to check out what the hullabaloo is about Mudhoney and that grumpy band Nirvana. Think of fashion designers sneaking into political protests in the ‗60s to check out those strange clothes all the longhaired protesters are wearing… Somehow, someone notices something different, something that just might be of interest to the rest of the country. What gets noticed is what‘s easy to see and easy to sell: a new look, a new sound, a few innovative accessories (Stalling, 1999)

Nirvana, for example, has been incredibly popular in America after their music

videos were being regularly aired on MTV. Through their music videos, young

audiences get the ideal illustration of Grunge subculture icons, which had been

known as fresh, new and attractive youth style in the late of 1980s and early

1990s. The young audiences adopted grunge style exemplified by the appearance

and performance of Kurt Cobain and other Nirvana band members on the video.

The formula of inventing something new has been applied by media time by time

that through their power, the media knows how to control the next trend which is

variable from time to time. Therefore, early American youth subcultures, which

were popular in the ‗60s, ‗70s, ‗80s, ‗90s, are not popular anymore as the media

have found the other fresh, new and attractive subcultural trend.

Emo is a typical of American youth subculture which has also gone through commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id7

this kind of commodification process. Emo is an American youth subculture

emerged from Hardcore and Punk music scenes in 1980s and became widely

popular in 2000s. Unlike Hardcore and Punk music which used youth power to

rebel the monotonous and dominant system in the society, Emo music gives a

space for young people to experience vulnerability in facing their adolescence

phase through a sensitive way. Emo term is derived from ―Emotional Hardcore‖

indicating that the music composition is actually similar to Hardcore music but

more emotional and personal in lyric. This is compatible with what Bailey states

as follows:

Emo short for ―emotional music‖ is an evolving and complex American youth subculture that listens to a specific genre of music, which is characterized by feelings of vulnerability and a willingness to express heart-felt confessions about adolescence. (Bailey, 2005:1)

The ―Emotional Hardcore‖ music is originated from various Washington D.C.

hardcore bands in the middle of ‗80s such as Rites of Spring, Embrace and Rain.

Gradually with the notion ―Emotional Hardcore‖, they started to define

themselves as hardcore punk bands by adding melodic elements to their songs.

Sadness, love, and sense of guilt were some of the most written topics found in

the bands‘ lyrics. Emo continues to develop and becomes steadily popular among

American young people in 90s when the band like Sunny Day Real Estate and

Jimmy Eat World created more melodic Emo songs by leaving the standard of

hardcore music behind. Lately in 2000s, the media give Emo stronger exposure

that turns it into a famous youth subculture which has influenced most of the

American adolescents‘ lifestyle. In this 2000s period Emo has been dejected and

commodified by the media becausecommit it is foundto user that Emo in 2000s has been out of perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id8

the original idea of Emo in 1980s. In 1980s, Emo was involved as an underground

youth subculture practicing DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic which avoided the

interference of mainstream media, by contrast, Emo today deprives the idea of

underground subculture based on hardcore and punk into a kind of marketable

subculture of which fashion, music and behavior have been traded.

The meaning of emotional in the early term of ―Emotional Hardcore‖ is

exploited in 2000s Emo. It occurs because the term ‗emotional‘ is always related

to the sense of vulnerability, weakness, despair, nostalgia, broken heart, hope, self

hatred, anger and the other similar themes. This is what makes Emo today is

contrast to other youth subcultures. Emo is different not only from fashion and

music preferences, but also from the perspective of understanding the ambient

reality of adolescence (Aslaksen, 2006: 6). This fact, however, is very different

from the early 1980s Emo which showed the power of the members in facing

adolescence through the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic which was absolutely far away

from the concept of being too weak and vulnerable although most of early bands

Emo created more personal hardcore songs. Characteristically, the vocalists of

today‘s Emo bands usually exploit high falsetto voice to express emotional topics

assembled with fast violent guitar chord contrasting to the 1980s Emo bands

which practiced the pure hardcore music with yelling and wailing instead of

screaming in falsetto voice. The changing sound of Emo music in 2000s is

influenced by the mixture of 1980s Emo music filled with hardcore-based music

and 1990s Emo which was more ‗pop‘. The mixture of this different music from

two different Emo period results in a fresh sound which young listeners have not commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id9

yet listened to. Obviously, the media catch it as the next potential stuff to sell.

Besides music, like other youth subcultures, the members of Emo subculture

show their identity in various symbolic system of communication through fashion

and behavior. As the underground subculture, the members of 1980s Emo

subculture often indicate themselves with hardcore-based fashion signified by the

simple clothing like T-shirt and three-quarter jeans. This kind of fashion was still

continually used until the second wave generation of Emo in 1990s. Later, with

the exploitation on Emo‘s emotional term by the media, fashion of the 2000s Emo

members changes dramatically. It usually comprises on the stuffs like black

skinny or stovepipe jeans, dyed black hair, side-parted long fringes, tight t-shirts

which often bear the names of Emo bands, studded belts, black wristbands, black

sneakers or skate shoes (http://www.gurl.com/findout.label.html). Overall, 2000s

Emo fashion is correlated with the gloomy and sad theme as the result of

‗Emotional‘ term that has been commodified by the media.

Behavior or mannerism of Emo subculture in 1980s was actually similar

with what can be found on hardcore and punk subculture. In 1980s, the

application of DIY, the ethic of being independent, was also found on Emo

subculture. The ethic made 1980s Emo was not exploited by mainstream media

since they did all things independently. Since 1990s, the second wave of Emo has

gained popularity through the thriving of Emo music promoted by Sunny Day

Real Estate. DIY ethic as the behavior of the subculture was not applied

thoroughly anymore because MTV started to enter the Emo world of which result

could be seen later in the third generation of Emo in 2000s. The 2000s Emo commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id10

behavior is usually close with themes of anxiety in adolescence phase, terrible

loneliness, mental illness due to the lack of self ability in overcoming youth life

problems, the broken-heartedness of love life, sensitive rebellion in adolescence

phase and another similar topic

(http://www.ehow.com/about_6657497_emo_kids_depression.html). The

application of Emo behavior in American youth‘s life even makes parents worry

about their children‘ condition because the gloomy theme of Emo has issued to

increase youth suicidal action and self mutilation in America (ibid).

Nowadays Emo‘s popularity in America is engulfed mostly by the constant

and regular broadcasting of Emo bands‘ music videos on MTV. Through music

video, Emo is incredibly familiar among young people through the exceptional

fashion and behavior shown by the performers. Most of Emo bands are really

representative in echoing what young people feel in their adolescence phase. They

have accomplished the cries of the adolescents‘ heart and give young people an

opportunity to try them on and participate in this crying out (Anastasi, 2005: 316).

The listeners who are involved in Emo music represented by Emo bands are not

satisfied enough by only listening to their song in audio form. They want more

from the bands which lately cause higher demands upon other products such as

visualization of the audio form.

Since music is not sufficient for satisfying the needs of fans, the existence of other

media such as pictures, poster and finally music video are created to give the fans

the visual representation to fulfill their need in idolizing the musicians (Peeters,

2004: 8). However, like what have been stated before, music video is proposed to commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id11

advertise the performers‘ images to the audiences through everything appears

there which means that besides giving the visual representation of Emo icons, the

music video are also developed into a selling machine which has successfully

commodified all elements of this subculture to be consumed by the audiences.

There are numerous bands of which performances and appearances are

represented the identity of Emo subculture. Most of them are widely popular in

MTV and internet. My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard

Confessional, The Used, are just to name a few popular Emo bands in America

which has also encouraged the commodification of Emo.

A well-known Emo band which has successfully got high response from

Emo fans is The Used. The Used comes from Utah and gains popularity through

an aggressive Emo music they play. The Used produces more chaotic sound of

Emo as the mixture of post hardcore, pop and punk under the mainstream record

label, Reprise Record. The different sound of music, the unique appearance closed

to Emo style and rebellious performance of The Used‘s members on the stage

make this band popular in America. With Bert McCracken as the vocalist, Quinn

Allman as the guitarist, Jeph Howard as the bassist and Branden Steineckert

replaced by Dan Whitesides in 2008, as the drummer, they have released four

studio albums and EPs (Extended Play) or mini album from 2002 until 2009. The

albums are The Used (2002), In Love and Death (2004), Lies for The Liars

(2007), and Artwork (2009) while the EPs are Berth (2007) and Shallow Believer

(2008) (http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Used/Biography). The existence of The

Used in music industry is considered as a significant icon for the growth of Emo commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id12

subcultures in America. This band is able to embody the general American

adolescents‘ problem sensitively since each band member has experienced similar

adolescence problem that is when they grew up in a low middle class environment

in Utah.

Having got huge number of fans, The Used‘s music videos are produced and

aired regularly on MTV and popular internet video sharing sites such as YouTube

and MySpace. Some of The Used‘s popular videos are Taste of Ink, I Caught Fire

(In Your Eyes), All That I’ve Got, Buried Myself Alive, A Box Full of Sharp

Objects, Blue and Yellow, Take It Away, The Bird and The Worm, Blood On My

Hands, and Empty With You. Those music videos have been released in several

years from 2002 until 2009 and highly appreciated by American adolescents who

define themselves as Emo Kids. By the regular airing of their music videos, The

Used gains more popularity. This phenomenon is really interesting to analyze

since the formula of making The Used‘s music videos is basically similar like the

formula used by general music videos which is purposively to sell the image of

the performers. It means that the other description of Emo subculture as a result of

commodification process is also found in the video. it is possible that everything

appeared on The Used‘s music videos is possibly made to offer the audiences the

right description of Emo youth subcultures. Certainly, everything appears on their

music videos is not purely a real representation of Emo subculture because The

Used is included in 2000s Emo mainstream band generation which is popular after

the subculture is exaggeratedly exploited by the media. Hence, based on this fact,

it can be deeply analyzed the kinds of commodification of Emo subculture in commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id13

America through the appearance and performance of the performers in The Used

music videos.

B. Problem Statement

Concerning the significant issue about the commodification of Emo

subculture in America, this thesis is carried out to answer:

What kinds of commodified Emo subculture are found in The Used‘s

music videos?

C. Objective of Study

Based on the research question, the objective of this thesis is:

To understand the kinds of commodified Emo subculture found in The

Used‘s music videos

D. Scope of Study

In having research on this thesis, the researcher limits on the elements of

Emo subculture that are being commodified. The process of commodification here

will be focused on how media exploit the moving images, music and lyric in ten

of The Used‘s music videos. Ten of The Used music videos which are analyzed

are Taste of Ink, I Caught Fire (In Your Eyes), All That I’ve Got, Buried Myself

Alive, A Box Full of Sharp Objects, Blue and Yellow, Take It Away, The Bird and

The Worm, Blood On My Hands, and Empty With You.

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E. Research Significance

This research is conducted in the substances of:

1. Providing comprehensive information about the commodified Emo

subculture in America through The Used music videos

2. Giving deeper knowledge about Emo an example of youth

subcultures in America for other researchers who are interested in

the study of youth subcultures.

F. Method of Research

1. Type of Research

This thesis is included in a descriptive qualitative research. Descriptive

research is a type of research that aims to make description systematically,

factually and accurately about facts, characteristics and relations among the

phenomena which are observed (Nazir, 2006: 17).

The reason of using this research type is that all of collected and analyzed

data are in forms of words and pictures rather than numbers. Besides, the analysis

is made to test the theory and apply it to the observed phenomena rather than to

find the new theory from the observation toward the subject matter.

2. Source of Data commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id15

The sources of data in the thesis are ten of The Used‘s official music videos

which are produced and aired from 2002 until 2009. They are Taste of Ink, I

Caught Fire (In Your Eyes), All That I’ve Got, Buried Myself Alive, A Box Full of

Sharp Objects, Blue and Yellow, Take It Away, The Bird and The Worm, Blood On

My Hands, and Empty With You. All of the videos are downloaded from The Used

band official account in the internet video sharing site, www.YouTube.com.

3. Data

The research will be conducted on two kinds of data. The first is main data

and the second is supporting data. The main data is collected from the source of

data which are ten of The Used‘s music videos: Taste of Ink, I Caught Fire (In

Your Eyes), All That I’ve Got, Buried Myself Alive, A Box Full of Sharp Objects,

Blue and Yellow, Take It Away, The Bird and The Worm, Blood On My Hands, and

Empty With You. The main data consist of moving picture, music and lyric which

all are analyzed to answer the problem statement.

The supporting data is proposed to endorse the main data of the research.

The supporting data consist of supportive materials about Emo subculture and The

Used, as an Emo band that is going to be analyzed, found in several books,

reviews, journals, articles, both hard file and soft file taken from the internet and

other sources.

4. Technique of Collecting Data

To find out messages conveyed by the data, the music videos will be commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id16

observed through several steps. First, each of the music video is watched

repeatedly to find the object of analysis. After that, the music videos containing

preferred object of analysis are cut and grouped to reflect the same issue. It means

that not all part of the music videos will be analyzed. The chosen data are

considered for containing deep and thorough information upon the case which are

analyzed.

5. Technique of Analyzing Data

The data are firstly collected and classified in order to answer the problem

statement. The technique of analyzing data has to include several approaches to

explore the main data then the supporting data is scrutinized to support the main

data. Last step is taking conclusion to find the obvious explanation for the

problem statement.

G. Theoretical Approach

This research is conducted within the boundaries of American Studies.

American Studies is the study of American cultures which occupies various

disciplines to involve. It means that to study a cultural object, it cannot be

observed from one perspective of each discipline only but from an assortment of commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id17

perspectives related to the subject matter being discussed. The purpose of relating

various disciplines in studying American cultural products is to find the context

behind it as it has been widely recognized that the central to any interdisciplinary

enterprise it the relationship between text to be studied and the contexts from

which they come (Campbell and Kean, 1997: 4). Therefore, several approaches

like popular culture, semiotic and sociocultural are applied in this research to

reveal the context behind the data as the products of American culture that are

analyzed.

American cultural product can be used as an instrument in understanding

America because culture reflects a particular way of life, whether a people, a

period or a group (Williams in Storey, 2009: 2). Culture that is widely favored or

well liked by many people is simply called as popular culture (ibid: 5). Popular

culture refers to belief and practices, and the objects through which they are

organized, and are widely shared among the people of different beliefs (Smith in

Pun, 2009: 16). It means that popular culture product has been extensively

acknowledged by wide people without having a definite limitation to which group

it can be consumed. However, for the sake that popular culture can be widely

consumes by mass, there is a certain ideology to conceal the reality of

subordination from those who are powerless: the subordinate classes do not see

themselves as oppressed or exploited (Storey, 2009: 3). This is because according

to Gramsci, the dominant groups in the society always seek to win the consent of

subordinate groups (ibid: 10). The dominant groups here use the media to lose the

subordination sense in the society. The process of losing subordination makes commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id18

culture products are popularly consumed by all groups in the society without

realizing that there is a ruling class to win the hegemony behind it. Bennet also

writes:

The field of popular culture is structured by the attempt of the ruling class to win hegemony and by forms of opposition to this endeavor. As such, it consists not

simply of an imposed mass culture that is coincident with dominant ideology, nor simply of spontaneously oppositional cultures, but is rather an area of negotiation between the two within which – in different particular types of popular culture – dominant, subordinate and oppositional cultural and ideological values and elements are ‗mixed‘ in different permutations (ibid: 10)

The hegemony ruling practice can be clearly seen on how youth subcultures are

commodified by the media. Stalling states that the media is a machine of which

purpose ideally is to inform but realistically, is to sell. It has consistently searched

the outer limits of society to find products to pasteurize repackage and sell to the

mainstream (Stalling, 1999). The commodification process of certain youth

subcultures is derived from such phenomena. Here, the media has shifted the

function of the early youth subculture from its exclusiveness as the place for

young people as the subordinate groups in the society with the different ideology

in acquiring identity to a product of popular culture which wide people can easily

consume it. In understanding subcultural commodification in America, popular

culture artifacts related to youth life such as movie, music, video game, music

video, fashion and the like are studied analytically. From the intensely study, it is

found that youth subculture artifacts created by media are structured to eliminate

the oppositional values of youth subculture in America. Music video has

evidently commodified youth subculture because as a media, music video is

basically created by the winning groups such as capitalist and industrialist to sell commit to user the hipping stuffs and ideas of certain subculture to be widely accepted and perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id19

consumed.

To see the aspect of commodification found in the music videos and the

context behind the fact, the elements within a music video including music, lyric,

and image are deeply observed because to study a popular culture product, it is

necessary to apply semiotic approach (Pun, 2009: 28). Semiotic is the study of

signs or the social production of meaning by sign system of how things come to

have significance. For Peirce‘s semiotics theory, a sign is something which stands

to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It addresses somebody,

that is, creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more

developed sign (Peirce in Chandler, 2009: 3). Charles Sanders Peirce refers a sign

as the correlation between the representamen, object and interpretant. The

representamen, as the signifier in Peirce‘s theory, refers to the form which the sign

takes while the interpretant, as the signified, refers to the concept it represents.

Peirce‘s theory is different from the previous semiotics theory since to represent

the concept, as Peirce states, the interpretant is influenced by sense of signs made

by the interpreter or the object.

The relationship between the representamen, the object and the interpretant

emerges three modes of sign: symbol, icon and index. As Peirce notes that symbol

is a mode in which the signifier does not resemble the signified but which is

fundamentally arbitrary or purely conventional; icon is a mode in which the

signifier is perceived as resembling or imitating the signified; index is a mode in

which the signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected in some way

(physically or causally) to the signified (ibid: 30). In the analysis of a moving commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id20

image like movie, short movie, and television shows, Peirce‘ three modes of signs

are applicable. Wollen states that film and television use all three forms: icon

(sound and image), symbol (speech and writing), and index (as the effect of what

is filmed) (Wollen in Chandler, 2009: 35). Since music video is a form of short

moving image, Peirce‘s semiotics theory is relevant to use in signifying the

concept behind it.

Music video is a form of audiovisual communication between the

performers and its audiences in which the meaning is created through the

correlation of its moving image, lyric and music. Using Peirce‘s semiotics theory,

to analyze the concept within it, the image and music are employed as the icon

while the lyric is employed as the symbol. Still, the concept is gained from the

meaning behind the music video as the indexical tool. Below Carlsson affirms that

the meanings of a music video are gained from how the three aspects of music

videos, like moving image, music and lyric, correlate each other.

Clearly, production of meaning in music videos is complex, compromised of

several flows of audio-visual information. These flows interact and the resultant meaning is perceived as one complete whole, created by both the ears and eyes...... points out how three aspects of the audio-visual flow – music, image, and text – interact producing meaning for ―literate" audio-viewers of music video

(Carlsson, 1999:1)

It means that in analyzing music video, moving image is not the only object that is

going to be observed. The analysis of music and lyric is also required because the

musical features of a song bend the moving image, even sometimes they also

shape the moving image on the video (ibid: 2) while the lyric in the music video

are depicted by the moving image to give the clear description of the song to the

audiences. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id21

As a cultural product of a society, semiotics approach is not merely enough

to explain the visual representation of a music video. Griffin states that

identifiable features of a text rarely reveal sufficient insight into how and why it

communicates (Griffin, 2002: 31). To reveal the context of a text which is the

cultural product of a society, it is needed to know how it communicates within a

society. Whereas to understand how a cultural product communicates, it is needed

to notice on the social context and an understanding of cultural codes. It is right if

semiotics theory can explain the context; still, the content of a cultural product is

mostly influenced by the social and cultural condition of a society where the text

is presented. Therefore, sociocultural approach is important to assist semiotic

approach in explaining the context of a cultural product in a certain society. As

Griffin also clearly notes as follow:

Yet regardless of such debates over the text-centered limitation of semiotic interests and methods, semiotic inquiry has made one thing clear: that, images, like words, can only be understood through their relationship to cultural patterns of making meaning. The sociocultural paradigm, broad and eclectic with regard to specific

methods, makes it equally clear that cultural codes……can only be understood within the discursive practices of a production system……and the social organization (ibid: 32-33)

In analyzing the commodified Emo as an American youth subculture within

The Used music video, it is not enough to simply notice on signs available in a

music video. As a cultural product, those signs are influenced by the social context

and cultural codes of a society where the text is taken. The understanding about

American social and cultural condition at a specific time is needed to explain how

a music video as text communicates and how the context behind the text is

revealed. At this point, sociocultural approach is applied to give the clear commit to user explanation about the commodification process of Emo youth subculture in perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id22

America. By using sociocultural approach besides semiotics, commodification of

the signs in the music video can communicate the issues of Emo youth subculture

in America.

H. Thesis Organization

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 is the introduction of the thesis. It provides the summary of the

background of the thesis. The Problem Statement Objective of Study, Scope of

Study, Research Significance, Method of Research ,Theoretical Approach and also

the Thesis Organization.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter 2 provides the literature review as the basic theory for the analysis. This

chapter 2 consists of Emo As A Youth Subculture in America, The Used‘s

Biography, Youth Subculture as A Form of Commodity, American Social and

Cultural Condition in 2000s and the last is Semiotics of Music Video.

CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS

Chapter 3 proposes the answers for the problem statement mentioned in chapter 1.

The first subchapter explains about the commodified Emo subculture in fashion.

The first subchapter explains about the commodification of Emo subculture in

behavior. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id23

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Chapter 4 includes the conclusion and recommendation based on the analysis

which are written in the previous chapter.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

As mentioned in Chapter 1, this research aims at answering the kinds of

commodification in Emo subculture in America represented by The Used‟s music

videos. To conduct with the solution of the problem statement, it is needed to apply

several theories. Thus, this chapter provides some appropriate theories which are

divided into five subchapters. The first subchapter is about Emo subculture. It

explains about the significance of Emo as a youth subculture in America and elements

of Emo subculture such as history and identity. The second subchapter provides the

biography of The Used including the brief explanation of their career, band members,

discography of songs and music videos. Then the third subchapter discuss about the

commodifications of youth subculture through its elements which are frequently

found in American media especially music video. The fourth subchapter explains

about American social and culture condition in the 2000s that influence the

development of Emo youth subculture. The last subchapter concerns on semiotic of

music videos, embracing its three elements: image, music and lyric.

A. Emo As A Youth Subculture in America

Adolescence is a phase of human life when childhood is replaced by

adulthood. In this phase, young people face a new challenge in relation to their past

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24 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

and future life. It means that in this period, young people are commonly looking for

their own identities in the process of being mature dealing with their personal

anxieties and the need for social self definition. As it is also stated in Fass words

“Youth is one of the sites where these forces cross, mix and clash: „at a splendid

crossroad where the past meets the future in a jumble of personal anxieties and an

urgent need for social self-definition” (Fass in Campbell and Kean, 1997: 215).

The searching of identity is sometimes influenced by the environments where

they grow. In America, the environments surrounding young people‟s life mostly

family, school and social institution, which are typically controlled by parent culture.

However, these environments do not fulfill all what young people look for because

youth desires its own space outside the adult or public sphere beyond the surveillance

of the authorities and institutions that dominate their lives (Campbell and Kean, 1997:

230). Hence, young people will go outside to construct the spaces which are free from

parents and institution intervention, as Grossbreg also writes:

Youth could construct its own places in the space of transition between these institutions: in the street, around the jukebox, at the hop (and later the mall)…spaces located between the domestic, public and social spaces of the adult world. What the

dominant society assumes to be no place at all (Grossbreg, ibid: 230)

The construction of these places between encourages youth subcultures to

emerge. Youth subcultures are considered as the marginal sites where young people

can obtain domains outside of parent culture. These subcultures are mostly created

from various forms of articulations like music, fashion, gangs, and so on. In music

genre, rock is an example of youth articulation which allow young people to live out

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its alienation in ways that would increase is own sense of control over its everyday

life. Rock also offered the possibility of self expression in a new language coming out

of a hybridization of oppressed culture‟s musical form like blues, jazz and country

(ibid: 230). Besides, rock music also answers the surveillance and authority of the

dominant culture with a „counterculture of conspicuous display‟ that found a way to

contest their erasure to reintroduce themselves to the public by “throwing out” a new

style that made other people take notice (Lipsitz in Campbell and Kean, 1997: 231).

Rock music is still divided into various genres based on the different musical

events such as rhythmic cells, types of bass lines, harmonic motives, musical

processes and so on (Dunbar-Hall, 1991: 130). Every genre has formed its own

subculture because the differences of musical events are believed to represent

different ideology (ibid: 130). Heavy metal is different from punk, although both of

them are basically redlined in rock music, because they are different either in musical

events or lyrics which represent its own ideology. In America, rock music genres have

been increasingly changed according to the different generations. In 2000s, common

rock genres blooming out in this era are basically derived from metal, hardcore and

punk subgenre but using its specific characteristics. One of the subgenres emerged

from hardcore and punk is Emo which also finally become an independent youth

subculture because of its special characteristics.

Emo is a recent popular American youth subculture which emerged in 1980s

and astonishingly thriving in 2000s. Like the other music-based youth subcultures,

Emo is a place for American youth to form their identity in adolescence phase commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

through music, fashion, behavior and values. Still, Emo has various distinctions

compared to other music-based youth subcultures both on its history and identity.

1. The History of Emo

Emo is not a new genre in American music industry. Like punk music, initially,

Emo is emerged from underground music scenes. Through several developments,

then Emo is distorted from its origin music value. Nowadays, young people identify

Emo as a mainstream music genre different from the early Emo in 1980s. The

developments according to Andy Greenwald are divided into three parts: the first

wave in 1980s, the second wave in 1990s and the third wave in 2000s.

The term Emo was firstly introduced by a hardcore punk bands from

Washington D.C., such as Rites of Spring and Minor Threat, in the middle of 1980s.

Their music was considered revolutionary compared to the common hardcore punk

music flowering at that time because their lyrics were softer and more personal than

the other hardcore bands. Yet, those bands still expressed their intimate sentiments in

the style of hardcore that can be indicated from guitar riffs, feedback, yelled lyrics

and aggressive sounds of music, subsequently their music often termed by hardcore

fans as “Emotional Hardcore” or Emo. While there were various hardcore and punk

bands demonstrating their opinion toward the unfairness of society, politic and other

crisis, the early Emo bands explored the individual feeling sensitively through the

blown up words. The vocalists of these bands often cried on the stage when singing to

show the exaggeration of their emotional feeling. It can be noticed from one of the commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

early Emo band‟s lyric, “End on End” by Rites of Spring as follows:

…

I've had days of end on end where nothing changed cause nothing began. Restless movement in an empty room,

gathering shadows of a darkened blue. And oh- it feels so strange- when it comes again … (End on End by Rites of Spring)

Rites of Spring‟s lyric above explains about the personal feeling of a man, in this case

one of the band members, when he feels the terrible loneliness as if causing the end of

his life. Through the words “restless movement in an empty room, gathering shadows

of a darkened blue” the loneliness become the main theme throughout the song.

Emo scene lasted only a few years in the Washington D.C. By 1986, most of

Emotional Hardcore bands in the first movement including Rites of Spring and Minor

Threat had broken up. However, their idea and aesthetic spread quickly across the

country via network of homemade zines, vinyl records and hearsays (Greenwald,

2003: 15). Since Emo originated from hardcore and punk, the bands were not signed

themselves with any mainstream media. They still practiced DIY (Do It Yourself)

music values carried out by punk ideology, which separated themselves from

mainstream music industries. On the other word, they are independent because their

music and belief are different from most of bands handled by majority record labels

at that time. In reaching the audiences, they established their own recording labels,

aired the songs on local radios and held several small concerts to anticipate the

interference of music industries.

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Emo then spread widely across the United States in the early 1990s. This period

was considered as the second wave of Emo movement. Many bands in numerous

local scenes began to emulate the sounds as a way to marry the intensity of hardcore

with the complex emotions associated with growing older (Greenwald, 2003: 15-17).

Although the bands were numerous, the aesthetic of Emo remained the same. It was

about dramatic feeling wrapped in more melancholic hardcore music. Leader among

these bands was Sunny Day Real Estate. Unlike the bands from first wave Emo

movement in 1980s, this band had slower hardcore music, high-quality gear, lofty

musical ambitions, intricate songwriting, and a sweeping epic sound similar to most

of alternative bands at that time. Front-man of this band, Jeremy Enigk sang

desperately in a falsetto voice which mostly about losing himself and lost love topic

through chaotic lyrics and made-up words. Below is the example of Sunny Day Real

Estate lyric entitled “Seven”:

…

Sew it on face the fool December‟s tragic drive

when time is poetry and stolen the world outside the waiting crush my heart

… (Seven by Sunny Day Real Estate)

Different from the lyrics carried out by the bands of the first movement of Emo in

1980s, Sunny Day Real Estate brings the personal feeling closer into the love or

romanticism theme which is noticed from the words „poetry‟ and „crushing my heart‟

from the lyric above. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

Through their existence in music scene, the aesthetic of Emo was rebuilt and

brought closer to the mainstream music industry. Sunny Day Real Estate‟s debut

album Diary released at 1994 was over the top of American music chart and their

music video entitled “Seven” was aired regularly on popular music video station

MTV. Then, like many other aspects of youth culture, the music, including Sunny

Day Real Estate‟ music and its associated themes have become commodities for mass

consumption in conducting profits, similarly Greenwald states as follows:

In the wake of the 1991 success of Nirvana‟s Nevermind, underground music and subcultures in the United States become big business. New distribution networks emerged, touring routed were codified and regional and independent acts were able to access national stage (Greenwald, 2003: 19)

The flourishing products based on underground music scene, including Emo, made

young people across the country declare themselves as fans of Emo music which

would be commonly recognized as “Emo Kids”. The term “Emo Kids” was gradually

popular in this period among American young people.

Sunny Day Real Estate was one of the bands that can be seen as a turning point

for Emo, in which the genre evolved from a less accessible hardcore sound of early

bands toward the more mainstream sound that is known today (Aslaksen, 2006: 10).

It means that music style carried out by Sunny Day Real Estate influenced the

development of Emo movement in the next wave of 2000s after this band‟s success,

numerous similar Emo bands, with slower hardcore sounds, emerged. They were

signed to major record labels then became marketable products. Their catchy music

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and accessible themes surround youth life gave a broad appeal to young mainstream

audiences.

The third wave of Emo music movement comes out in 2000s. It is characterized

mainly by the rise of bands with a lead singer who generally sings in a high falsetto

voice and backed by electric guitars with pop hooks and punk riffs. The lyric

typically focus on relationship and heartbreak, yet there is still punk theme influence

the bands‟ lyrics such as rebellion, anger, hatred, despair and hope. For instance,

Dashboard Confessional, a band with the only one member with melodic and acoustic

music but still focus on Emo themed lyric like relationship and despair. The way of

other bands like Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance

and The Used, perform their songs have similar dispositions. The vocals of those

bands are intermingled with voices close to yells of anger and emotional stress. The

bands in this period usually will start their songs with soft sweet singing and will

crescendo into an angst-ridden wail (Aslaksen, 2006: 14). They are also influenced by

the heavy metal guitar sound and hardcore yells of pain. The third wave Emo bands

characteristic which focus on relationship can be indicated from one of The Used

lyric entitled “Buried Myself Alive” as follow:

…

I guess it‟s okay I puke the day away, I guess it‟s better you trapped yourself in your own way And if you want me back, you‟re gonna have to ask

Nicer than that …

(Buried Myself Alive by The Used)

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The lyric above represents the relationship or heartbreak theme through the hint

phrase like “and if you want me back, you‟re gonna have to ask nicer than that”.

Moreover, in the end of the phrase, the vocalist usually screams or adds the high

falsetto voice to reinforce the mixed emotional feeling of the song.

In the next development, Emo become one of the most noticed rock music

genre in the middle of 2000s replacing the existence of pop, hip hop and pop punk

music. Besides, Emo has become a new phenomenon of alternative youth subculture.

Identified Emo today is a trend that unifies music, behavior, fashion, and way of life.

It thrives because there are huge numbers of young people apply the same values to

find the identity in their world through similar music taste. The values expressed

through Emo music offers alternative space for youth to experience adolescence more

sensitively.

The existence of “Emo Kids” can be found everywhere in America. The music

and values, as the symbolic means of subculture communication are not the only

factors playing big roles in the increasing of Emo subculture but also the appearance,

performance and personality of each member in certain Emo bands. It happens

because media and various big record labels as the mainstream industries purposely

have manufactured most of today Emo bands. In this point, Emo has been

commodified widely to be a marketable product. All of the symbolic means of

communication in Emo subculture such as music, fashion and behavior have been

redefined by the industries so that the society identifies Emo from media‟s

perspective only. Emo is described as a new cool youth subculture in 2000s that commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

attracts millions young people‟ attention to join it. This phenomenon is similar with

what a journalist, Ariel Meadow Stalling states about the commodification of

subculture in Lotus Magazine as follow:

This process of commodification -- turning something we view as a lifestyle into a product -- has happened countless times to countless communities…. We live in a media-dominated society ……..the media is a machine whose purpose ideally is to inform but realistically, is to sell.….The media has consistently searched the outer limits of society to find products to pasteurize repackage and sell to the mainstream. (Stalling, 1999: 1)

Through Emo bands, including their music, fashion, way of life and behavior, the

music industries make the Emo-ness more popular in society so that young people

will recognize them, buy their products and do everything in the same way like what

the bands do. For instance, the regular broadcasting of some Emo bands‟ music

videos like My Chemical Romance and The Used on MTV has dictated the audiences

how to be Emo through both of fashion and mannerism shown by performers in the

videos. Similarly, Tetzlaff explains:

MTV places fashion at the center of existence. Belonging and actualization within the MTV culture are matters of expressing style (available at fines stores everywhere), not cultivating soul. Subcultural symbol systems are torn from their referents in lived

experience and social structure. Decontextualized signifiers are grafted onto a single new signified: the consumption of attitude for the sake of consumption….lifestyle is reduced to a pose…but each of these is just something fancy to wear: the pose isn‟t

about anything but itself. (Tetzlaff, 1986: 87)

The early ideology of Emo has been reduced by the existence of the third wave Emo

bands music videos broadcasted in MTV. MTV as the popular music videos channel

slowly penetrate the viewers‟ minds in giving the right definitions of Emo standard

performed by the video without considering the actual values. Like other media, commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

everything shown by MTV is for the sake of consumption. The videos, which are full

with Emo themes, are intended to bring the cool ideas to dress and act like what the

performers do. By consuming what the music videos represent, the viewers can

express themselves and become parts of something special (Stalling, 1999).

In the case of Emo, this youth subculture is thriving in 2000s because of media

has exploited it in the right moment after American has been stroke by the unknown

enemies that the media need to find a new kind of hipping products to sell which also

occupies the situation at the time because ccompared to other youth subcultures like

Punk which conveys rebellion toward everything which does not suitable with its

principles, Emo does not always recommend the members, widely known as “Emo

Kids” to be radical yet to be responsive even susceptible in facing everything

happens in youth life although it is seen from the negative point of view through

darkness, sadness and other pessimist themes. Emo can be accepted from 1980s until

2000s because there is the same line between the past Emo with recent Emo. Three of

them are rooted from the same Emotional Hardcore of which the hardcore formula

mixed with the emotional sense of music and lyric can be accepted well by most of

American adolescents.

2. The Identity of Emo

Each youth subculture builds its own characteristic through various symbolic

styles including fashion, music preference and behavior. This characteristic also gives

that subculture a certain identity which makes them different from other youth commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

subcultures. To distinguish a variety of identities in various youth subcultures, it is

needed a kind of boundary. Although the concept of identity boundary is flexible but

it can obviously describe the characteristics of people‟s self experiences of the self in

the society. This boundary provides the purpose of identification through markers.

The markers used to differentiate identity are commonly language, dress, behavior

and choice of space (Cohen in Hebdige, 1979). The markers are usually used to

communicate each other and to indicate that the members are in the same subculture.

Emo as one of youth subcultures particularly also has its own symbolic system of

communication as markers which differentiate the members from other youth

subcultures.

However, the markers of Emo subculture have changed since it was firstly

established in 1980s. First wave of Emo in 1980s was indicated with its relation to

Hardcore and Punk music scene that the markers were different from today‟s Emo

subculture. While the Emo in 1980s and 2000s signified the early cooperation with

mainstream media like MTV.

i. Music Preference

a. 1980s Emo

The music preference is mostly based on music from the early Emo

bands influenced by hardcore and punk scene such as Rites of Spring,

Embrace and Fugazi. The characteristics of their music are:

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

Theme : Anxiety, anger

Tone : Fast and loud, hardcore typical sound

Vocal : The vocalists rarely wail and scream. They do not use

falsetto voice when singing.

Instruments : Guitar, bass, drums

b. 1990s Emo

The music preference is mostly based on music from more pop bands

without the interference of hardcore and punk music. The characteristics of

their music are:

Theme : Love and relationship, anxiety

Tone : Slow tempo of music

Vocal : The vocalists sing like other pop bands vocalists.

Instruments : Guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, piano

c. 2000s Emo

The music preference is mostly based on mainstream bands popularly

aired on MTV:

Theme : Love and heartbreak (relationship), hatred, despair,

anger, death and problems surrounding youth life.

Tone : High pitch, fast tempo, several bands have aggressive

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

sounds of music; some bands acoustically perform their songs.

Vocal : The vocalists usually wail, scream, cry and use

falsetto voice when singing. There are sometimes backing vocalists in

certain bands who usually help the lead vocalist to scream and sing.

Instruments : Guitar, bass, drums and sometimes in addition, using

keyboard, piano and synthesizer.

ii. Fashion

Fashion is very significant in distinguishing Emo from the other youth

subcultures since fashion is a kind of language subculture deliver to its

perceiver that they are different with the mainstream culture in a society. In

the youth subculture, fashion is a main system of communication to

emphasize that the members are congregated in the precisely similar

subculture. As Chakal states, “Generally, subcultures are youth-based and

revolve around various music scenes, which in turn produces distinctive

fashion with which to identify members” (Chakal in Directo, 2006: 2)

In the early rising of youth subculture, fashion is an implementation of

young people to reject the dominant norms of a society. They dress and act so

unconventionally that they are regarded as threats because they do not appear

to adhere to the dominant ideologies of dressing properly and acting civilized.

This idea grows rapidly among young people that there are huge numbers of

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

them applying the idea through clothing. Therefore, gradually youth

subcultures have been commodified and labeled by the government and media

which promote the dominant ideologies that make them seem more acceptable

and non-threatening in the society (Hebdige, 1979: 155).

The exclusive means of communication applied by the members of a

youth subculture has shifted into mass production consumed by people

outside of the youth subculture itself. Moreover, the role of media in

promoting the exclusiveness of subculture as an alternative way to express

young people‟ desire makes the previous label of youth subcultures as the

defiant subcultures can be widely accepted by society through the ways the

media construct them.

Firstly recognized as an underground youth subculture in 1980s

around Washington D.C., now Emo is extensively recognized by massive

numbers of young people in America. The designation of Emo as a root of

hardcore subculture which applies the DIY ethic is slowly replaced by the

image of Emo today appears on the mainstream media. The symbolic style of

Emo subculture like fashion becomes media‟s main exploitation that

consequently Emo is mostly recognizable by the different fashion, not by the

idealism of an early subculture. The way of an Emo band members dress

themselves and the highlighted communities of Emo Kids spread everywhere

in America, become the promising commodity for the industries whether for

promoting the band or advertising the music from the band itself. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

a. 1980s Emo

T-shirt and three-quarter pants were commonly used by the members

of early Emo subculture. The clothing was still influenced by hardcore fashion

booming at that time. Below is the description of general clothing worn by the

members of Fugazi band when performing on the stage.

http://assets.dischord.com/images.d/artist/image/6557/KYEO_003.jpg retrieved September 10, 2011

b. 1990s Emo

„Indie look‟ was the booming fashion among American youth in

1990s. Emo subculture was interfered by the mainstream media at that time.

Therefore, the appearances of the Emo band members were similar like the

other musicians at that time. Below is the description of general fashion of

Jimmy Eat World the second wave Emo band in 1990s

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

http://www.8notes.com/images/artists/jimmy-eat-world.jpg retrieved September, 10 2011

c. 2000s Emo

Through the media construction, Emo nowadays is associated with

dark side of fashion. Emo fashion is close to the rebellious style of punk but

more fashionable. Below are the fashion rules commonly practiced by Emo

Kids summed up from book Everybody Hurts by Leslie Simon and Trevor

Kelley on 2007

Clothing :

Clothing is an element of fashion consisting of everything worn to cover

human body. The kinds of clothing are separated according to the different

part of the body: upper and lower. Upper body‟s clothing includes sorts of

shirt, t-shirt, blouse, etc. while lower body‟s clothing includes types of trouser

and short for men and skirt for women.

Upper Body

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

Clothing for the upper part of body usually consists of shirt, t-shirt,

polo shirt, blouse, jacket, sweater, sweatshirts and the like. Since Emo is a

youth subculture which basically offering rebellion against the usual norms of

parent culture, the upper clothing will be simpler than their parents‟ clothing

(Simon and Kelley, 2007: 41). It will be mostly around various kinds of tight

t-shirt, jacket and hoodie (a kind of hooded sweatshirts with a zipper).

Different from other youth subcultures, Emo clothing is usually

related with dark color like black, dark blue and red blood to symbolize the

major theme of this subculture: sadness, gloominess and depression.

However, the shocking color like bright pink, bright yellow and bright blue is

commonly accepted, especially if they are applied in boys clothing, to show

the expressive and arty side of this subculture. The shape of T-shirt worn by

Emo Kids is commonly tight. It is common in girls‟ fashion but not in boys‟.

This tight T-shirt makes the boys‟ appearance different from boys of other

youth subcultures.

Besides tight colorful or dark T-shirt, Emo upper body clothing can be

noticed from the use of hoodie. Hoodie is one of the youth breakthrough

fashion in 2000s since it combines sweatshirt with zipper. In Emo, the user of

hoodie will typically raise the hooded part to cover their head and raise

several meanings like mysterious and loneliness.

Lower Body

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

In the Emo subculture nowadays, clothing for lower body is mostly in

the forms of tight pants, jeans or even black tight jeans. Historically, jeans are

worn by the blue collar workers because of its lasting use. However, it is now

popular as a casual dress among youth. In society basically it has the same

function as T-shirt. It is commonly worn by young people to show the

freedom of self expression especially in choosing the lower body outfit. Jeans

is considered as a way of showing that kind of expression because it is

affordable, simple, popular and variable. In Emo subculture, jeans are

commonly applied by the members of Emo bands and the members of

subculture itself.

Hairstyle :

Hairstyles used by the Emo Kids can be noticed easily. There are more

than two types of hairstyles applied by the members of Emo subculture. The

commonest hairstyle noticed from Emo kids is black or colorful long straight

hair with long side bang covering the eyes. The other is messy black hair in

medium length, colorful Mohawk and Gunshoot-wound hairstyles. Those

hairstyles are generally applied by the Emo boys while the Emo girls are

commonly use the colorful long straight hairstyle.

Accessories :

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

The accessories worn by Emo Kids are particularly similar like what

ordinary rock-stars wear. Metal and leather are dominated the accessories

such as piercing and wristbands. However, Emo has its own specification

like the stuffs below:

- Vans, Macbeth or Converse shoes

- Wristbands

- Tattoos

- Black or white studded belts

- Piercing stuffs

- Thick black horn-rimmed glasses

Make Up :

In this subculture, not only girls make up their face but also boys. Both

of girls and boy usually use black or red eyeliner, paint the nails black and

often use black lipstick. The use of this make up dominated by dark color is

believed to indicate the senses of sadness and despair conveyed by Emo

music and lyric. The exploitation of make up makes Emo ridiculous

compared to other subcultures since it decrease the values of men‟s strong,

rebel and masculine (Aslaksen, 2006: ii). However, the use of make up for

boys is gradually acceptable since certain media explore it as a brand new

style for American boys.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

Below is the picture of My Chemical Romance, the well known Emo

band in 2000s. Their clothing is dominated by red and black color.

http://www.musicsnews.com/content_images/my%20chemical%20romance%20megali.gif retrieved September 10, 2011

The pictures below are the general appearances of Emo boy and girl

which later become the standard of being an Emo Kid.

a b

a. The example of Emo boy‟s fashion with black and red eyeliner, long side

bang, black and blonde hair and tight black t-shirt (http://www.emobucket.com/displayimage-2815.html) retrieved December 10, 2010 09:34 pm

b. The example of Emo girl‟s fashion with black and red eyeliner, semi black long hair, tight white t-shirt and white studded belt

(http://www.newhairstyles.tk/resimler/sexy-emo-girl-2-2010-17.jpg) retrieved December 10, 2010 09:45 pm commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id45

iii. Behavior

Unlike the 1980s and 1990s Emo which did not exaggerate the

„emotional‟ term as the rule on how the members behave, 2000s Emo

higly exploit the emotional term in its relation to the anxiety feeling in

the adolescence phase. Many adolescents find themselves in the position

of having an intense to feel loved and accepted. They desperately seek

love and acceptance but often lack the means to attain it. Adolescents

need to express their pain and opportunity for this expression (Anastasi,

2005: 303). Since adolescents have more time to search out and listen to

music, the will choose this medium to express their pain. Music is the

alternative way for adolescents to feel, to experience, to be inspired in

order to be motivate by something or to allow themselves to be deeply

affected by it. Combined with poignant lyrics; music can manipulate

emotions and evoke tears, regret, anger, happiness, a sense of social

responsibility, etc. Even music and lyric can cause some to begin to face

the issues of pain that have been locked in the recesses of their heart and

mind hat often only manifest themselves in outbursts, neurosis or

depression, when not understood and faced (ibid: 311)

Youth subculture is an alternative way for adolescents to express this

kind of youth anxiety since most of youth subcultures are entrenched

from several music genres. One of the subculture that would fit the

description of lyrics of youth lamentation, which also incorporates the commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id46

style of music that invites contemplation and evokes passion and

emotion, is Emo (ibid: 311). In music, Emo has similar sound like Punk

but makes use of minor chords and major nines, which tend to create a

somber, pensive mood rather than an adrenaline rush offered by other

rock-based subcultures. Emo lyrics are also recognized as a hybrid of

anger mixed with hurt, heartbreak, suffering and lamentation which

become the primary expressions of its cries.

That is why Emo is commonly stereotyped as a group of young

people that face everything happen surrounds adolescents‟ life vulnerably

and sensitively. If other rock-based subcultures like Punk, Hardcore or

Metal highlight the rebelliousness to get a space in a society through

vandalism, Emo will offer the member to win a space in more sensitive

way. The Emo rebelliousness is formed differently through adolescents‟

anger which is wrapped by the individual sensitive feeling. In the

relation to the society or environment, Emo subculture provide a space

for young people not to behave violently against the dominant system yet

to focus on what they feel while suffering from adolescence phase of

which reality is different from their expectation. Emo subculture breaks

the youth languageless silence since it provide the adolescents a space or

environment for them to begin assess their feelings and needs through its

music, lyric and community. As Kegan, a psychologist explains as

follows:

a “holding environment” or a “psychosocial environment” in which a context is provided forcommit the individual to user to grow…. this environment can perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id47

provide a safe place for the adolescent to begin to sense pain, while it may simultaneously function as a challenge to deal with that sensed pain (Kegan in Anastasi, 2005: 305)

Having exaggerated nowadays, the members‟ behaviors are seal with

sadness, depression and broken-heartedness matters derived from Emo

themes which are dominated by feeling of loneliness, sensitive, shy, quiet, sad, introverted, glum, depression, self-pitying, mysterious and

angst ridden. This Emo behavior are often represented by various Emo

symbol found broadly in the media such as pictures of Emo Kids cutting

their wrists with razor or scissors, pictures of Emo Kids with bleeding

hearts, pictures of a boy or girl sitting alone anxiously, hanging sad dolls,

etc. Because of this stereotype, Emo is often unenthusiastically issued to

increase the number of American youth depression, self injury and

suicidal action.

B. The Used’s Biography

There are numerous Emo bands gaining popularity in the third wave of Emo

movements in 2000s. The popularity of bands like My Chemical Romance, The

Used, Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights and Thursday signify how Emo is

incredibly popular among American youth nowadays. Mainstream music

industries explore not only their music but also performance and behavior.

Through various media like television, music videos, magazines, and internet,

young people recognize these Emo bands then gradually consume them.

The Used is one of the famous Emo bands from Orem, Utah founded in commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id48

2002 achieving popularity in American music field through an aggressive Emo

music. The Used is considered as a different Emo band because they produce

more chaotic sound of Emo as a result from the mixture of post hardcore, pop and

punk using as a kind of crescendo element in screaming to reach a particular

emotional pitch, therefore The Used is also regarded as „screamo‟, a kind of

breakthrough in Emo area. The members of The Used are:

Bert McCracken as the lead vocalist, Quinn Allman as the guitarist and the first backing vocalist Jeph Howard as the bassist and the second backing vocalist Branden Steineckert replaced by Dan Whitesides in the late of 2006, as the drummer.

This band is signed under a mainstream label, Reprise Record after going

underground through a local independent music label. The four members of this

band, who are all boys and still young, indicate the Emo-ness through fashion and

performance on stages, music videos, internet and other media. Besides, the youth

life background of each member that closes to poverty, homelessness, substance

abuse, and broken home, makes The Used fit to Emo sphere. Their songs are

easily adapted by Emo Kids since it reflects the real emotion of the members,

especially Bert McCracken as the songwriter, in telling his sad experience

wrapped by noisy music. Instead of telling the gloominess side of young people

related to anxieties in facing society which mostly is the basic theme of Emo, The

Used‟s lyrics also tell about the romance and relationship problems of youth love.

Most of the lyrics are covered with noisy sound of hardcore music. commit to user The Used has released four studio albums and EPs (Extended Play) or mini perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id49

album from 2002 until 2009. The albums are The Used (2002), In Love and Death

(2004), Lies for the Liars (2007), and Artwork (2009). The EPs are Berth (2007)

and Shallow Believer (2008) (http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Used/Biography).

The first full album entitled The Used has been released on 2002 brings this band

to reach their popularity. This album is listed on the Billboard 200 and peak on

63th position. In Love and Death, the next album is released on 2004 repeating the

band success by staying on the 5th position of the Billboard 200 and getting Gold

certification. The mainstream achievement comes up to The Used after the third

album, Lies for the Liars, has been released on 2007. Instead of sitting on the 5th

position of Billboard 200, some tracks are used for original soundtrack of a

blockbuster Hollywood movie entitled Transformer. The latest album entitled

Artwork is opened at 10th position on the Billboard 200 with 35,000 copies sold at

the first week on September 2009. Like all of the albums, the EPs are also gained

success by positioning 71th in the Top Billboard 200 for Berth and 13th position in

the iTunes Top 100 Albums for Shallow Believer.

By the success history of The Used and their occasional appearance on

media as one of the Emo bands, fans begin to point them as an icon of Emo

subculture especially in America. Everything comes from The Used become

trendsetter among Emo Kids. For instance the appearance of the vocalist, Bert

McCracken, with eccentric fashion, eyeliner, wristband and long messy black hair

is easily noticed and imitated by Emo Kids. Their songs become anthems for a

part of Emo Kids since they are considered as representation of hidden Emo

feeling. This band also takes a tour with a number of Emo bands in the Vans commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id50

Wrapped Tour (a concert for lists of popular Emo and pop punk bands in several

American cities) from 2002 until 2007 which finally reinforce The Used as an

icon of Emo subculture through their music, lyric, appearance, behavior and

performance on the stages. Besides, their music videos are also occasionally

broadcasted by media such as MTV and easily found on the internet video sharing

like YouTube.

C. Youth Subculture as A Commodity

At first the function of youth subculture in general is to get a place for

young people to express themselves in order to fight against the dominant

standard of a society controlled by parent culture. The more members join with a

youth subculture, the more attentions are given to that youth subculture and its

members. Their way to communicate their language through appearance and

defiant behavior gradually becomes the center attention of society since the

emergence of a spectacular youth subculture is invariably accompanied by a wave

of hysteria in the press which typically fluctuates between dread and fascination,

outrage and amusement (Hebdige, 1979: 92). The media takes an important role

on how certain of youth subculture is accepted and known by the society although

media stand on two kind of opposite sides. In one side, youth subcultures are

ridiculed as a social problem, but on the other side they are alternatively

celebrated as a breakthrough phenomenon in society (ibid: 93).

Media spotlighting change the function of the previous youth subculture

through the media‟s perspective. As Hebdige also writes based on his examination commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id51

on Punk, Mod and Rockers subcultures below:

In most cases, it is the subculture‟s stylistic innovation which first attracts the media‟s attention. Subsequently, deviant or „anti-social‟ acts- vandalism, swearing, fighting, „animal behavior‟- are „discovered‟ by the police, the judiciary, the press; and these acts are used to „explain‟ the subculture original subculture‟s original

transgression of sartorial codes……..as the subculture begins to strike its own eminently marketable pose, as its vocabulary (both visual and verbal) becomes more and more familiar, so the referential context in which it can be most conveniently assigned is made increasingly apparent. (ibid: 93-94)

Media do not only record its resistance but also place youth subculture in the

dominant framework of meaning which cause young people who choose to

inhabit a spectacular youth culture are simultaneously returned as they are

represented on TV and in the newspapers, to the place where common sense

would have them fit. Through this recuperation process created by the media,

youth subculture is incorporated within the dominant standard of culture which is

mostly controlled by parents. Fashion and mannerism as youth subculture‟s ways

of communication become two characteristics forms of recuperation (ibid: 94).

However, this process is shadowed by the commercialization created by various

industries to make them marketable. With the process of commercialization youth

subcultures, they are depoliticized, accepted into society and subsequently

become a part of mechanism.

Fashion as a symbolic system used for communication in a subculture has

gradually been shifted by the industry to be a new commodity. Subcultural fashion

is created differently considering the function of this symbol to communicate.

Fashion gives young people strong appeal for them to follow the newest or most

update fashion trend offered by market. It makes the meaning of early youth

subcultures frozen since it is removed from their private contexts by the small commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id52

entrepreneurs and become codified, made comprehensible, rendered at once

public property and profitable merchandise (ibid: 96). Fashion of youth

subcultures style are also being presented as an alternative and an aspiration for

the normal person so that he or she can avoid homogenization and looking like

„everyone else‟ in their increasing struggle for social power (Directo, 2006: 3)

Besides fashion as the immense products of youth subculture, mannerism or

behavior of a youth subculture is also another commodity highly exploited by

various industries. However, the way in which youth subcultures are represented

in the media makes them both more and less exotic than they actually are

(Hebdige, 1979: 97). Youth subculture can be trivialized and domesticated in one

side, but on the other side it can be transformed into meaningless exotica as a

pure object and a spectacle (Barthes in Hebdige, 1979: 97). Hence, youth

subculture is often represented as a group of deviant young people causing riot

and chaos everywhere; by contrast, it can be defined as the normal young people

who just want to express themselves.

One of the ways media exploiting the two forms of youth subculture

through its styles is represented within the music video. Besides become an

effective promotional tool for the musician, music video has significantly

changed the music industry since it has changed the habit of music consumer

from the listener into the viewer. In America, it can be noticed after the

distribution of television in the 1950s that make the dominance of visual over

verbal information (Tetzlaff, 1986: 80). Behind this phenomenon, the dynamics

of capitalism through the political economy acts shapes culture in a very powerful commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id53

way. Capitalism makes decision on which commodities to produce and exchange

purely on the basis of profitability. Here, culture is a form of commodity since it

is also produced and distributed in the same way as other commodity (ibid: 82).

Music videos nowadays do not simply form the ideology of a certain youth

subculture but tend to sell the pleasure through everything appears on it (ibid:

84). The traditional form of ideology which is identified as the function of mind

nowadays has been shifted into the modern one which also means that the

replacement of persuasion and rationality with a direct fusion of item and

response. This pursuit of pleasure is directed towards the products of the system

(ibid: 86), including what can be found within a music video. Through music

videos, which are mostly broadcasted by the phenomenal music videos television

channel or MTV, the industries simply recycle the styles and offer the fascination

to the viewers. In attracting the viewers‟ attention, this industry exploits the

subcultural symbol systems which are torn from their referents in lived

experience and social structure (ibid: 87). Each youth subculture‟s symbol

systems is reduced to a variety of poses offered for young shopper, punker,

metalhead, Emo, hip-hopers and other members of youth subcultures.

In a music video, the visualization dominates the video but this

visualization, in reality, is dominated by the lyric. The pictures, as what have been

stated above illustrate the lyric which for sure is adjusted with the music genre.

Punk, Metal, Hardcore and Emo genres are basically rooted from rock music.

Those genres actualize the existence of youth subcultures of which each idea is

used within the video (ibid: 88). In Emo for example, the concept of the video is commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id54

regulated by the theme enclosed in lyric. Most of the music videos elements such

as characters, costume, properties and so on are certainly adjusted with the theme

carried by Emo music.

Since, the function of each video is to sell the image of performers and its

music; the media place the band or singers as the tastemaker subculture through

its fashion, music, and every appealing feature. Similarly, Directo notes:

For the public, the tastemaker subculture represents the instinctual knowledge of everything cool. By injecting products, clothing, and music into the public sphere through the tastemaker who promotes products by listening, wearing, or using them, he or she then becomes a spectacle. In an effort to possess this tastemaker status, consumers jump on the bandwagon so they, too, can be a part of the hipster subculture that is continuously ready to serve up the next important band/electronic device/fashion accessory. (Directo, 2006: 5)

As a tastemaker subculture, the performer has a significant role in

determining the viewers‟ perception of a certain subculture through the symbolic

styles of a subculture. It means that everything performed by the performer is the

right standard of how to be involved in certain subculture. The viewers of the

music video influenced by the role of the performers as tastemaker subculture will

indirectly follow everything performed by their idols including fashion and

mannerism they show on the video.

D. American Social and Cultural Condition in 2000s

To understand why the commodification of Emo subculture is able to run

well in 2000s, it is important to highlight what happen to American society which

influences youth culture around 2000s. The 2000s is considered as a millennium

era when the use of technology is significantly raising in order to make everything commit to user in life easier. As a result, the industry grows fast and the role of parents or adult perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id55

people in social and economical life is highly demanded. Hence, most of

American young people do not have close relationship with their parents. Parents

have less involvement in their children‟s adolescence phase so that they tend to do

risky actions such as drug use, despair, suicide attempts and mental illness

involvement in finding their identity (http://www.libraryindex.com). Alternatively,

most American kids choose the optional space to grow up outside of family. Youth

subculture is considered as the right place for them to find the identity. The

development of nowadays youth subcultures in America is influenced by the role

of the media rather than the self awareness of establishing the youth subculture in

demolishing the dominant standard of a society.

American youth in this era are generally marked by the familiarity of

adolescents with modern technology such as internet. The peer or group oriented

widely increases in America not only through conventional way like having fun

together in a certain place but also through an alternative way such as internet.

The fast growing of online social networking sites and forums such as

Livejournal, Makeoutclub, and MySpace, make young people tend to have virtual

peer group oriented rather than the real one. Similarly Greenwald also states as

follows:

The dominant role the internet now plays in teenager‟s lives-mostly spend at least

sixteen hours per week online- is both a profound change and the next step in larger chain of events that stretches back throughout the history. Teenagers have always felt persecuted and have always been so-called early adopters, seeking ways to connect with each other that are unique to their peer group. (Greenwald,

2003: 56)

Emo subculture nowadays mainly grows up from this phenomenon.

Through internet, young people havecommit the to ultimate user tool or a private medium that perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id56

their parents do not understand where they can easily trade, access and share

music, ideas, feeling and support (ibid: 56). This community brings out cultural

choices for young people as an escape for reality. It also constructs the early Emo

as an underground community into a community of young people with the same

taste on fashion, music preference and behavior. Various Emo bands also come out

as result of this trend. Case in point, an Emo band called Thursday bloomed out

by the beginning of December 2001 in Makeoutclub and Livejournal sites. Their

popularity makes their video appears regularly on MTV2 and their singles peak on

Billboard charts. In May 2002, most of American Emo Kids proudly wore

Thursday t-shirt (ibid: 58).

Early 2000s‟ American music is mostly dominated by pop, hip hop, R&B-

tinged pop, boy bands, girl bands and divas such as Britney Spears, Christina

Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and Nsync. Their music conquers the American market

from late 90s until early 2000s right before the 9/11 tragedy had happened. At that

time, America was popular with „superpower country‟ label which can not be

beaten by anything. The glamorous entertainment industries before and after the

millennium era represent how powerful this country is. After the terrible event,

America seems to lose its power because the superpower label has been dejected

by 9/11 event. America needs a healing process for a short time which certainly

makes most of American entertainment industries vacuum. To re-raise the

entertainment business, the industries need to find another thing that remarkable

and different from the previous stuff. Greenwald states that the media business

which are very desperate post 9/11 tragedy, had found the next „big thing‟ for commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id57

American young people that we will know it further as Emo. As what has been

explained before that Emo concerns on seeing life from the gloomy side which

coincidentally fits with American condition post 9/11. The re-emergence of Emo

with its „emotional‟ term in media has represented what America in general feel at

that time. Gloominess, sadness, depression and other related themes are well

accepted in the entertainment industry. Though, there is a fact that the hedonistic,

materialistic hip-hop still dominates the music charts and media, Emo could enter

the media before it is dramatically famous (ibid: 141). In the wake of this success,

many Emo bands are signed to major record labels so that everything related to

this subculture becomes marketable products. The depoliticized nature of Emo

through various media, coupled with its catchy music and accessible themes, give

it a broad appeal to young audiences.

E. Semiotic of Music Video

1. Charles Sanders Pierce’s Semiotic Theory

Music video communicates messages and ideologies conveyed by the

performers through audio and visual representation instead of becoming one of the

musician‟s effective promotional tools. Similar like movie, music video also gives

the artistic side behind its ideological and commercial force. MTV as the greatest

and earliest media bringing various music videos to audiences has proven it, as

Peeters also points out:

The fact that MTV has become the ultimate forum on which youth culture is both expressed and constructed has transformed the music video not only into the most effective tool for promotion within the music industry, but also into a powerful ideological force.(Peeters, 2004:commit 2) to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id58

Considering the artistic, commercial and ideological potential of the music

video, it becomes necessary to investigate both the semiotics of the clip text and

its function within society at a deeper level. For the investigation of an object of

study as multidimensional as the music video, using signifiers from different

sensorial domains, the field of cultural studies with its interdisciplinary approach

can provide tools for interpretation (ibid: 2). Therefore, semiotics as the study of

signs is applicable in analyzing music videos.

To understand the meaning of the medium, it is important to study and

interpret the various signs within it. Generally, the signs can be taken form of

words, images, sounds, odors, flavors, acts or objects, et cetera. Charles Sanders

Peirce, an American philosopher, states that a sign is something that represents

something else (Peirce in Chandler, 2009: 3). The assemblage of signs, which are

constructed and interpreted with reference to the conventions associated with a

genre and in a particular medium of communication, often forms a text which is

employed in semiotics analysis.

Peirce creates a triadic model of sign creating which consists of three major

elements correlating each other: Representamen (the form which the sign is taken

which usually comes from unnecessary material), Interpretant (not an interpreter

but rather the sense made of the sign) and Object (to which the sign refers). As he

also has pointed out:

'A sign... [in the form of a representamen] is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign.

That sign which it creates I call the interpretant of the first sign. The sign stands for something, its object. It stands for that object, not in all respects, but in reference to a sort of idea, whichcommit I to have user sometimes called the ground of the representamen' (ibid: 27). perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id59

According to him, the object is considered as an instance of „firstness‟, the

representamen as an instance of „secondness‟ and the interpretant as an instance of

„thirdness‟ (ibid: 28). It is clearly noted that Peirce‟s representamen also functions

as signifier while interpretant functions as signified. However, as the „firstness‟

the object or interpreter can determine the signs mode. Therefore, the interpretant

is often influenced by the object as the interpreter. According to Peirce, the

presence of the object between representamen and interpretant will create three

modes of sign:

a. Symbol is a mode in which the signifier does not resemble the

signified but which is fundamentally arbitrary or purely conventional -

so that the relationship must be learnt.

b. Icon is a mode in which the signifier is perceived as resembling or

imitating the signified (recognizably looking, sounding, feeling,

tasting or smelling like it) - being similar in possessing some of its

qualities.

c. Index is a mode in which the signifier is not arbitrary but is directly

connected in some way (physically or causally) to the signified.

2. Semiotics of Music Videos

Wollen states that film and television use all three forms: icon (sound and

image), symbol (speech and writing), and index (as the effect of what is filmed)

(Wollen in Chandler, 2009: 35). Since music video is a form of short moving commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id60

image, Peirce‟s semiotics theory is relevant to use in signifying the concept

behind it. Music video is a form of audiovisual communication between the

performers and its audiences in which the meaning is created through the

correlation of its moving image, lyric and music. Using Peirce‟s semiotics theory,

to analyze the concept within it, the image and music are employed as the icon

while the lyric is employed as the symbol.

The three essential parts in a music video are the moving image, the music

and the lyric. The meaning is not only attained from how one part play a role in

the music video but also from how those three aspects of music videos correlate

each other. According to Carlsson, the imagery is gained from several flows of

audio visual information including moving image, music, lyric and sometimes

sound effect in the beginning or end of music video. These flows interact that the

resultant meaning is perceived as one complete whole, created by both the ears

and eyes.

a. Moving Image

Moving image on the music video basically has the same elements with

film. According to Christian Metz, shot is the smallest element in a film which

is comparable to words in language, scenes as sentences and sequence as the

paragraph (Metz in Monaco, 2000: 160). It means that shot in a movie which

physically defined as a single piece of film without breaking the continuity of

film, functions as a sign to represent the meaning behind. Other pictorial

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id61

elements of moving images also express the concept behind the music video

are divided according to the mise-en-scene and cinematography.

Mise-en-scene is a theatrical process of staging which encompass the

elements below:

- Setting : location (place), sound stage (a built locale in

which every variable of light and sound can be calculated to

simulate whatever environment a filmmaker wishes to create)

- Lighting : it functions as a property dealing with the control

of light in a scene to establish mood and direct attention to detail. It

also helps the viewers to understand setting as well as characters

within that setting. Lighting is divided into three parts:

Key light : it provides the primary key of a light

source, tends to illuminate most strongly the shot‟s subject

and also cast the strongest shadows. Key light is still

divided into high key and low key light. It can be said as

high key if there is a little contrast between bright and dark

obtains soft and revealing of details. While low key tend to

be in high contrast, harsh and hard. It is usually found in

horror and mystery movie.

Fill light : it is usually positioned near the camera

roughly 120° or thereabouts from the key light which

functions is to soften the illumination upon the subject and

its surrounding area. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id62

Back light : it comes from behind the subject and

separates the subject from the background, counter-

balancing the brightness of the key light.

- Costume : it relates to the wardrobe worn by the

characters which functions to strengthen the characterization on a

film based on its genre.

- Hair & Make Up : similar with costume, hair and make up

function to strengthen the characterization on a film.

- Properties : it helps to amplify the mood and gives the

further definition to a setting in a film.

- Figure Behavior : it means to describe the movement,

expressions of the actors and other figures (animals, animated

figures, etc) within a given shot.

Besides the elements of mise-en-scene, it is needed to notice on the

elements of cinematography which basically encompasses everything to do

with the camera:

- Camera Framing : generally it deals with the placement of the

camera which can be analyzed in terms of the distance between the

camera and its subject. It is described by:

• Extreme long shot (ELS) : in which one can barely distinguish

the human figure

• Long shot (LS) : in which humans are

distinguishable but remain dwarfed by the background; commit to user • Medium long shot (MLS) : in which the human is framed from perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id63

the knees up

• Medium shot (MS) : in which human is framed from the

waist up

• Medium close-up (MCU) : in which the human is framed from

the chest up

• Close-up (CU) : in which isolates a portion of a

human (the face, most prominently) • Extreme close-up (ECU) : in which a mere portion of the face (an eye, the lips) is framed. - Camera Angle : it deals with the angle of the camera in

relation to that which it records.

- Camera Movement : the movements of the camera during a

single shot including tilting, panning, tracking and so on.

However, there is a distinction between moving images of a music video

with the moving images of a film. The visual form of a music video is close to

the musical form since it is made for an already existing tune. By manipulating

color, motive setting, story footage clothing and so forth, the music video

director creates a couple of idea which are repeated and varied (Carlsson, 1999:

3). This concept is used to rearrange visual motifs so that it forms a whole

work. The visual motifs of music video are merging form of the three traditions

of moving images: singing performance, visual story-telling or narrative and

the non-narration of modern art.

- Singing performance

Singing performance which is also close to concert performance

usually use the traditional basic formula of taking a popular singing commit to user performer and place him or her in a setting influenced by the musical perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id64

genre with the historic pop tradition of recording live performance on

tape or film. The singing performance is commonly used to promote

the performer‟s performance to the audiences and to give the viewers

repeated images of performer‟s characters. (ibid: 4)

- Visual story-telling or narrative

Visual story-telling or narrative is carried by the lyric or the visual

images, sometimes featuring a guest star and turning music video into

mini film with specific generic identification (e.g. horror, gangster

film, screwball comedy, western, noir, melodrama, women‟s picture)

making the visual easier to remember and providing the spectator with

a fabricated day dream with varying degree of space left for personal

elaboration (Kinder, 1984: 4-5)

- The non-narration of modern art

As the opposition of the traditional singing performance, the non-

narration of modern art has been developed by the representatives of

the 20-th century art forms and created experimental movies. In a non-

narration of modern art music videos, clip collages, paraphrases,

animated abstract art computer graphics and unexpected combination

of pictures may appear (Carlsson, 1999: 4)

b. Element of Music

Basically, music video is composed by adding images to music.

Sometimes, the musical elements shape the moving pictures. For instance, commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id65

movements like footsteps are often synchronized with the beat so that people in

the music video seem to walk in synch to the music (Carlsson, 1999: 2).

Therefore, the analysis of musical properties is really needed because of the

compact relationship between music properties and moving images in a music

video.

Since Emo is a subgenre of rock music, it is needed to know the elements

of rock music to reveal the meanings behind. Like another music genre, rock

consists of musical sound properties including pitch, dynamic, tone color and

duration (Kamien, 2000: 4-69).

- Pitch

Pitch is determined by the frequency of vibration.

- Dynamic

Dynamic of music is separated into the of loudness and softness in the

relation to the amplitude of the vibration that produces the sound.

- Rhythm

Rhythm is the flow of music through time separated into three related

aspects, beat, accent and tempo:

i. Beat

Beat is a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into

equals unit of time occurring every ¼ second and seldom happens every 1

½ seconds.

ii. Accent or Syncopation

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id66

A note is sometimes accented when it is held longer or higher in

pitch than the notes near it. When an accented note comes unexpectedly, it

will be known as syncopation.

iii. Tempo

Tempo is the speed of the beat, the basic pace of the music. A

fast tempo shows the feeling of energy drive and excitement while the

slower tempo contributes to a calm mood.

- Melody

Melody is a series of single tones which begins moves and ends, also has

direction shape and continuity.

- Harmony

Harmony refers to the way chords are constructed and how they follow each

other. A chord is the combination of three or more tones sounded at once or

group simultaneous tones. The harmony of rock is usually simple since it

consists of three or four basic chords.

c. Lyric

Besides moving images and music, lyric is another element to help the

visualization within the music video. Different with film, in music video, the

meaning is mostly influenced by the correlation of music and lyric since those

two elements are formerly exist. As Carlsson also points out:

In various music videos, the new meaning is added to the banal lyrics to metaphorical language…… the greater the leap between the content of the lyrics and the imagery in this metaphorical joining, the more difficult for the viewers to understand and interpretcommit theto user context. (Carlsson, 1999:3) perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id67

Generally, what appears on a music video has never been far from the

visualization created by the moving image in order to make the viewers

understand the message of the music video (ibid: 3). For example, if the word

“sad” or “alone” is repeated due to the theme of a song then the visualization of

moving image will mostly adjust itself to the concept of lyric and music.

Lyric presented in the song is a linguistic sign with clear cut onsets. Their

denotative semantic structure is completely determined by the autonomous

linguistic meaning (Mazzola, 1997: 57). Hence, to understand the meaning of

lyric in a music video, sometimes it is needed to notice on the semantic

features of the lyric.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id68

CHAPTER III

ANALYSIS

This chapter proposes the answers for the problem statement mentioned in

chapter 1. Since the objective of this research is to understand the kinds of

commodification of Emo as one of American youth subcultures represented by

The Used‟s music videos, this chapter is divided into two major subchapters to

specify the analysis. The division of subchapters is based on the most identifiable

Emo youth subculture‟s symbolic system of communication which includes

fashion and behavior.

The first subchapter explains about the commodification of Emo subculture

in fashion in The Used‟s music videos. Because fashion comprises on numerous

parts, the analysis is classified into several points to explain the main subchapter

in detail. The second subchapter gives an explanation about the commodification

of Emo behavior within The Used‟s music videos. This second subchapter is

divided into two major points to simplify the analysis about the commodification

of Emo behavior found in the video. To deeply scrutinize the commodification of

fashion and behavior in the videos, the analysis is not only based on the visual

representation but also the audio representation of music and lyric.

1. The commodification of Emo Fashion within

The Used’s Music Videos

commit to user The huge numbers of youth subcultures are merely distinguished by the

68 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id69

diversity of music genres because in music, young people find a right place to

express their feeling when they are going through the adolescence phase within

the society which is mostly defined by the standard of parent culture. Each youth

subculture offers the acquirement of identity through various symbolic systems of

communication including fashion and behavior. Fashion is the most visible

symbol of a youth subculture applied by the members to emphasize that they are

congregated in a precisely similar subculture. However, through the exploitation

of the media, fashion of today youth subculture has been commodified from its

previous function as the exclusive means of communication in a youth subculture

into mass product of which everyone can wear.

The role of media in defining the meaning of a youth subculture is

contradictive. In one side, the media capture the bad side of youth subculture.

Young people as the members of youth subculture are considered to dress and act

so unconventionally in a society that they are regarded as threats because they do

not appear to adhere to the dominant ideologies of dressing properly and acting

civilized (Hebdige in Directo, 2006: 2). On the other side, the exclusivity of a

group of young people in building their own system through fashion attracts

media‟s attention to exploit the meaning of this symbolic system of subcultural

communication. Through these two kinds of opposition created by media, there

will be more people become familiar with youth subcultures‟ remarkable fashion

since this fashion offer the uniqueness that cannot be given by the standard

fashion in a society. This phenomenon gradually attracts the industries to produce

similar stuffs and encourage consumers to apply the similar idea. This process has commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id70

manufactured the early fashion as the exclusive means of communication into a

marketable product.

The similar process happens within Emo youth subculture. The previous

label of Emo as a root of hardcore subculture applying DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic

is slowly replaced by the image of Emo today exposed in the media. The Emo

fashion has been widely commodified by the market that consequently Emo‟s

early idea as an exclusive youth subculture is lost. Emo is not plainly a hardcore

music-based youth subculture but also a new trend in youth fashion. Music video

has a significant role how the Emo today is defined. Because of many bands have

applied the Emo theme, the making of the music videos is not far away from Emo

subject. The regular exposure of the Emo bands through the visual media like

MTV and internet video sharing sites make the audiences easily identify the bands

in their definite images (Peeters, 2004: 9). Consequently, if a band has been

labeled Emo by the mainstream media, the adolescents who at first have been

fascinated by those Emo bands‟ music will possibly idolize the bands appearance

and follow everything they perform within a music video.

By exploiting the idolatry thinking toward the bands, the music videos then

change the attitude of the viewers into the active consumers. Fashion as the

symbolic system is now easily watched within a music video, become the

essential part of it and found everywhere in the fashion store (Tetzlaff, 1986: 87).

The exploitation of Emo subcultural fashion is obviously found in most The

Used‟s music videos. Fashion used by the performers including the band members

and models within the videos is intended to sell Emo image of The Used to the commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id71

viewers. The visualization of The Used‟s lyric and music intermingled with the

Emo fashion applied by the performers become the double-edged sword to

convince the viewers about the fashion standard of being an Emo kid. This

standard is possibly made to let the devoted viewers apply and duplicate what the

performers present on the video. From ten of The Used music videos, it can be

acquired that the process of commodification through fashion are stumbled on

clothing, hairstyle, accessories and make up. Here, it is seen that Emo theme is

highly exploited, fused with every elements of fashion and intended to produce

the fashion standard of being the members of Emo youth subculture.

a. Clothing

To simply understand how Emo fashion has been commodified within the

music videos, the analysis is separated into upper and lower body clothing.

i. Upper Body

Clothing for the upper part of body usually consists of shirt, t-shirt, polo

shirt, blouse, jacket, sweater, sweatshirts, etc. Emo upper body clothing will

approximately include various kinds of t-shirt and hoodie (a kind of hooded

sweatshirts with a zipper). The colors of Emo upper body clothing are usually

related with dark colors like black, dark blue, brown, grey and red blood to

symbolize the major theme of this subculture: sadness, mysterious, gloominess,

togetherness and the like. However, the shocking colors like bright pink, bright

yellow and bright blue are commonly accepted, especially if they are applied in

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id72

boys clothing, to show the self-expression side of this phenomenal youth

subculture (Simon and Kelley, 2007: 59)

1. Dark Colored T-shirt

a. Gloominess

Emo is always associated with the gloomy theme of adolescence phase,

the colors like black, dark blue, red and other dark colors, dominate the

appearance of the performers to support the related themes (ibid: 59). Instead

of highlighting the gloominess, the exploitation of dark colors in Emo also

raises the sense of mysterious and togetherness.

In Emo, the gloomy theme is actualized by several dark colors applied in

T-shirts. It can be seen from the appearance of Bert McCracken in I Caught

Fire music video. The visualization of I Caught Fire music video represents the

love life and relationship of young people within an Emo group whose life

seem miserable because they have to live along the street, out of their home

and family. The video‟s storyline deliberately exemplifies the general problem

of young people, since in this adolescence phase love life is one of the

complicated things approaching them. Emo as a youth subculture which

sensitively notes on this problem has explored love theme in lyric and music

reflected in I Caught Fire music video. Applying the singing performance semi

narrative concept, this video is intended to give the general description of

adolescents‟ love life embraced in Emo style.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id73

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

In a scene of I Caught Fire, low key lighting generally strengthens the gloomy

theme of this video. From 00:00:29 until 00:00: 31, the camera takes two

medium shots of Bert McCracken, the lead vocalist of The Used wearing a

navy blue T-shirt standing in front of a dark place with two lamps above him as

the only source of light (Figure 1). Besides showing the performance of the

band‟s lead vocalist, this scene also demonstrates Emo fashion through Bert‟s

T-shirt (Figure 2). This scene appears as Bert sings the lyric “could we dim the

sun and wonder where we‟ve been” while the drum dominates the music in a

medium tempo so that Bert‟s voice is going to be spotlighted in audio as well

as Bert‟s appearance in visual. The low key lighting used in this scene is

intentionally connected with the word “dim the sun” to reinforce the gloomy

theme of Emo. The phrase “Could we dim the sun and wonder where we‟ve

been” here poetically refers to the relationship description of adolescents in an

ironic way which is easily found in the general Emo lyrics. “Could we dim the

sun” phrase sounds too overstating compared to the popular American love

songs at that time which are dominated by pop music and R&B (Greenwald,

2003: 69). However, when Emo is generally publicized, the exaggerating

poetical love songs have got more attention from the young listeners since the commit to user music have been answered the adolescents‟ need of expressing love in a more perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id74

sensitive way yet still wrapped in a noisy music which signifies the rebellion

side of adolescents. Emo music is considered as breakthrough music compared

to the common pop love songs at the millennium era due to the use of

poetically love theme on rock songs.

As the framing turns into medium close up shot, the typography of Bert‟s

T-shirt becomes the main object of camera. The word “Saint” in big red size

letter is shot simultaneously with red flash as the backlight (Figure 3). Through

the use of “Saint” letters, Bert embodies the icon of „saint‟ through his T-shirt.

Different with the meaning of saint in general which refers to holy person

whose life is practicable this typography precisely creates a perception that

Bert as the central object in the scene exemplifies the Emo fashion which is

applicable for every viewer who wants to look Emo like him. Bert‟s appearance

is purposely intended to match up with the lyric he sings, therefore, besides

listening to the songs, the viewers are going to watch the fashion of being an

Emo Kid figured out by Bert‟s T-shirt.

In other scene, the rest of band members are also shot both on their

performance and appearance within I Caught Fire music video.

Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7

From the scene above, in a short duration of medium close up shot, Quinn the commit to user guitarist and Jeph the bassist become the objects of camera as the sounds of perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id75

guitar and bass rhythm coming out. Besides focusing on their face in order to

introduce and familiarize the guitarist and bassist to the viewers, the camera

mostly focuses to their upper body clothing. In the left corner of the first

medium shot (Figure 4), Quinn wears a tight black T-shirt while, Jeph in the

right corner, wears the red and black outfit. The second medium shot of the

camera (Figure 5), the objects are still placed in the same position but the low

key lighting on their face turns from bright into dark blue. Like what happened

to Bert in the previous scene, the light effect here creates the dark sense to

highlight Emo major theme. Then as the drum‟s beats lead the song, the

medium close up shot moves to the early drummer of The Used, Branden‟s

appearance, who wears the similar outfit like Quinn does: a black T-shirt with

certain typography on it (Figure 6&7). Like Bert and other band members, the

dark colors applied in his T-shirt are aimed at signifying the Emo themes

represented by The Used‟s song.

The spotlight of The Used four members‟ appearances above gives an

alternative choice for young viewers to express themselves through fashion in a

simple yet sensitive way wrapped by Emo style. The simplicity offered by Emo

fashion is different from most popular style of American youth at the early

2000s influenced by the appearance of pop, hip hop and R&B stars which

mainly portrays the glamour lifestyle (Greenwald, 2003: 141). Post terrible

incident of 9/11, the national suffering has shifted every sector of American life

including youth lifestyle (ibid: 69). As American‟s life is getting insecure, the

gloomy theme offered by Emo can represent what most young American feel. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id76

Having faded out by the terrible event, the entertainment industries have found

out that Emo theme is the next big business. Emo can be easily accepted by

American youth since it can mingle the gloomy feeling post 9/11 with the

anxiety feeling of the adolescence phase. It means that American adolescents

do not need another space to acquire the identity in the midst of national

suffering because all that they need have been occupied by Emo as an

alternative youth subculture to choose. This video is made in 2005 where the

euphoria post 9/11 still influences most of American life which makes Emo

become the most wanted stuff by American young people..

b. Togetherness

Besides singing performance, I Caught Fire music video also applies the

story telling concept through the performances and appearances of American

suburban Emo Kids which are deliberately situated to strengthen the Emo

theme.

Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11

The camera takes the long shots of suburban Emo Kids which consists of

boys and girls. Without any additional lighting source since it is outside

framed, this scene is obviously shot in order to leave the idea of togetherness in commit to user Emo subculture and its members. The appearance of Emo kids are not shot one perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id77

by one but in a group that consequently the viewers will notice on what appears

on the scene. The four pictures above shows that Emo Kids approximately wear

the same type of T-shirt of which colors are dominated by the of dark colors.

Besides identifying the dim theme of Emo subculture, the dark color of their

upper clothing symbolizes the togetherness and unity which is known as the

root of any kind of youth subculture. Moreover, the first until fourth scene are

shot using different setting of place in several American towns which is

purposively used to emphasize the appearance of a group of American

adolescents with the communal atmosphere. The similar color and style signify

the unity and togetherness of Emo youth subculture to impress the viewers that

the members could be everywhere together with the community either in happy

or sad situation. The communal atmosphere here becomes a selling point

within the scenes, because like what has been stated in the previous chapter

that most American youth tends to have the virtual youth community rather

than the real one regarding to the development of technology. The scenes trace

back the meaning of being together in the real youth subculture. As it is known

that togetherness sense id mostly found in the traditional youth subculture such

as Punk in the early 1980s for example which was basically offering the sense

of unity, mutuality and togetherness which were practiced by gathering living

together in a street.

The first long shot scene is shot from the edge of the street in a medium

angle (Figure 8). This scene is captured from the beginning of I Caught Fire

video at the same time as the melody of the guitar as the intro of the song is commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id78

played. The appearance of those models in the beginning of the video

commonly describes real Emo Kids as the members of youth subculture whose

life is communal, mutual and underrated like what can be found in the early

youth subcultures. By placing the camera in this angle, the Emo Kids‟ full

appearances are shot in order to show the viewers what kind of outfit they

wear. Simplicity and unity senses can be found in the first scene as well as

other scenes. Compared to most of American adolescents‟ style at this time,

around 2005, this scene offers an alternative choice of Emo fashion for young

people different from the common fashion figured out by most pop icons. The

close distance of the models in the first scene strengthens the mutual assistance

among the members. This mutual assistance is the one that other popular icons

can not exemplify. Popular stars in America are considered to strengthen the

individualism sense revealed by their glamour appearances they show.

The next scene is set on a crowded street to emphasize the similar sense.

As the lyric “just stay with me, lay with me now” sung by Bert dominating the

song, the scene appears (Figure 9). Added with the high pitch of Bert‟s voice as

the scene emerges, the phrase of the lyric is used to emphasize the sense of

togetherness. The appearance of the models within this scene has a tight

correlation with the lyric sung by Bert because it can be literally interpreted as

asking other people to „stay‟ or „lay‟ with those who sing the song. By wearing

such kind of outfits, the performers look extremely different from the

surrounding environment. It seems like the kids have an authority over their

surrounding area through the fashion they wear. The scene describes the commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id79

common phenomenon familiarly found in any youth subculture. The Emo Kids

above are described to have their own world and freedom in a simple way

through fashion. Generally, the sense of freedom, specialty and being different

are what every youth subculture offers to the members. In adolescents phase

most of young people try to get the fixed identity and when they find the place

such as youth subculture offering the identification through fashion, it will

attract young people‟s attention. Stalling also states:

Simply put, our needs are not met by the "normal" world, so we create our own temporary autonomous zones, little havens where we are free to express ourselves as we choose. An identity evolves from this removal -- an identity built on pride of creation, expression and a bit of rebellion. We feel like we‟re part of something special, right? We‟re proud of who we‟ve become and what we‟ve created and we want to share it (Stallings, 2009)

The alternative choice of fashion makes young people easy to define their

identity. At the time before Emo is trending in America, the hipping fashion is

popping-branded clothing reflected by popular icons on TV. This fashion is too

exclusive for most adolescents who come from middle and lower class. For

them, this is not the identity what they look for because they have to be rich

first to wear such kind of outfits. By the appearance of simpler Emo fashion

represented by this scene, the middle and low class adolescents have the

optional way to find their identity through fashion without need to copy the

stars‟ appearances. Moreover, the sense of unity and simplicity appeared on

this scene is intended to alternate the individualism of the previous hipping

youth subculture through their glamorous fashion.

The next scene is a medium close up shot of the kids walking and

running together on a public staircommit (Figure to user 10). The shot focuses on the upper perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id80

body outfit they wear. It can be seen that T-shirts led by dark colors are shot as

the lyric “I lost my place, could stay a while” sung by Bert, the vocalist. They

move from one place to another place on foot while still using the same outfits

like the previous scenes. Smiling faces shown by the performers bring the

estimation that the simplicity and unity bring happiness although they have

„lost their place‟. They can have fun together with friends using their youth

spirit in a realistic way devoid of having several high quality stuffs, fashions

and made-up appearances to be accepted in a group like what has reflected by

the previous popular stars on TV.

It is also strengthened by the next scene of the video, where the Emo Kids

arrive on the edge of a road (Figure 11). The camera takes long shot of their

similar appearance to gain the powerful impression of a youth subculture

although it can be seen that their numbers are small. As Bert sings the bridge-

lyric in a high pitch voice over the assembling music “you can stand and watch

me fall and of course I‟ll ask for help…just stay with me now”, the scene

appears. It is told in the scene that the kids are waiting for the ride from the

cars crossing over the road but nothing stops and lets them in. The phrase „you

can stand and watch me fall‟ intermingled with the scene describes the power

of the unity as if the kids were strong enough to survive in the community. The

rest part of the phrase „just stay with me now‟ means that the kids can be strong

if they are in a similar group with their friends no matter what happened to

their surrounding life. This scene offers the viewers to get back to the root of

youth subculture in a simple street life while in America at that time; commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id81

adolescents are spoiled with the blink and expensive stuffs that can be found in

the malls or shops. It also encourages the viewers who merely young people to

leave their previous American youth lifestyle and move to the new subculture

which is simpler to apply and more sensitive in revealing the sense of

togetherness.

Correlating with the making of the video around 2005, the scenes above

are used to show that Emo is a youth subculture which put the value of

togetherness within the subculture. The performers of the video have

successfully performed a mutual group of young people wrapped in the Emo

style. The mutual group description, however, can not be found on the

mainstream video before Emo subculture raised since it has been that the

hysteria of millennium might encourage American youth to live individually

through the dream of personal success offering by pop stars like Britney and

Christina. The individuality can not be fully applied in America post 9/11,

though. America needs to reunite. The concept of unity and togetherness put on

this video strengthens the perception that Emo is a right subculture for young

people to join with. Joining with this subculture means that young people

should communicate each other using the similar symbolic system of

communication. In this case, the viewers have been dictated in wearing dark

colored T-shirt, like what the performers in I Caught Fire music videos wear.

Another The Used video, Buried Myself Alive also shows the dark color

domination upon the upper body clothing. This video applies the singing

performance semi narrative concept with the band members as the performers. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id82

Figure 12 Figure 13

Using low key lighting added with obscure setting of place, the video

impress the mysterious theme of songs which tends to darkness and

gloominess. This theme is also supported by the hanging lamp as the only

lighting source within the video. Starting with the appearance of Quinn the

guitarist and Bert the vocalist in medium long shot frame, the viewers will be

ultimately led to watch these two band members‟ upper body clothing (Figure

12). The extended melody of guitar riff mixed with the slow tempo of drum

makes a long introduction of the music video which gives a chance for the

performers to be shot one by one in the video. Low key lighting coming from

swinging lamp over the band shoots Quinn appearance first. Like what can be

seen on the scene, the guitarist wears a simple upper body outfit, however the

dim light makes his appearance raise the dim effect too. He is shot first by the

camera as the guitar riff dominates the intro of the song. This shot is also

purposively made to make the viewers notice on Quinn‟s role as the guitarist of

this band. Next to Quinn is Bert wearing black outfit: black T-shirt and black

jeans. His position in this scene is deliberately closed to Quinn since he takes

the role to sing after the intro ends. Their appearance in the beginning of the

video is intended to bring the mysterious and darkness impression toward the commit to user viewers who watch them. The theme of this video is adjusted with the song perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id83

title: “Buried Myself Alive” which literally gives the impression of mystery,

death and depression so that the materials within the video are also accustomed

with the basic theme.

Then, the camera shifts into long shot frame where all the members of

The Used are shot. The swinging lamp in the middle of the dark and obscure

place focuses on two major dimness colors appearing on the costumes worn by

the band members, as Bert sings the lyric “you almost always pick the best

times to drop the worst lines” over the assembling band instruments beyond his

voice (Figure 13). Semantically, „the best‟ is the antonym for „the worst‟ which

in this lyric, those two words are mixed to describe an irony, a bitter sense of

something which is still mysterious represented by the word „you‟. Related to

the adolescence phase, it has been widely known that the changing process

from childhood and adulthood encourage the children to find their identity. The

anxiousness becomes the serious problem in this phase since most of the

children experience it at the deep and painful level including American

adolescents. As Anastasi also states:

…American adolescents are suffering from a desperate need for connectedness, for a sense of belonging…they have an intense need to feel loved and accepted…adolescents need to express their pain and suffering in order for

healing to take place… (Anastasi, 2005: 303)

Why is anxiety theme shown in the video through fashion? Besides

representing American youth aspiration in facing the adolescence phase, it also

represents what America faces at the time post 9/11. Having beaten by terrorist,

America feels the anxiousness which has knocked down everything in her life.

Emo in this video is not only interpretedcommit to asuser the youth subculture which explore perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id84

the anxiety feeling of youth but also all American. The anxiety theme of Emo

subculture has been commodified and represented through the fashion of The

Used‟s members which then become the right representation of what America

has experienced.

Applying the similar formula like Buried Myself Alive, another video of

which band members‟ fashion are dominated by dark color, is Take It Away.

Still using singing performance semi narrative concept, the band members

become the objects of camera within the video. Besides showing the

gloominess, this video also shows the rebellion theme through the fashion the

performers wear. It can be noticed from the opening of the video when the

band members play music on a rooftop. The fast tempo of music guiding by

high pitch of guitar chord and quick drum along with the screaming vocal of

Bert raises an impression that everything shown in this video is related to the

rebellion theme revealed by the fashion they wear.

Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16

From the pictures above, it can be seen that black color is applied in

every band members‟ T-shirt as they begin to play with their own instruments

passionately (Figures 14). Black colors applied on their upper clothing are the

index of power (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html). If it is applied commit to user on clothing worn by young people especially those who are members of Emo, perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id85

it does not only indicate the gloomy sense but also rebelliousness as it can be

seen in the beginning of this video.

The long shot camera used in the beginning of the video together with

the band members‟ performances indicate that the black color on their clothing

is an index of defiance act of adolescents represented by Emo Kids. The long

duration of the scene mixed with direct lighting of their performance draw the

index of rebellion from the color that dominated their T-shirts. While the other

band members are playing their instruments, Bert screams „Get down!‟ loudly

in the opening of the song until he bows down because of the overrated high

pitch of his voice. Screaming in Emo music is commonly used to express the

painful feeling through the song assembled with the high pitch of guitar chord

in the slow tempo. However, when screaming technique is applied in this scene

simultaneously with the quick tempo of noisy music, the meaning is shifted

into the combination of pain and anger expression.

The rebellious theme represented through the performers‟ appearance has

also been strengthened by Bert‟s prolog before this song, „Take It Away‟, begins

„Life's greatest questions have always been: Who am I? Where did I come

from? Why am I here? Where am I going?‟ The prolog of this song in reality

reflects the anxiety feeling of adolescence phase which has been faced by

common American adolescents. In general, adolescents face the similar

questions in finding their real identity like: who they really are, where they

came from, why they are in a certain condition and where they are going to go.

This scene from the video made on 2004 catches the adolescents‟ anxiety commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id86

within Emo‟s circle and reveals it through The Used band members‟

performances. The other rock-based subcultures in 2000s encourage the

members to fight back the standard of the society, but Emo which raises the

gloomy theme has encouraged the members to be radical in the sensitive way.

The black color on The Used members‟ T-shirts does not only represent the

rebellion of youngsters but also the national grief. It is because American

youngsters in this Emo era have been affected by the terrible event of 9/11.

Like their parents, it is needed for the youngsters to experience national grief

on their growing-up period. Repeatedly, Emo subculture in 2000s has occupied

the rebellion and grief in a compact subculture. The performance of The Used

members on this video shows that Emo theme have been commodified since it

is very different from the basic concept of Emo in 1980s when the members of

subculture focused on the only way to rebel the society due to the anxiety

feeling of youngsters without involving the society grief within subculture.

2. Bright Colored T-shirt

Besides applying dark colored T-shirts, Emo fashion is also known for

the use of bright shocking colors especially on the boys‟ T-shirt. In the video

Blue and Yellow, the singing performance concept is applied that makes the

video seem like a video-biography of the band. The position of Bert as a central

object of camera in this scene is intended to get the most attention from the

viewers since in the audio form singers have effectively delivered the core

meaning of a song through their voices. Therefore, to actualize the meaning of commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id87

a song through a music video, the vocalist gets the most portions of camera

shot. Similarly, Peeters also states that “Singers have always had a superior

status to both their orchestra and their public, since on an auditive level, they

were the anthropomorphic, most prominent element in the musical ensemble”

(Peeters, 2004: 7. At this point, Bert becomes the most shot figure in the video

to show his appearance especially when wearing bright colored T-shirt.

Figure 17 Figure 18

The first scene shows how the camera takes a medium shot of Bert

wearing yellow T-shirt while singing a song in the closed eyes in front of other

band members who are still wearing black colored T-shirt (Figure 17). Yellow

color in fashion is a symbol of cheerfulness and confidence which is commonly

applied in female fashion (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html). The

exploitation of yellow color through Bert‟s T-shirt in the video is proposed to

give the legal mark for boys in wearing bright colored T-shirt. The bright colors

are rarely applied in other rock-based youth subculture‟s fashion especially for

boys because applying bright colors on the clothing is considered diminishing

the masculinity sense of the boys themselves. Moreover, bright color like

yellow in Emo‟s fashion is also employed to give the artistic sense of this youth

subculture which will not be found in another rock-based youth subculture like commit to user metalhead, hardcore and punk. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id88

The next scene in the video shows the medium close up of Bert facing

the camera quirkily while still using the same T-shirt (Figure 18). Here, Bert

wears a kind of girl‟s hair accessory on his hair. As it has been stated before

that, it is commonly known that bright color especially yellow is usually

applied in women‟s fashion, however, if it is added with the wearing of Bert‟s

girl hair accessory, it means that he has emphasized the concept of “Emo pretty

boy”. Bert‟s appearance signifies the freedom of Emo boys in expressing their

appearance. It means that the scene is intentionally made to show the freedom

of expression in fashion especially for boys, since they can freely express

themselves without being ashamed of the term „feminine‟.

Aaron Anastasi in his journal writes that many American young boys are

eager to be understood and they want connection with others as well as the

accompanied healing. However, this longing for nurture is often kept silent

because it is seen weak and feminine (Anastasi, 2005: 304). Therefore boys

experience pain and need to connect with others at an emotional level in order

to heal from the syndrome. In Emo, boys can express freely express themselves

unlike the other rock-based youth subculture which indirectly proscribes the

use of the bright colors in their fashion since it diminishes the sense of strong

and masculine. Emo as a youth subculture which perceives adolescence phase

more sensitively is an appropriate place for boys to express themselves since

Emo welcome the use of „less masculine‟ fashion like the wearing of bright

colors T-shirts.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id89

Another video which shows the use of bright colored T-shirt is A Box

Full of Sharp Object. This video also applied the singing performance concept

in which the band members‟ performances become the object of the camera.

Below is the scene of Bert wearing a girl T-shirt when performs in a stage.

Figure 19 Figure 20

From those scenes, it is obviously seen that Bert wears a tight pink T-shirt. Pink

is the commonly applied on girls stuff including T-shirt. The pink T-shirt here

is used to show the freedom of boy‟s expression in fashion. The medium shot

of Bert singing crudely on the stage is contrary with the upper body clothing he

wears, though (Figure 19). The fill light of this scene coming from the stage is

equivalent with the tight outfit he wears, however, the T-shirt is also combined

with the typography “Sex, Drugs and Rock „n Roll” on it which deliver the

contrast meaning from a feminine sense. From the first scene, it can be

observed that Bert wears T-shirt in different color like Quinn, in the left side,

does. Considering the position of the singer as the most shot character in the

video, this scene is intended to show the viewers about the uniqueness of Bert

as the role model of Emo‟s fashion. The much portions of Bert as the object of

camera here means that everything put on him is noticeable including his bright

pink T-shirt and its typography. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id90

The typography “Sex, Drugs and Rock n‟ Roll” used here refers to the

common rockers‟ symbol of lifestyle. Combined with the fast tempo and beat

of band‟s instrumental using in this scene, the use of this typography on Bert‟s

T-shirt apparently means that Emo kids are also like usual adolescents of other

rock-based youth subculture who have a big enthusiasm in expressing

themselves to win a space toward the standard norms in a society. In America,

the slogan “Sex, Drugs and Rock n‟ Roll” was widely popular among young

people whose music taste is rockers around 1980s. The combination of tight

girl T-shirt and this popular typography is purposively made to show the

viewers that Emo Kids can be like common adolescents who become the

members of a youth subculture in rebelling the normal standard although they

face everything happens in adolescence vulnerably. The sense of youth

subculture‟s enthusiasm reflected by Emo can also be found in the next scene

which is a medium long shot of Bert spurting beer from his mouth on the stage

while still wearing the same T-shirt (Figure 20).

These two scenes show the commodification of boys‟ outfit in the Emo

youth subculture. Bright colored T-shirt, which is peculiarly used by boys of

any kind youth subcultures, is a breakthrough in young boys‟ fashion since the

boys especially for those whose members of a certain youth subculture never

match to those kinds of bright color in order to keep the code of masculinity.

Bert‟s scene above is an icon of Emo boys‟ self-expression. It is intended to

give an explanation to the viewers that Emo admits the self expression of boys

through the wearing of bright colored clothing. The legalization of using bright commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id91

colors on fashion makes Emo is considered as a discarded subculture since

most of Emo boys actualize their appearance in the ways the girls usually do.

The phenomenon of using bright colored T-shirt happens since the

emotional term in „Emotional Hardcore‟ has now been highly dejected by the

media. It means that the vulnerability and weakness is the common thing used

to describe Emo today. Related to the masculinity, before Emo is a popular,

adolescent boy especially those who are members of certain rock-based youth

subculture, such as metal, punk and hardcore, are not allowed to be vulnerable.

Boys as the members of youth subculture are dictated to be strong and macho.

They are forbidden to cry and wear girly stuffs. In fact, Post 9/11 is the period

when strong and macho concept is demolished. America is getting weak that

nothing obstructs her young generation involved in its weaknesses. Everything

is getting weak and vulnerable. Throuht the making of the Blue and Yellow

music video in 2003, it is signified that Emo subculture is exposed at the right

time, of course for commercial purpose, in which boys can express themselves

in less masculine side portrayed by wearing girly stuff like what Bert shows

within the video above. It is very contrast to the early Emo on 1980 which put

the concept of strong and masculine through the practice of their daily life

influenced by the Hardcore and Punk idea.

3. Hoodie commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id92

Hoodie is a kind of upper body clothing which is usually identical with

the appearance of Emo Kids. Hoodie promise the sense of anonymity, mystery

and anxiety for anyone who wears it. Emo boys often wear hoodie in order to

cover their head so that everybody surround them will not pay attention to their

presence instead of rising the mysterious and recluse effect. The shape of

hoodie is like a hooded sweatshirt with or without zipper. Some of The Used

videos like Taste of Ink, The Bird and The Worm and Blue and Yellow show

how the hoodie becomes a commodity in Emo subculture.

Figure 31 Figure 42 Figure 5 3 Figure 64

Since A Box Full of Sharp Object music video is considered as The Used

earliest video, the concept of the video is singing performance in form of music

video biography. The angle of the camera is placed straightforwardly in front of

each band‟s member in order to make them familiar to the viewers of the

videos. All of the band members in this video wear similar type and color of

hoodie. The first frame shows how camera takes a long shot picture of Bert

wearing a black hoodie while commitrising histo user hands and singing the lyric “it‟s our perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id93

time to shine through the down glorified by what is ours” as if he was on the

stage (Figure 21). The second until fourth pictures shows the medium close up

shot of other band members using an airport as the setting of place. The second

picture takes Jeph the bassist as a main object (Figure 22). From the black

outfit he wears, it can be obviously noticed that he wears a kind of hoodie of

which hood covering his head. In a short duration, then the camera moves to

another band member, Branden, the early drummer (Figure, 23). Still using the

medium close up shot, Branden‟s upper appearance using hoodie is stunning

enough as well as Quinn‟s in the fourth frame (Figure 24). The natural fill

lighting demonstrating the same color of hoodie which is also assembled with

the music of their band is intended to catch the attention of the viewers over the

upper clothing they wear. Added with the fast tempo of every instrument‟s beat,

the pictures above are purposively captured to show that all of the band

members are familiar with the use of hoodie as their daily clothing. In Emo,

where sadness theme majoring this youth subculture, the expressiveness of the

members is often represented by the kind and color of clothing they wear, like

what can be observed from the presence of hoodie in their fashion since it has

been acquired before that hoodie promise the sense of mystery and anxiety

which full match with the themes brought by Emo.

The similar phenomenon can also be analyzed from other videos like

Taste of Ink and The Bird and The Worm. In Taste of Ink music video, which

applies the singing performance and narrative concept, Bert persistently

becomes the center object within the video. It is told that Bert is a young boy commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id94

who has a phobia to any kind of light. He runs away from the lightened up

buildings, rooms and streets in order to avoid the light.

Figure 25 Figure 26 Figure 27 Figure 28

The first picture of Bert captured with the medium close up shot shows

his fear toward the light (Figure 25). He wears hoodie to cover his head and

shun the light coming directly to his face. Instead of showing the narrative side

of the video, the position of Bert in the scene firm up the gloomy and

vulnerable side of an Emo Kid through the dark background of the video mixed

with the hoodie he wears. Bert strengthens the sense of gloominess by singing

the lyric „you know I hate light‟ repeated twice over the assembling music from

other band members‟ instruments. His appearance on the scene, along with the

lyric he sings, represents the gloomy side of this youth subculture that Emo

Kids will always be related to the anxiety and vulnerability.

The second picture is a long shot scene of Bert situated on a minimarket.

Compared to other customers surroundcommit to him user who wear standard outfits, he looks perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id95

very different by wearing hoodie. Although it is shot in short duration, it has

delivered an idea of being cool and unique in a new way. In America, hoodie is

considered as breakthrough clothing for young people in the early of 2000s

because the most dominant clothing at that time are influenced by the

appearance of various pop stars in the media which are dominated by glamour

colors and patterns. Wearing hoodie is popular among Emo Kids since it is

identical with the notion of anxiety, mysterious, introvert and solitude. It can

obviously be seen form the next scenes. The medium close up shot of Bert

standing over a big table with some lamps as the back light makes him looks

appealing by wearing hoodie (Figure 27). Together with singing the lyric: “I'm

so apathetic in my resentment. Living, loving, knowing not”, Bert as a figure of

Emo Kid is purposively shot to convey the lyric he sings with his appearance in

wearing hoodie to strengthen the sense of „apathetic‟ which has been the theme

of Emo itself. Wearing hoodie in this scene implies the meaning of being cool

and different. While the next scene is a long shot of Bert sitting in the corner of

a bus without anybody surrounds him (Figure 28). Contrast to the previous

view of being cool and unique, this scene gives the impression of an adolescent

boy‟s loneliness. Head covered by hoodie while sitting alone pathetically

emerge an impression of loneliness and sadness. As it is widely known, those

two ideas are included as the major themes in Emo subculture.

The wearing of hoodie can also be initiated from the video The Bird and

The Worm. Besides exposed by the band members, hoodie is also carried by the

models of the music video. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id96

Figure 29 Figure 30 Figure 31 Figure 32

The four pictures above are capture from the beginning of this video. The

absence of the band‟s music in this scene is deliberately used to let the

audiences see the appearance of the performers within these scenes. First scene

is a medium shot of a boy who becomes the model of this music video (Figure

29). Using the same concept, singing performance semi narrative, this video

tells the viewers about the back stage situation of The Used‟s concert. The

medium shot of the boy placed between other audiences make him become a

center object of the camera. It can be noticed that his appearance reflects the

general appearance of Emo Kids. Tight hoodie is the most noticeable outfit he

wears affirming the general fashion of Emo Kids. Using the high key lighting,

the video tries to deliver an idea to the viewers that hoodie is a fashion

requirement to be considered as an Emo Kid. This idea is more reinforced by

the second scene where a boy is placed exactly in front of the camera (Figure

30). The boy who is dissolved by the camera wears a kind of black hoodie

which can be seen from his uppercommit hooded to user part. This scene is used to emphasize perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id97

the previous scene‟s impression where hoodie is standardized as the right

clothing in Emo subculture that has to be worn by the members.

While the third and fourth picture are the scenes where Bert, the vocalist

becomes the main object of the camera. The third picture is a medium close up

scene of somebody resembling Bert wearing hoodie to cover his head (Figure

31). Added with the high key light, this scene brings out the sense of strange

and mysterious. Here, the hoodie boy looks different and strange from his

surrounding. By wearing hoodie, the boy wants to reveal the image of Emo

youth subculture which commonly conveys the idea of anxiety and gloominess.

The fourth picture is a medium close up of Bert wearing hoodie while staring at

his shadow in the mirror (Figure 32). The camera directly put Bert as the main

object in order that the viewers can notice only on his appearance. The

placement of Bert in the middle of the camera is intended to give the cool sense

of an Emo boy after wearing hoodie. As it is known before that hoodie is a kind

of remarkable fashion among American youth especially in the 2000s and here,

the video want to take hoodie as part of Emo‟s fashion since hoodie reveals the

sense of anxiety and mysterious.

Hoodie as fashion are highly popular in 2000s as Emo subculture gets the

high exposure from media. The phenomenal use of hoodie does not only give

the sense of cool but also mysterious and anxiety. Similar like what has been

stated in the previous discussion about clothing and anxiety, this clothing has

commodified the anxiety theme through fashion since it has represented both

of American youth‟s anxiety feeling and also American anxiety in general post commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id98

9/11. By merging this formula, hoodie is considered as the new youth clothing

to sell. When everything is gloomy, the gloomy-related stuff is the right choice

to buy. The American media, of course take the role on how the clothing is sold

to the audiences with the term „mysterious yet cool‟ like what can be found on

the scenes above.

ii. Lower Body

In Emo fashion today, the clothing for lower body is mostly tight pants,

black tight jeans and sometimes stovepipe jeans. Jeans is now popular as a

casual dress among young people because of its long lasting use. It is

commonly worn by young people to show the freedom of self expression in

fashion especially in choosing the lower body outfit. In Emo, tight jeans are

commonly worn by the members of Emo bands and Emo Kids. The occasional

appearance of band members on the video wearing the similar type of jeans

makes this lower outfit popular among the viewers. This trend can also be

found obviously within The Used music videos. Almost all of the videos show

jeans as the commodity in Emo fashion particularly sorts of tight jeans which

has become the symbolic style of communication in Emo.

Filmed on 2002, A Box Full of Sharp Objects music video‟s performers

who all are band members use jeans as their lower body clothing. It can be

noticed from the appearance of each band member using singing performance

concept of music video. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id99

Figure 33 Figure 34

From the first picture, the long shot of Bert‟s singing performance shows the

whole outfit put on his body (Figure 33). In the case of lower outfit, it can be

seen that Bert wears a kind of black jeans which signifies the common fashion

of Emo Kids. The scene shows the rude singing performance of Bert in a small

studio. It can be seen here that Bert, the lead vocalist of The Used strengthens

the icon of Emo Kid through the outfit he wears, especially his lower body

clothing: black jeans. This shot is assembled with the noisy music of The Used

where the guitar, bass and drum sound are intermingled and played in the fast

tempo of sound. The noisy sound of music signifies the characteristic of The

Used in revealing the meaning of Emo in a more deafeningly way. The next

scene is a medium shot of Bert while singing in another stage (Figure 34). The

similar outfit put on Bert‟s body shows the similar function of these two shots:

to let the viewers see the use of black tight jeans as the fashion rule in Emo.

Moreover, this scene shows the performance of Bert while screaming loudly

till he cannot stand anymore. It has been known that screaming technique is

often used by most of Emo bands nowadays to highlight the painful feeling of

the song. Through this scene, the video wants to deliver an image of Bert as an

icon of Emo Kids wearing the black outfit while screaming the song on the commit to user stage. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id100

The next video made on 2003 is Taste of Ink. This video also shows the

commodity of jeans through the band members‟ fashion. Using singing

performance semi narrative concept, the video delivers the story about the daily

life of suburban Emo kids in relation to their family, job and friends. After

getting bored with their daily businesses, the kids are gathering and expressing

themselves through various ways including through the way they dress

themselves. The lower body clothing dominated by jeans is purposively used to

show the expressiveness of young people represented by the band members.

Though the jeans shown are not in black tight shape, as it is usually found in

common Emo kids‟ clothing, it still proves that jeans as the biggest commodity

for lower clothing among them to show the simplicity, expressiveness and

freedom in choosing lower body outfit.

Figure 35 Figure 36

The first medium long shot of band members from the backside emphasize on

the outfits they wear. The three of band members are walking toward the

garage wearing the same kinds of jeans (Figure 35). Using nighttime as the

setting of time combined with the outfit they wear is an icon of American

suburban kids‟ freedom of expression. The night is acknowledged as a time for

people to get a rest; yet, this scene shows the specialty of some kids who has commit to user their time after other people get rest. The second scene is also a medium long perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id101

shot of the four of band members inside the garage (Figure 36). This picture is

acquired from the last part of the video when the band members are finally

chatting and laughing to relax themselves after finishing their own business.

The leisure atmosphere is seen from various aspects: the garage room they

settle in and the way they dress themselves. Through the similar jeans they

wear, it can also be explained that the kids have the same ideas of embodying

the freedom to express themselves.

Another video applying the singing performance concept, Blue and

Yellow also highlights the band members‟ appearance in wearing the similar

jeans as their lower body clothing.

Figure 37 Figure 38

The first picture is the opening scene of the video telling about the band‟s

acoustic performance (Figure 37). In this angle, through the camera‟s medium

long shot, it can be seen here that four of the band members wear the similar

kind of black jeans. Moving to the second picture, it is a stage performance of

the band (Figure 38). From this medium long shot, the band members are shot

since they still wear the similar kind of black jeans. The label as an Emo band

makes everything they wear is always associated with Emo stuffs. In this case,

the black jeans they wear are icons of common Emo fashion it the early rising commit to user of this subculture, for about 2003. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id102

Take It Away is The Used‟s first video exploiting the wearing of black

tight jeans in 2004. At that time, black tight jeans are very popular as a dressing

code of being an Emo Kid in America. Through the frequent appearance of

band members within the video, it can be noticed that black tight jeans they

wear have become the main commodity to emphasize that the band members

are congregated in the Emo subculture.

Figure 39 Figure 40

Those two pictures are the long shots of the band members performing their

song over a rooftop. With the minimum back light, the focus of the camera is

mainly on their appearance. The outfit they wear, which are dominated by

black color, is an icon of common outfit worn by rock bands. Rock music is

merely identical with the notion of self-confidence and coolness through the

clothing worn by the band members. Since Emo is a sub genre of rock, the

band members‟ appearances also have the similar function like the other rock

band members do. In terms of lower clothing, Emo has its own characteristic

like the wearing of black tight jeans. The performers in this video wear that

kind of lower body clothing that purposively become main object within the

first and second picture. It can be seen in the first scene, the camera takes long

shot performance of band members from front part of the camera (Figure 39). commit to user Through the sparkling backlight, Quinn and other band members except Bert perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id103

are noticed in wearing the similar kind of jeans: black tight jeans. As the

opening scene of Take It Away music video, this scene comes with the noisy

sound of music behind it to signify that The Used is similar like other rock

bands members which highlights the fast tempo and beat of each instrument.

Moving to the second picture, it is a long shot performance of band

members from the back side (Figure 40). Similar like the first picture, this

picture takes the band members‟ appearance as the main object. Bert‟s position

in the middle of the camera gives a space for other band‟s members to be shot

by the camera. The way Quinn, the guitarist, dresses himself especially seen

from the lower outfit he wears: black tight jeans, emphasizes the common Emo

fashion popular at the time the video is being aired.

The next video is I Caught Fire which has been released in the early of

2005. The video applies the singing performance semi narrative concept.

Besides using band members as the model in the music video, this music also

employs the performance of the suburban Emo Kids to strengthen the band‟s

image as one of the Emo band.

Figure 41 Figure 42

In spotting the performance of the Emo Kids as the models including their

appearance, the video use the narrative concept. The left picture above is the

scene in the beginning of thecommit video to where user a couple of young people are perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id104

narrated being in love (Figure 41). It can be seen that the boy takes the girl on

his lap. They wear similar but different kind of jeans. The boy wears a kind of

tight blue jeans while the girl wears torn blue jeans. Those two jeans, however,

are very popular among young people especially those who are involved in the

subcultural action. The spotlight of those two models‟ appearance is used to

give the description that those models of the video are also involved in the

subcultural action especially Emo. The scene then moves to the performance of

Quinn, the guitarist who wears the same kind of tight blue jeans like the boy‟s

from the previous scene (Figure 42). The medium shots of the camera on the

Quinn and the boy‟ similar appearance is used to highlight the hipping Emo

fashion at the time the video being aired. From those scenes, it can be noticed

that the band wants to communicate to the viewers that they are also a part of

Emo kids through fashion. However, those two scenes are intentionally

proposed to convince the viewers that the fashion they wear is a requirement to

be involved as the members of Emo subculture.

To conclude, tight jeans are previously popular in America for girls‟

fashion. Related to the discussion of the bright-colored T-shirt, tight jeans are

commodified as the standard of being an Emo Kids since the emotional term in

„Emotional Hardcore‟ has now been dejected by the media, the vulnerability

and weakness is the common terms used to describe Emo today. Post 9/11 is

the period when strong and macho boy is demolished. America is getting weak

which makes emotional on the „Emotional Hardcore‟ exposed at the right time

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id105

that the boys can express themselves in feminine way portrayal by wearing

tight jeans.

b. Hairstyle

Hairstyle refers to the styling of the hair usually used by young people to

show their expression. Hairstyle is also used by the members of certain youth

subculture to communicate each other and to distinguish themselves from other

youth subcultures‟ members. If another youth subculture like Punk is very

popular with its bright Mohawk hairstyle, Emo will be famous among young

people for its black long hair style often added with long side bang covering

the members‟ faces. Sometimes, there is also an exploitation of colors in Emo

hairstyle like brown, blonde and bright red is acceptable. This kind of hairstyle

is also found within The Used‟s music videos applied both by the members of

the band and the models in the video.

i. Medium Long Straight Hair

a. Bert McCracken‟s hairstyle

Figure 43 Figure 44 Figure 45

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id106

Figure 46 Figure 47 Figure 48

As the vocalist, Bert has huge chances to be shot by the camera. It can be

proved from those pictures above where Bert is shot using medium close up

and close up shot. Those pictures are captured from different videos made from

2002 until 2005. It can be seen above that Bert signifies the notion of Emo boy

trough the hairstyle he used. His steady hairstyle make Bert has a strong

characteristic among the fans and the members of Emo subculture. The six

pictures above put Bert as the model while singing along the video.

The first picture is captured from The Used first video on 2002 entitled A

Box Full of Sharp Objects. On all of the pictures, Bert is shot using close up

shot mode. His smiling face mixed with his brown long hair shoot with bright

light emerge an impression of cool Emo boy (Figure 43). This scene is captured

from the very first video of The Used which is intentionally made to introduce

the characteristic of Bert to the audiences. The shots of Bert‟s appearance are

repeated again in the second until sixth pictures captured from the different

videos (Figure 44 – Figure 48). Those captures of Bert show that he has the

same kind of dark hairstyle. The singing performance concept applied in each

video is intentionally made to fix the image of Bert as the Emo boy with his

long hair. They are purposively made to emphasize Bert‟s position as icon of

Emo kids through his hairstyle.commit However, to user the shoot also notices on his new hair perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id107

looks in the latest videos.

Figure 49 Figure 50 Figure 51

The first picture is a medium long shot of Bert in the video The Bird and

The Worm made on 2007 where Bert appears with his new hairstyle: long

blonde hair (Figure 49). Added with the high lighting, this scene tries to

emphasize Bert‟s hair as a breakthrough in Emo hairstyle in which Emo

criterion does not always related to dark colors anymore. These scenes are also

made to give the audiences the alternative choice of choosing another Emo

hairstyle since as it is known that in the previous videos, the perception of a

cool Emo boy is always related to Bert‟s dark hairstyle. However, if it is seen

from other pictures, the Bert‟s image is returned as an Emo kid through the

changing color of his hair from blonde to black through the making of two

latest videos, Blood on My Hands in 2009 and Empty with You in the late of

2009 (Figure 51 & Figure 52). It is widely known in previous time that Emo is

identical with the black long hair hairstyle. From the medium close up shot of

the second and the third picture added with the high light for the singing

performance concept, it can be noticed there that Bert‟s position is brought

back to the previous image of Emo Kids through his black hair.

b. The Models‟ hairstylecommit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id108

Besides Bert, another typical of Emo hairstyle is also applied by the

models within the videos. This sort of Emo hairstyle can be found in some of

music videos which applies the narrative concept like The Bird and the Worm

made in 2007 because using this concept, the performers are not only the band

members but also the models.

Figure 52 Figure 53

Those two pictures are captured from the opening scene of The Bird and The

Worm music video. The situation here is the backstage of The Used‟s music

concert. The camera takes a medium close up shot of the models playing roles

as the audiences of The Used concert. Through these shots, it can be noticed

that their hairstyle become the main objects of the camera conveyed in high

quality light. The first picture is a girl model whose hair is typically Emo

hairstyle: black, straight, and medium sized (Figure 52). The next picture also

describes a boy model with the same typical of Emo hairstyle like the girl

model has (Figure 53). Those scenes are intended to give the description of the

common Emo hairstyle applied by the usual Emo kids besides to strengthen the

image of The Used as an Emo band through the models‟ hairstyle.

ii. Side Bang (Fringe)

The most noticeable characteristic of Emo kids is the use of long side commit to user bang on their hairstyle. As cited on perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id109

http://www.ehow.com/way_5445617_types-emo-hairstyles.html, Boys with

Emo haircuts usually also have side-swept bangs. Their hair is grown out so

that their bangs cover most of a particular side of their face, and their hair is

generally parted to one side or the other. Within the music videos, this kind of

hairstyle is also applied by the members of The Used especially Quinn and

Jeph. The frequent use of long side bang of the members is not only for

strengthening both characters but also the band image as an Emo band whose

members have the characteristic of Emo Kids which is gained from the use of

hairstyle.

Figure 54 Figure 55 Figure 56

Those three pictures place Quinn, the guitarist as the object of camera

which most of them expose the typical hairstyle owned by him. The first

picture is a scene from Blue and Yellow video where Quinn is shit in a close up

mode so that his hairstyle becomes the main center of attention instead of his

face (Figure 54). It can be noticed here that he has a typical of side-banged

hairstyle. The second picture is a scene captured from All That I‟ve Got video

(Figure 55). In this scene, Quinn is placed in the far right of the camera.

Similar with the previous picture, Quinn‟s hairstyle with side bang covering his

face are shot in medium close up shot to give a maximum shot portion to his commit to user hairstyle. The third picture also gives the same impression like the first and perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id110

second picture do. It is a scene captured from The Bird and The Worm video

which applies the narrative concept telling about the band‟s activity before the

concert begins. The medium long shot of Quinn in the middle of fans supported

with the high light focuses on his appearance with side-bang hairstyle which

makes him easily recognizable among the other models of the video.

Like Quinn, the bassist, Jeph‟s appearance is also shot to give the specific

characteristic as an Emo Kid through his hairstyle.

Figure 57 Figure 58

The first picture above is a scene from Blue and Yellow music video made on

2003. The medium close up shot from that scene places Jeph‟s upper

appearance to be the main object of the camera (Figure 57). From this shot

mode, it can be easily noticed that his typical hairstyle: a black long sided bang

hair. The next picture is a scene captured from The Bird and The Worm music

video made on 2007. The medium close up shot places Jeph as the main object

among other models surround him. Here, Jeph still applies the same kind of

Emo hairstyle with a long black side bang covering half of his face (Figure 58).

From those two pictures above, it is noted that black long sided bang

applied on Jeph hairstyle become the commodity within the two videos.

Similar formula like Quinn commit appearance to user in other videos, Jeph‟s shot are perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id111

emphasizing the side bang hairstyle as a requirement of being an Emo Kids. In

other word, this side-banged hairstyle has become a commodity that should

constantly applied by those who want to be involved in Emo subculture.

iii. Gunshot Wound

According to the “Everybody Hurts” by Simon and Kelley published on

2007, gunshot wound hairstyle is a kind of hairstyle with a longer version of

the bowl cut hairstyle with spiky hairs in the back which is also applied by the

members of Emo subculture. It can be found within some of The Used‟s videos

especially from the video I Caught Fire where some models of the video are

shot while applying this kind of hairstyle.

Figure 59 Figure 60 Figure 61

Those pictures are some scenes from I Caught Fire music video made on

2005. The scenes use the models of suburban Emo Kids who have the

identical appearance. In narrative, it is told that the models spend their time

together in the street (Figure 59). Seen from the hairstyle applied by the girls

and the boys from the first until third video, the brown T-shirt girl‟s hair is

typical with the gunshot hairstyle since her hair is spiky in the back side commit to user (Figure 60). The typical of gunshot hairstyle is also applied by the boy model perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id112

(Figure 61) The use of black gunshot hairs repeated in several scenes in this

video makes this hairstyle become the new hairstyle commodity in Emo.

The gunshot wound hairstyle is also found in the video The Bird and The

Worm made on 2007. There‟s a model here applying the same kind of hairstyle

like what can be found in the previous video, I Caught Fire.

Figure 62

A medium close up shot of a boy standing among the crowd of Emo kids above

is the opening scene of The Bird and The Worm music video (Figure 62). The

picture shows how the boy model becomes the object of the camera with his

gunshot wound hairstyle. This scene is intended to give a description of

particular Emo boys with a specific hairstyle appropriate for this subculture. If

it is noticed from the role of the models as the „usual‟ Emo Kids not as the band

members, therefore, equivalent to the previous video, this scene delivers an

idea that gunshot wound hairstyle is appropriate to use by those who want to be

considered as Emo kid. The various shots of Emo kids with their gunshot

hairstyle is possibly intended to give the viewers alternative choice of having

another kind of Emo hairstyle besides medium straight hair and long side-

banged hairstyle.

All of Emo hairstyles above represent the freedom of adolescents to commit to user express their youth freedom. This is what American youth needs in their perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id113

adolescence time. However, medium long hair, gunshot wound and side-

banged hairstyle are kinds of hairstyle which show the feminine side of a boy.

All of hairstyles in The Used music videos are intended to legalize the concept

of less-masculine yet rebellious boy which preferably to apply longer and more

variable kinds of hairstyle rather than short hair as the standard hairstyle

accepted in the society. It has been stated previously that the concept of weak

and vulnerable boys are popular post 9/11 because America is experiencing the

grief and weakness point after realizing the lost battle against the terrorist.

c. Accessories

Besides clothing and hairstyle, today, accessories have been the major

requirement for those who want to be involved as Emo subculture members

(Simon & Kelley, 2007: 46). The most visible accessories used by Emo Kids

are generally tattoos, piercing, wristbands, belts, and shoes. These kinds of

Emo accessories become a huge commodity highlighted by the youth fashion

industry especially in America. Both online and offline shops are digging the

hipping Emo accessories as the main commodity. In The Used‟s music videos,

the exposure of Emo accessories as the main commodity can also be

extensively found

i. Shoes

Shoes as the footwear accessories carried by the members of Emo

subculture have its own characteristic. Emo shoes are mostly correlated with

the type of slip-on model of shoe usually produced by Vans; an American skate commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id114

shoes-maker company which is recognized for its production of slip-on model

of shoes which are mostly used by American Emo kids (Simon & Kelley, 2004:

46, 49) Instead of slip-on, canvas model of shoes produced by Vans are also

applied by the members of Emo subculture.

i ii

i. Vans shoes Slip-on model. http://gmc-vans.com/wp- content/uploads/2011/02/vans-shoes.jpg ii. Vans shoes Canvas model. http://gmc-vans.com/wp-content/ VANS/L/AUTHENTIC_TRUWHT1.jpg

Both of those models of shoes can be found within The Used‟s music videos

entitled I Caught Fire made on 2005 and Empty With You made on 2009.

Figure 63 Figure 64

Those pictures above are captured from different The Used‟s music videos. The

first one is captured from I Caught Fire music video while the second one is

captured from the latest video, Empty With You. Both of the scenes employ the

use of Vans shoes as the main object.commit The to user first picture is a medium shot of Vans perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id115

shoes using the type of slip-on and canvas footwear used by a couple of young

boy and girl as the models of the video. Applying singing performance semi

narrative concept, it can be observed in I Caught Fire video that the boy on the

left side wears a kind of slip on model while the girl wears the canvas ones

(Figure 63). The short duration of shot gives an impression that both models of

shoes are footwear used by most of Emo kids. The second picture is a medium

shot of a band‟s member footwear in Empty With You music video (Figure 64).

The model of shoes found in this scene is identical with the shoes worn by the

girl from the first picture which mean that the member of this band also use

canvas model of shoe too. Both of the scenes are intended to emphasize the

viewers that Vans shoes as the common footwear used by the member of Emo

subculture.

ii. Wristbands

Wristband is an accessory mostly used in the wrist area. Wristband is

frequently used by nowadays Emo kids as an additional accessory (Simon &

Kelley, 2007: 46). This accessory has also become a huge commodity in

American youth fashion which can also be found within The Used‟s music

videos. Both by the band members and the models within the videos wear

wristbands to signify the identity of being the Emo Kids.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id116

Figure 65 Figure 66 Figure 67 Figure 68

The first picture is a scene captured from A Box Full of Sharp Object music

video. Applying the concept of singing performance, Quinn is shot using

medium close up mode of shot that the viewers can observe his appearance.

From his gesture when raising hand, it can be noticed that he wears a wristband

on his wrist. Moving to the second picture, the scene is also captured from the

same video. Bert as the vocalist is shot by the camera using close up mode of

shot. Through his gesture when waving arms, the focus of camera will directly

move to the wristband he wears (Figure 66). This wristband‟s colors, pink and

black, ultimately deliver the typical impression of Emo since both of these

colors are applied in most of Emo‟s fashion (Simon & Kelley, 2007: 65).

Besides showing the use of wristband, this scene also highlights the

combination of pink and black color as a new commodity in Emo boy‟s

fashion.

The third and fourth pictures are captured from I Caught Fire video

whose models represent the presences of general Emo kids. The boy in the first commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id117

picture is shot using medium shot mode focusing on the wristband he wears

(Figure 67). It can be observed from his position and pointing gesture that the

main focus of the camera will note on his black wristbands. Afterward using

medium shot, the camera moves to the other suburban Emo kids in the fourth

picture (Figure 68). The subject of the camera is certainly the appearance of the

red T-shirt girl. As it can be seen obviously, the girl also wears a red wristband

on her right wrist. From those two pictures of Emo Kids, it can be noticed that

the music video want to highlight that the use of wristband is a required

accessory of being an Emo Kids.

iii. Lips and Ears Piercing

Emo kids, especially boys, often pierce their lips and ears with various

forms of piercing. In Emo today, piercing is a must-wear accessories to show

the coolness and artistic side of this youth subculture (Simon & Kelley, 2007:

56). The members of The Used especially Jeph and the ex-drummer Branden

show how piercing becomes commodity in their appearance.

Figure 69 Figure 70 Figure 71

The three pictures above are some scene captures of Jeph the bassist who is

mostly recognized with the use of piercing on his lips and ears. The medium commit to user close up and close up shots of Jeph are proposed to show his appearance of perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id118

using piercings on his lips and ears. The first picture is a scene captured from

Blue and Yellow music video, when Jeph is practicing bass who is shot using

medium close up shot (Figure 69). From this angle, the camera focuses on the

ear piercing he wears. The next picture is also captured from the same video,

Blue and Yellow, using the close up shot that Jeph‟s lip piercing is easily noted

(Figure 70). The last picture of Jeph is captured from The Bird and The Worm

music video scene which also applies the medium shot of the singing Jeph

(Figure 71). From this shot, the viewers can watch and note on Jeph‟s ears

piercing which match with his Emo‟s boy appearance.

Similar like Jeph, Branden, the early drummer of The Used, also employs

lips and ears piercing within music video.

Figure 72 Figure 73

The first picture is a close up shot of Branden in the video, A Box Full of Sharp

Objects. From this shot, Branden‟s lips and ears piercing becomes the object of

the camera (Figure 72). On another picture, Branden is also intentionally shot

using medium close up shot mode to highlight his ears and lips piercing

(Figure 73). Similar with Jeph‟s scenes, these scenes are intentionally made to

make the lips and ears piercing as the commodity in Emo fashion. Although it

is stated that Emo is related to the weakness and vulnerability of youth, the use commit to user of lips and ear piercing shows that Emo can be like Punk which support the anti perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id119

social by taking body piercing. The use of piercing in the video, however, is

not merely used to fight against the social system but turned to such kind of

usual accessories with no meaning. The video as if show that body piercing is

what American adolescents need after the sinking of glamour appearance of

pop stars post 9/11.

iv. Tattoos

For adolescents, tattoo is now commonly made for the artistic purpose. It

is often applied by most of rock musician to the impression of being cool

besides showing the ideas through the patterns and pictures tattooed on skin. In

today various youth subcultures, the use of tattoo does not merely represent the

rebellion act against dominant culture but simply limited for the artistic

purpose. It also happens in Emo subculture nowadays. The use of tattoo is

highly explored within The Used‟s music videos exposed by the band members

such as Bert and Jeph.

Figure 74 Figure 75 Figure 76 Figure 77

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id120

The first picture is a medium close up shot of Bert in Blood on My Hands

music video (Figure 74). The dimness theme of background dominating by

black color with low light reinforces the position of Bert as a vocalist of an

Emo band. While holding the microphone, Bert shows his tattoos that

deliberately become a main object of the camera. The second picture is a scene

taken from Empty With You music video (Figure 75). The position of Bert in

the middle of camera makes him become the main object of the camera

including his appearance. Both of his arms are lighted enough that the viewers

can notice on his arms tattoo.

The third picture is a scene captured from Blue and Yellow music video

(Figure 76). Jeph is shot using medium shot mode that his appearance is clearly

seen together with tattoos on his neck and arms. The fourth picture is a scene

from Empty With You music video which applies the similar shot used in the

third picture (Figure 77). The position of Jeph in the middle of the camera

makes him become the center object especially the presence of tattoo on his

neck. From both of Bert and Jeph‟s scenes which apply the same formula, the

use of tattoo turns into a commodity within Emo fashion. Tattoos here have the

similar function like piercing. It is previously used to show the anti social, but,

here the function of tattoos has shifted into such kind of stuff which American

youth needs wrapped in Emo style.

d. Make Up

Emo is considered as a youth subculture that can free the members,

especially boys, from the „Boycommit Code‟ to user required by other youth subcultures perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id121

(Anastasi, 2005: 304). The sensitive and gloomy impression offered by Emo

subculture give a chance for boys to express themselves in more feminine

appearances. Moreover, emotional performances of the Emo bands of which

members are dominated by boys make this youth subculture are close to the

stereotype of the feminine boys whose appearances are also close to the

„feminine‟ concept (Aslaksen, 2006: 36). The feminine concept can be seen

from the wearing of tight T-shirt, tight jeans and side-banged hairstyle. Besides

concerning on that girlish clothing, Emo boys often wear dark eyeliner and nail

polish to emphasize the „gloomy‟ and feminine sense of this subculture. These

two essential make up are often used by Emo boys to emphasize the meaning

of being an Emo Kid. The application of this required make up can also be

found within some of The Used music videos.

i. Eyeliner

Eyeliner is the essential make up of being an Emo Kid (Simon & Kelley,

2007: 36). Today, the members of this youth subculture often wear eyeliner to

emphasize the gloominess idea within it. A person will be considered as Emo,

if he or she wears black eyeliner. The used of eyeliner can also be found within

The Used‟s music videos. Bert, as the vocalist, emphasizes the wearing of

eyeliner, both red and black, through his performances on some videos.

Figure 79 commit to user Figure 80 Figure 81 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id122

Those are two captures of Bert‟s singing performance on several videos.

The close up shots of Bert highlights on the wearing of eyeliner on his eyes.

The first picture is a scene captured from Take It Away music videos made on

2004. The trending Emo in America around 2004, make everything related to

this youth subculture become the commodity including the eyeliner. Through

this close up shot, Bert‟s eyes wearing eyeliner become the object so that the

viewer‟s attention will be directly led to his eyes area (Figure 79). As it is seen

on the shot, Bert‟s eyes area is filled with the red eyeliner, which has been

known as one of the make up requirement of being an Emo Kid. While the

camera shots Bert‟s face, this vocalist screams loudly till he can not open his

eyes widely. The combination of Bert‟s close up shot of his eyes area and his

screaming voice has signified the standard Emo boy. This shot is intended to

show the viewers about how the Emo boy should wear to be considered as

Emo.

The use of eyeliner can be found also on gothic subculture which

highlighted the dark and death theme

(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/fashion/18GOTH.html) In Emo, the

function of eyeliner might be the same since Emo is also raising the gloomy

and dark theme. It can be correlated with the terrible event of 9/11 in America

which causes death and grief. As the gloomy youth subculture, the media

through this The Used music video has commodified eyeliner as part of Emo

accessories.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id123

The second picture is a scene captured form I Caught Fire video made on

2005. The dimness blue lighting makes Bert‟s face blurred and unclear, still,

the red line under his eyes is obviously seen (Figure 80). After emphasizing on

Bert‟ eyes area, the shot moves to the scene where Bert puts a red flower from

his lips (Figure 81). These two shots are intended to make the viewer see the

gloominess side of Emo through the dimness lighting behind and spot on the

feminine side of an Emo boy through the red flower on Bert‟s lips.

ii. Black Nail Polish

Besides eyeliner, nail polish is another make up used by most of Emo

members. Similar like eyeliner, black is the dominant nail polish color applied

by the members to highlight the darkness theme derived also from Goth

subculture. In some of The Used music videos, the band members like Bert and

the early drummer, Branden wear black polish on their finger nails.

Figure 82 Figure 83

The medium close up shot of Bert make him possible to show his hand on

Blood on My Hands music video made on 2009 (Figure 82). As it seen above

that Bert raises his hands to the camera that the viewers an watch his tattoos

and black fingernails polish. Added with the dimness light behind him, his

appearance including his blackcommit fingernails to user raises the darkness impression perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id124

which is mostly exposed by this youth subculture. The next picture is

Branden‟s scene, the early drummer of The Used from A Box Full of Sharp

Object video (Figure 83). The close up shot mostly focuses on his face and his

fingers. Noticed on his fingers, Branden polishes his fingers with black nail

polish similar like Bert does. Those two shots, however, are made to show the

viewers that black nail polish is a required make up in Emo fashion.

2. The commodification of Emo Behavior in The Used’s Music Videos

Besides fashion, behavior related to the Emo theme is another commodity

found within The Used‟s music videos. By exploring the performers‟ behavior,

music videos have strengthened the basic theme brought by the music. Here, The

Used music videos highlight the general Emo theme such as rebellion and anxiety

carried out by the performers. Soelle states that in the adolescence phase, music

has a big role in creating a space for young people to express their anxiety feeling:

In music, the performers‟ manipulation of language, rhythm and syntax creates images and gives meaning beyond the mere content of the lyrics. With a proficient understanding of music and how it affects people, along with lyrics that connect with adolescents, the artist can create an environment, where adolescents may feel

free to face the painful issues in their lives as described by the artist or triggered by the similarity of the lyrical circumstance (Soelle in Anastasi, 2005: 311)

If music performer affects young listeners in providing a place for expressing

youth common feeling of anxiety and rebellion, it is possibly for both sides to

build an intimate connection that evoking the idolatry thinking from the listeners

toward the performers (Peeters, 2004: 8). The idolatry attitude encourages the commit to user listeners to follow everything created by the performers through the music. This perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id125

idolatry attitude, however, has emerged a chance for the industries to take a

further step, for example, by making the music video. Peeters affirms that if music

is visualized through music video, the performers will give the audiovisual

element and enchant attraction that illuminates all viewers (ibid: 2). If the artists

successfully communicate with the viewers through music video, then they may

be able to establish a deeper connection with the young audiences. The connection

profoundly runs that make young people slowly consider the connection as a way

to imitate everything shown by performers including the behavior. Tudor wrote:

…the fact that movie characters could be effective ideological tools can be explained by the phenomenon of identification, a process by which viewers become attached to a star, ranging from emotional affinity limited to the context of the movie theater to projection, by which fans try to become their idols through imitating speech, movements …(Tudor in Peeters, 2004: 9)

Behavior, as Hebdige states, is a symbolic style of youth subculture‟s

members to acquire a space in a society. In other words, behavior is interpreted as

the realization of youth expressions toward the mainstream culture standardized

by parents. Through media exposure, most of youth subcultures‟ behavior is

labeled as the defiant behavior causing moral panic (Hebdige, 1979: 94, 96). In a

reverse, media have an authority to redefine youth subculture behavior into the

more accepted one. It gives the unusual behavior of youth subculture as a defiant

group a legal label. As the hit creator, media sell the image of youth subculture

through the legalization of its behavior. For example, if a person wants to be

considered as the member of Punk subculture, the media gives a policy for him or

her to act like members of Punk whose behavior are labeled by the media itself.

The presence of music video can be an effective tool to sell the image of the commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id126

performers related to the subcultural group they represent. The behavior shown by

the performers within the music video will not be far away from the main theme

of youth subculture they signify. The behavior within the music video is the

primary way to arbitrate the values of certain youth subculture. The viewers are

purposively intended to act like what the performers show on videos to be

considered as the members of youth subculture. In this case, the exclusive value of

youth subculture has been commodified in which the viewers can do the same

thing without considering the original value of a youth subculture. It also means

that everything related to the subculture can be judged only from what music

videos show. Therefore, since Emo today highlights the gloomy side of

adolescence phase including the feeling of lost, hurt, heartbreak, suffering and

lamentation (Anastasi, 205: 313), the commodification process can be seen from

how the performers of music video actualize the value of Emo through their

performing acts.

In analyzing The Used videos, it is acquired that major Emo theme has been

exaggeratedly exploited by the performers. The general theme like rebellion and

anxiety are combined well to give the strong meaning of being Emo. The exposure

of these two major themes emphasizes the standard for adolescents to be involved

within the subculture which can encompass the two reverse feelings of general

adolescents in Emo subculture sphere.

a. Youth Rebellion

Rebellion is the basic idea which has triggered various youth subcultures to commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id127

emerge. The unsynchronized relationship between young and old generation is the

basic cause why various youth subcultures come out in the society. Historically in

1980s, the phenomenal youth subculture, Punk, emerged because of the

dissatisfaction of young people toward the system of parents culture standardized

by the high class people. Young people who mostly come from blue collar people

need to acquire a space for expressing their ideas, what they feel in the

adolescence phase to the society. The imbalance position between parents who

rule the mainstream culture and their children has triggered the rebellion to

happen. When the children have found the space to grow up, they will practice all

of the ideologies within it. Historically, Punk is a youth subculture which

actualizes the rebellious ideas in various actions as El Bashir writes:

One can say that the punk subculture emerged in opposition to mass culture... The subculture has many ideologies that have always been a form of shock and rebellion, thus it was often viewed negatively. The political ideology most commonly found in punk is anarchism, which is expressed in some songs. Along with this, punks have anti-capitalistic, anti-commercial, and non-conformist views. (El Bashir, 2004: 61)

Like Punk, before it is highly exploited by the mainstream media, other

youth subcultures with each own rebellious ideas are always on the opposite side

of mainstream culture. The society in common often considers negatively toward

the rebellious actions they take since they all are in a reverse with the normal

norms and rules. Punk has committed itself as a place for young people to express

their idea free from the involvement of the commercialism and conformism

through the establishment of the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic which later becomes

the most noticeable idea from this subculture. Azerrad affirms that DIY ethic is a

realization of Punk‟s rebellious ideacommit encouraging to user the members to settle on the perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id128

independent area (Azerrad, 2001: 6). It means that Punk has actualized the

rebellion through the use of this ethic in covering everything they practice in the

members‟ daily life.

As Punk is developed into other youth subcultures like Emo and Hardcore,

the actualization of DIY ethic was kept running in those subdivisions. Emo

previously was recognized as the root of Hardcore-Punk youth subculture which

fought back the standard and mainstream culture through Do It Yourself ethic but

in a more sensitive and personal way. However, Emo nowadays has lost its

rebellious side since the media has widely misused it as a new form of marketable

product. DIY as the realization of rebellious idea previously held by Punk has

been taunted by media so that its rebellious side does not appear anymore.

Similarly, Schwartz and Merten explain this phenomenon as the new form of

agreement of mainstream culture controlled by parents and the children in various

youth subcultures. They affirm that the traditional cycle of the intense conflict

followed by reconciliation when the younger generation takes its place in society

seems less common today than in the past (Schwarz and Merten, 1967: 458). It

means that nowadays youth subculture do not take a serious rebellious actions

since there is dominant factor like media that has been very potential to replace

the image of a youth subculture.

In Emo nowadays, the original rebellious actions have been replaced with

the perception of media in redefining its „rebel‟ side. There is an accord between

the wide society and today youth subculture in understanding the meaning of

rebellion. Through the music video for example, the rebel side of previous Emo commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id129

has been replaced with the rebel side of new Emo dominated by the performance

of the performers within the music videos. In other words, it can be said that the

rebellion has been commodified into the smoother one which is impossibly free

from anti capitalism sense so that everyone can accept this idea. Through The

Used music videos below, it can be seen that there are commodification of

rebellious behavior within the Emo youth subculture.

i. Blue and Yellow

In Blue and Yellow video, the rebellious side is found within the

performances of the band members and the models which consist of the

audiences whom intentionally appeared. The singing performance concept of

band performing on the stage has strengthened the ambience of rebellious side

of Emo. Below are the scenes showing the rebellious side of The Used when

performing on the stage.

Figure 84 Figure 85

To highlight the rebellious side of the band‟s music video, the camera captures

the situation both in the venue and from the audiences‟ arena. On the stage, the

band accentuates the rebellious side of Emo through the performance of Bert

who takes a headbang action (Figure 84). Added with the performance of other

band members behind him who also play the music instruments commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id130

enthusiastically, this scene gives the impression of common rock stars that

mostly relates to the rebellion thing while having stage performance. The using

of low key lighting behind the band clearly emphasizes the sense of rock band

concert. While this scene is lasting, Bert screams the phrase “Well you‟ll never

find it, if you‟re looking for it”. His screaming voice over the assembling music

instruments is proposed to strengthen Emo rebellious side. This screaming

technique can be found also in the previous 1980s Emo to express the painful

feeling of the song. However, screaming was not the most noticeable rebellious

sign of the old Emo bands because they still really practiced the DIY ethic by

avoiding the mainstream media interventions, establishing independent record

labels and considering the music as the place of youth expression not as the

saleable thing. The spotlight of Bert‟s screaming action in this scene gives the

general description of Emo today which only highlights the rebellious side

from the stage performance especially when screaming technique appears.

The next figure is a scene of diving action of the audiences while The

Used‟s band members are performing on the stage (Figure 85). The angle of

camera shows how almost all of the audiences appreciate this „diving‟ by put

their hands up to lift a boy audience. This action shows that there is a strong

relationship between the band as the performers on the stage and the audiences.

Also, this action can be found in almost rock concerts. The rebellious action of

this audiences‟ scene is used to show the general description of the members of

Emo youth subculture in general when they are coming to the concert. Similar

like the previous scene, diving action is not the only thing that is used to show commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id131

the rebellious action of previous Emo in 1980s when it was not intervened by

mainstream media. Those two scenes show that the rebellious sides can only be

gained from the stage performances of a band and audiences‟ responds without

any further action like what usually found in the previous Emo in 1980s

practicing DIY ethic.

Why can this rebellion be accepted nowadays? The media, as usual,

control the hipping phenomenon in the society. American adolescents who

grow up post 9/11 tragedy are different from American adolescents who grew

up in 1980s. Seen from its social life, the 1980s adolescents lived in a strong

and powerful America which can create everything independently. Although at

that time industries ruled the every aspects of youth life shown by the growing

up of mainstream music on MTV, the adolescents still had the power to sustain

the ideology of a youth subculture. However, the media did not involve their

action because other youth stuffs such as MTV-music type were accepted well

due to the euphoria of America‟s good condition. Post 9/11 changes Americans

perception toward everything. Like what have been explained in the earlier

chapter, the glamour stuffs are not suitable with the condition of America in

general. Since the media places as the next big thing for Americans adolescents

post 9/11, everything related to Emo including the rebellious actions are

considered as the standard of being involved in Emo. Rebellion is not merely

an awareness of the members of youth subcultures to fight against the

mainstream culture like what happened in the early Emo, but simply change

into the stage performance and audience response like what can be seen from commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id132

this Blue and Yellow music video.

ii. A Box Full of Sharp Objects

Emo nowadays still practiced the rebellious actions but not like the

previous rebellion of Emo found in the 1980s history. Emo is not something

underground anymore even its rebellious actions are out as the new commodity

to attract the attention of adolescent who look for the identity. The rebellion as

a commodity in Emo youth subculture appears on The Used‟s music video

entitled A Box Full of Sharp Objects. Using singing performance concept, it

can be fully gained that the band members emphasize the rebellious side

through the stage performance rather than giving the basic rebellious ideas of a

youth subculture.

Figure 86 Figure 87 Figure 88

The first scene shows the performance of Bert and Quinn on the stage. The

angle of the camera focuses on how Quinn plays guitar passionately and Bert

spurts beer form his mouth (Figure 86). Their performance have emphasized

the rebel side of rockstars which can easily found on other rock music concerts.

Spurting beer while singing is an obvious act of rebellion where a singer can

express his feeling. This action, for sure, will not be found in other music

concert like pop or RnB. Thiscommit what makes to user Emo is different from mainstream perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id133

music in 2000s because it explores the sensitive and rebellious feeling at once

in every Emo band‟s stage perfromance.

The next figure is a scene of Bert in a stage performance to show the

rebellious side of Emo nowadays. Seen from the way he sings, his actions still

encompass the sense of rockstar‟s rebellion in general (Figure 87). The long

shot picture gives an impression of The Used as a band who perform in front of

the audiences. The stage lighting shows that it is a scene of rock concert not

pop concert. There, Bert jumps while singing the phrase of the lyric

enthusiatically “Today I feel and felt better, just knowing this matters I just feel

stronger and sharper”. In the end of the phrase, Bert screams the „sharper‟

part, the action which can usually be found in any nowadays Emo band. The

fast beat of drum and guitar rhytm with full techniques giving the strong

impression in the song as a rock song not a ballad one. The combination of the

lyric, music and Bert‟s stage performance emphasize the rebellion of

adolescents in the perspective of Emo today. The phrase “Today I feel and felt

better, just knowing this matters I just feel stronger and sharper” makes an

impact on the strong and unbeatable young people which commonly close to

the rebellious acts. The rebellion is also initiated in the next figure which is a

scene of Jeph Howard playing bass keenly in the video while the bass

dominating the music. The short duration of his stage performance, however, is

used to strengthen the rebellious side of The Used as an Emo band (Figure 88).

Considering the condition of America post 9/11, it is impossible for

young people to go back to the previous situation when everything was strong commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id134

and poweful so that they can happily enjoy life like what is described by pop,

hip hop and RnB music and totally fight against the system like what is

practiced by underground Punk in 1980s and 1990s. Emo youth subculture is

considered as a right place for American adolescents to express their feeling

due to the anxiety of adolescence phase and national grief after the tragedy of

9/11. However, the ambience atmosphere after the tragedy encourages young

people to focus on themselves and to deeply explore their feeling since the

media also support it by exploiting Emo youth subculture. Unlike the previous

Emo who mainly focused on the rebellious efforts to sustain this hardcore punk

rooted youth subculture from the mainstream media, Emo today only depicts

the rebellious sense in the stage performance of the band. Incongruously, these

rebellious acts have been appeared in the video as the requirement to be

involved in nowadays Emo.

iii. I Caught Fire (In Your Eyes)

Like what have been repeatedly stated before, rebellion according to Emo

nowadays does not merely apply the DIY or Do It Yourself ethic anymore

because everything is handled by the media so that the DIY ethic which

generally rejects the interaction with the mainstream media has been replaced

with the new squashier ideas. Through another The Used music video entitled I

Caught Fire, it can be gained that the rebellion of previous Emo with its DIY

ethic has been replaced with another ethic focusing on the peer relationship.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id135

Figure 89 Figure 90 Figure 91 Figure 92

The scenes above are captured from I Caught Fire music video which applies

the singing performance semi narrative concept. The narrative side performs

the models of Emo Kids consisting of suburban boy and girl adolescents. Their

fashions, like what have been discussed in the previous subchapter, have

strengthened the sense of being Emo so that everything they perform there is

close to Emo meaning. The first figure is a scene where a group of Emo Kids

are sitting in front of the closed shop (Figure 89). The angle shows how they

have so strong relationship as a youth subculture that they sit together in the

edge of the road with their peers, a common idea which is usually found in any

kind of youth subculture. The next figure is a scene when Emo Kids are

walking along together to the unknown place. Using similar angel like the

previous scene, it can be seen that the kids walk to the same direction (Figure

90). One direction means that they have a really close relationship which

covers the unity idea in Emo besides the rebellion since they live on the street.

Their appearances and actionscommit at least to user have explained Emo as a rebellious perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id136

youth subculture. Just wearing the similar fashion and hanging around together

will simply mean that the Emo Kids are rebels. It is very different with the

previous Emo youth subculture which actualize the rebellion by producing the

music and concert independently not simply spotlighting on fashion and peer

relationship.

The next two scenes captured from the video are also used to strengthen

the other rebellious sides of Emo as a youth subculture. The next figure is a

scene where the kids are stepping on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame

(Figure 91). The camera takes close up shot of a Hollywood Walk of Fame star

under the feet of those kids. Hollywood Walk of Fame is popular as the

appreciation symbol for the Hollywood stars who have dedicated their life for

film. This scene unintentionally describes the Emo members as the rebel kids.

The scene raises an impression that the kids are different from the normal

people whose names are represented by the names written on the Hollywood

Walk of Fame star. The next scene is a close up shot of a paper board with the

typography “Let‟s be honest. It‟s for beer” (Figure 92). Beer signifies the

popular alcohol drink which mostly becomes a favorite drink for adolescents in

general. The scene intentionally confirms that beer is the basic need of those

Emo Kids. Sometimes, drinking beer contain of alcohol will prove that

somebody is strong and rebel. The rebellious side here is only proven by the

consumption of alcohol drink rather than doing something more useful like

what was found in 1980s Emo.

The regular appearance of Emo Kids in the media has proven that commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id137

rebellious side of this youth subculture has been commodified. The early Emo,

like Punk, actualized its rebellious idea through the application of DIY ethic

within the subculture. However, after dejecting by the media, Emo today

focuses the rebellious actions on the daily life simply like peer relationship and

alcohol consumption. Why is this new form of rebellion easily accepted by the

media? As it is known that post 9/11 American need a healing phase to build

back its power. The out coming of Emo in youth life is punctually right since

media has publicized it as a sensitive youth subculture which can cover youth

life to compromise with the mainstream culture by only focusing in daily

activity not the brutal one akin to old Punk and hardcore youth subculture in

1980s. Peer relationship is what this young American generation needs because

before 9/11 happened, most of them focused on their individual business.

iv. Blood on My Hands

Another video showing the commodified rebellion in Emo youth

subculture is Blood on My Hands. Here, the video applies singing performance

semi narrative concepts fully performed by the band members. Bert, the main

character in the video, shows the rebellion through his acting. Mainly this

music video narrates about Bert as a psycho who has killed more than one

victim.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id138

Figure 93 Figure 94

The scenes above are captured from Blood on My Hands music video. The first

figure is an opening scene of the video where Bert sits alone in a dark room

(Figure 93). The long shot camera is used to catch all of his appearance

together with the background behind him. Here, Bert clutches a cigarette

between his fingers while thinking something seriously. The low key lighting

in this scene stresses on the gloomy atmosphere which can be occasionally

found in any music video related to Emo. A cigarette which he clutches along

with his informal fashion signifies the rebellious idea in a new form. In the

past, rebellion can be got from the real action of adolescents in the society by

applying DIY ethic, now the rebellious sense of Emo is found from the similar

appearance and smoking habit like Bert does.

The last figure is a close up shot of Bert‟s hands full of blood while

holding a knife while stabbing on a man‟s body (Figure 94). This bloody scene

is the main scene in the video since it is suitable with the title of the song. Bert

stabs the victim when the assembled instruments of the music simply played in

a faster tempo and he sings the phrase “There's blood on my hands like the

blood in you. Some things can't be treated so don't make me, don't make me be

myself around you”. The capturing of this scene reveals assassination as the

new form of rebellious idea in Emo way. Combined with the lyric, this scene

raises the threatening act which is actualized with the assassination act.

Assassination or murdering was not considered as rebellious act in the previous

Emo. However, Bert‟s acting herecommit shows to user that Emo member can be rebels too perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id139

by simply kill anyone. Assassination is put as the new rebellious idea in this

music video.

In 1980s, Emo youth subculture did not take the harmful action like the

tough of killing anybody else in showing the rebellious ideas although Emo

avoided the mainstream culture interfere. The previous Emo only focused on

how created the exclusive space for expressing the ideas through the

production of different music. However, after being exploited exaggeratedly,

Emo now always relates to something gloomy, sad and even brutal like suicide

and assassination similar like Bert‟s action in the video. This new rebellion

related to suicide and assassination can be accepted in Americans youth‟s life

since the various media take Emo gloomy feeling excessively as the new trend

after the tragedy of 9/11. Even, according to the report, Emo youth subculture

has caused the rising number of suicidal action among adolescents in

American. It proves that Emo now is close to the demising thought as the

extended form of rebellious ideas.

b. Youth Anxiety

Adolescence is a phase when young people try to look for their identity in

facing the next adulthood phase. In particular, adolescents experience the

adolescence phase at a deep and painful level (Nouwen in Anastasi, 2005: 303).

This phase of finding the identity is often followed by the anxiety feelings where

most adolescents feel insecure, lost, and desperate. Besides, they have to struggle

to get a right place for expressing their anxiety feeling. Emo as a youth subculture commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id140

based on hardcore-punk music can respond this condition well by perceiving the

youth anxiety sensitively, not violently, through its behavior as the symbolic

system of communication. Youth anxiety generally is a major theme of Emo music

which includes the feeling of desperate, lonely, hurt, rejected, lost, and insecure.

Although the theme is mainly used within this subculture, the previous Emo in

1980s did not take these values too deeply. It could be proven by the application

of DIY ethic showing that the previous Emo had a position as the susceptible yet

independent youth subculture. However, by the exploitation of the media, now the

theme is the only thing that is highly exploited within this youth subculture

regardless to the independent ethic which makes Emo is the most vulnerable youth

subculture since it focuses only on the anxiety feeling of adolescence phase.

In analyzing the videos, here, the view of youth anxiety is based on the

common performance of the performers within the video related to the Emo theme

not on the psychological aspect of the anxious feeling. Therefore, the

psychological approach is not appropriate to use in the analysis since subjects that

are being analyzed are correlated only with Emo‟s behavior as the commodity

within the video. The following The Used music videos show how anxiety is

commodified under the label of Emo subculture.

i. Buried Myself Alive

In Buried Myself Alive music video aired on 2003, the anxiety sense is

acquired from the narrative mixed with singing performance video concept

telling about the four band members with each individual problem which commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id141

visually and symbolically described by scenes as follows:

Figure 95 Figure 96

The scene above lasts from 00:00:37 until 00:01:05 which tells about Bert who

is being trapped inside a coffin. While the scene is lasting, Bert sings the lyric

“well this time I‟m not going to watch myself die… I think I made it a game to

play your game and let myself cry... I buried myself alive on the inside so I

could shut you out and let you go away for a long time...” The highlighting of

Bert‟s slow voice over the assembling band instruments gives a possibility for

the viewers to hear what he sings while watching his performance on the music

video. From the beginning of the scene it can be seen that Bert holds a lighter

while being trapped in a coffin (Figure 95). This scene is intended to show the

effort of Bert who tries to escape from the coffin. The medium close up shot let

the viewers observe what Bert does inside the coffin. The low key lighting

from the lighter is used to emphasize the gloomy sense inside the coffin (Figure

96). Added with the phrase from the lyric “well this time I‟m not going to

watch myself die … I buried myself alive on the inside...” the scene tries to

visualize the desperate feeling experienced by Bert because logically if

somebody is buried alive in a coffin, he or she is going to die soon due to the

lack of oxygen..

The visualization of lyriccommit in this to scene user is purposively made to illustrate perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id142

the same idea that being buried alive is torturing although being buried here

does not literally mean „really buried in the soil‟ but a sense of very deep

depression. Of course, in visual Bert‟s acting commonly reveal the sense of

being depressed which feels like facing the death. The phrase „I‟m not going to

watch myself die‟ represents the suicidal idea which in general suicide is known

as the deadly effect of being depressed. As it is known in America today that

the number of depression and suicidal action among young people is rising due

to the problems surround youth life (http://ezinearticles.com/?Facts-About-

Teen-Depression-You-Need-To-Know&id=789323). Emo is considered to

respond this problem seriously through music and lyric that provides a space

for adolescents for exploring their anxiety. Desperate feeling related to suicidal

idea has been commodified within the videos to fit the image of performers as

Emo band, like what can be seen in Bert‟s scenes. The idea of being buried

alive inside the coffin till the vocalist is dying shown by these scenes show

how the depression has been a commodity to strengthen The Used‟s image as

an Emo band.

Figure 97 Figure 98

The picture above illustrates about the hanging Quinn which lasts from

00:01:55 until 00:02:03 using a messy room with nobody in it as the setting of

place of the scene. Quinn, the guitarist, tries to release himself from the ropes commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id143

or belts which hang him up (Figure 97). The low key lighting coming out from

the window here indicates the gloomy situation of the room while the hanging

Quinn who tries to release himself symbolizes the alienation and hopelessness

since nobody is coming to help him. Captured using normal angle, the focus is

only on Quinn‟s effort of letting his body loose from the tight rope (Figure 98).

The lyric “I guess its okay I puked the day away, I guess it‟s better you trapped

yourself in your own way and if you want me back, you‟re gonna have to ask

nicer than that” sung by Bert strengthen the desperation described by Quinn‟s

performance. By using the visualization of the video, the word „I‟ does not

merely refer to Bert, the vocalist, but also to every viewer who sing it and

explore the music vide deeply while the word ‟you‟ may refer to other person

which could be a girlfriend, friend, family or another figure who has hurt the

„I‟‟s feeling or made mistake on the „I‟‟s life. This lyric, together with the

visualization of the video starred by Quinn, emphasizes sort senses of

adolescence‟s anxiety feeling similar like what have been illustrated by Bert‟s

scenes.

The two other members of The Used also perform the symbolic way of

desperation in several scenes. Branden, the early drummer of The Used, is

described of being a lost boy trapped in a room full of mirrors so that he can

not find the way out instead of being confused of seeing his various reflections

everywhere. He can not find the right reflection until finally he decides to

break out the mirrors (Figure 99).

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id144

Figure 99

The slow tempo of music instruments let Bert‟s voice come up when the

Branden‟s scene appears. The lyric “I took advantage of myself and felt fine but

it was worth the night...” plainly brings the impression of being regret on

something. „I took advantage, felt fine‟ and „it was worth the night‟ are such

kind of irony since the word „advantage‟ and „felt fine‟ contains optimistic

sense while „worth the night‟ tends to raise negative sense because it raises an

impression to „something that has been late‟ or failure. The viewers are invited

to feel this regression feeling through the visualization of Branden who is

desperately trying to find a way out from a room full of mirrors. The

illustration of Branden delivers the meaning of confusedness in adolescence

phase to look for the right identity. It has become a common problem that in

this phase, many American adolescents are trying to find their identity through

the deep and painful experience.

Jeph, the bassist in other scenes is narrated of being a drowning boy who

tries to get out from the flooding water in a scene from 00:02:15 until 00:02:30.

Figure 100 commit Figure to user 101 Figure 102 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id145

While Jeph scene is appeared, Bert clearly sings the bridge-lyric “with my foot

on your neck…I finally have you, right where I want you”. The lyric brings an

impression of desperate feeling which has been translated visually by Jeph‟s

effort to escape from the flooding water alone without any help (Figure 100 -

Figure 102). This scene symbolically describes the painful feeling of an

adolescent who tries to get out from problems surrounding his youth life since

he or she feels like to face the anxiety problems alone. This scene describes the

desperate theme raised by Emo. The long medium long shot of Jeph lets the

viewers watch and understand his hard effort to get out from the water for

several times. Similarly, it will raise the impression like what can also be found

from other members‟ scenes: the hard efforts in overcoming the problems

happen in youth life alone, a theme that is acceptable in nowadays Emo.

And why is desperate theme in Emo accepted by most American

adolescents? Emo here does not merely reveal the common anxiety feeling in

adolescence phase but also the gloomy feeling of most American post 9/11

event. Like what has been stated in the previous chapter, 9/11 aftermath brings

a massive effect to Americans in every sector of life. In youth life, the previous

glamour lifestyle to respond the pre and post millennium hysteria has shifted

reversely into the gloomier one as form of commiseration toward the national

suffering. This process is certainly stirred by the role of media in making the

gloomy stuffs as the new trend in youth life. The early Emo in 1980s and 1990s

were not really famous in America because the media have not exaggeratedly

explored the gloominess of this subculture. The theme carried out by 1980s and commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id146

1990s Emo did not represent the major American life at those eras since

America was recognized as the most powerful country, the police of the world

which was strengthened after the victory of Cold War with Uni Soviet in the

early of 1990s. Desperation was not commonly found in youth life. This theme

was still exclusively owned by the underground American hardcore youth

subculture in 1980s rooted in Washington D.C such as Rites of Spring.

However, the media have found that Emo is a right stuff to replace the glamour

theme with something sensitive which encompasses the national grief post 9/11

and the anxiety feeling of adolescence phase. Emo which is exclusive at first

become popular because of the exaggerated exploitation. Therefore,

desperation brought Emo is now a major theme which simply accepted by

Americans especially youth.

ii. Taste of Ink

Another The Used‟s video describing about youth anxiety is Taste of Ink.

Here, Bert dramatically shows his anxiety feeling through the scene where he

is sitting alone in a base room of his house.

Figure 103 Figure 104

Captured using long shot frame, it can be seen that Bert sits alone on the sofa

while anxiously thinks about something (Figure 103). The room where Bert sits

alone is such a messy one. Thecommit wall is tofull user of scratches while the goods are not perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id147

put in order well. The low key lighting strengthens the anxiety sense while Bert

in the beginning of this scene clearly sings the lyric “Is it worth it can you even

hear me, standing with your spotlight on me”. The visualization of lyric

illustrates Bert‟s anxiety feeling as a young boy, representing the common

adolescents. „Can you even hear me, standing with your spotlight on me‟ here

means that Bert, of which rule as the common young boy, feels the terrible

loneliness because he doubt that somebody can hear him although they are

close to Bert‟s life. The medium close up shot of Bert chewing the pen which

he used for scratching the wall behind it strengthens the alien and lonely theme

(Figure 104). This scene painfully illustrates Bert‟s desperate feeling which

make him chews the pen as a result of his anxiousness. Generally, this scene

describes the common anxiety of adolescents‟ life where most of them are

doubt about the people‟s existence on their life.

Most of adolescents feel that adolescence phase is irritating because they

are demanded to grow up with the standard of normal society. In America,

before 9/11 tragedy, young people did not have the right place for expressing

their anxiety feeling. Adolescence phase was considered as joyful phase where

they can find the new experience which has not been found yet in childhood

time. Culturally, the media supported the joy side of adolescence phase by

exposing normal stuff such as pop music, blinking stuffs and the like. There

was almost no space for adolescents to express their anxiety feeling because

media at that time focused on the powerful era of America so that everything

was considered normal and tough. However, 9/11 tragedy proves that America commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id148

is not merely the strongest and most powerful country anymore but a weak and

vulnerable one. America needs the healing stuff which can cover the condition

of American after the tragedy. Emo is easily marketable in the media because it

captures the right moment when most of American begins to explore the

gloominess, misery and vulnerability. Also, Emo becomes a right place to

express the anxiety feeling experienced by young people in general. Bert‟s

scene above shows how Emo today has covered the individual problem of

adolescents such as terrible loneliness. Adolescence phase means anxiety.

Anxiety is really close with loneliness while loneliness is the aspect of misery

of which Americans in general experienced after 9/11 tragedy. Loneliness is

something accepted in Emo youth subculture which other youth subculture

based on rock music can not admit. It makes Emo something that is exploitable

by the American media. In fact, the early Emo youth subculture members

originally applied DIY ethic which means that they were more powerful and

independent than what is appeared on the media now. The loneliness was not

important on the early Emo subculture, but now loneliness is really acquired

within Emo subculture.

iii. Take It Away

The next video showing about the exploitation of anxiety feeling is Take

It Away. Applying singing performance semi narrative concept, the video

mostly describes about young people‟s anxiety including the hopeless,

confused and alienated feeling. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id149

Figure 105 Figure 106 Figure 107 Figure 108

Those four pictures above are captured differently from Take It Away music

video. Here, Bert acts as young boy who is nervously facing his surrounding

environment. Using the night as setting of time, those scenes impress alienated

and confused feeling through Bert‟s performances. The first scene appear in

the beginning of the song, where the guitar riffs and bass lines are entering the

song together with the fast beat of the drum. There, Bert is anxiously awake on

his bed because he can not sleep due to the insomnia he suffers (Figure 105).

Insomnia or sleep disorder often happens if people excessively think about the

problems they have. The low key light on a medium close up shot enable the

viewers to watch Bert‟s unhappy expression caused by his personal problems.

Bert represents most of American adolescents in having the similar problem

that they have to overcome it alone.

Move to the next scene, Bert finally decides to go out of his room since

he cannot sleep (Figure 106). The long shot using night crowded road as the

background reinforce Bert‟s character as a lonely young boy in a crowded

place. This scene describes the adolescent‟s terrible loneliness which becomes

the main theme within Emo today. Added with the lyric, “I'm a worm with no

more chances” while this scene lasts, the impression of desperation and useless

is highly highlighted here. „I‟m a worm‟ phrase strengthens Bert‟s visualization commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id150

of a lonely and useless young boy because in reality, worm refers to the weak

invertebrate animal which does not have enough power to survive. „With no

more chances‟ emphasizes the hopeless sense of facing what has happened in

youth life.

The scene then moves to a bright place inside a hospital where Bert

stands in front of older people and furiously screams “I'm so apathetic in my

resentment, Living, loving, knowing not” while the other band instruments are

highly distorted to support the lyric‟s intention (Figure 107). The use of

„apathetic in resentment‟ phrase describes the feeling of uselessness. „Living,

loving, knowing not‟ phrase delivers an idea of boredom in life. This feeling is

commonly experienced by most American young people as Anastasi states that

many adolescents have an intense need to feel love and accepted. They

desperately seek love and acceptance but often lack the means to attain it

(Anastasi, 2005: 303). Bert as the young boy here represents the common

feeling of adolescents in being rejected by the society since nobody really cares

of his presence. The last picture is a scene when Bert is cornered alone in a bus

while lip-singing “take my hand” for eight times (Figure 108). The low key

lighting impresses the gloominess and vulnerability feeling of a young boy.

The phrase „take my hand‟ here is deliberately made to show the adolescents‟

longing for attention, help and love.

Here, The Used‟s music video has reflected the common adolescence

problem related to the feeling of confused, unnoticed and useless. The

application of those general youth problems within the video is intended to commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id151

show that Emo is a right subculture where young people can freely express

their common problems. Produced after 9/11 event, as it has previously stated

that Emo has successfully captured the grief moment common Americans with

the anxiety feeling of young people in their adolescence phase. Compared to

the previous rock band before the tragedy happened, the adolescence problem

themes are not commonly exploited in rock music. It happens too to several

youth subcultures like hip hop for instance, which applies the hedonism, the

joyful youth and other optimist themes of being youth. Emo in the first wave,

around 1980s, still applied the optimistic sense of being young by practicing

DIY ethic. However, it has changed since 9/11 tragedy happened. Stroke by the

terrible event in a sudden, America is now being alienated and hopeless. There

is no reason anymore for America to be as optimist as before the tragedy. To

commemorate the event, Emo which basically digs the pessimist theme of

youth life appears to give a place of expressing the national sorrow which

gradually combined with the anxiety feeling of adolescence phase.

iv. All That I’ve Got

Applying singing performance semi narrative concept, All That I‟ve Got

music video attempts to explore the anxiety feeling through a little boy‟s acting

as the main model within the video. It is told that the little boy enters the old

bookstore until finally he is trapped inside a book that he opens unintentionally.

Inside the book he finds a strange place where he can meet the band members

of The Used whom are narrated as the other characters within the book. The commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id152

little boy asks all of The Used band members one by one in order to find the

way out from that strange place.

Figure 109 Figure 110 Figure 111 Figure 112

This music video dramatically narrates a tragic-ending story where

finally the little boy is perpetually trapped inside the book. The high key

lighting mixed with the medium close up shot give an innocent notion on the

little boy‟s face (Figure 109, Figure 110). The dialogues “how does the story

end?” and “I‟m looking for the end” are plainly written on those two scenes to

highlight the innocent idea of a little boy who tries to look for the way out the

book. Ironically, in the end, the boy can not go out from the book-world instead

of getting trapped as a cartoon character forever there (Figure 111, Figure 112).

The repeating phrase of song lyric sung by Bert “I‟ll be just fine pretending

I‟m not, I‟m far from lonely and it‟s all that I‟ve got” illustrates the tragic

ending story of that little boy. „I‟ll be just fine pretending I‟m not‟ phrase means

that the „I‟, referring to that little boy illustration that he will be in fine state

although actually everything in his life is miserable. Here, the little boy is

terribly trapped forever inside committhe book, to usera fact that he has to accept. The rest perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id153

phrase „I‟m far from lonely and it‟s all that I‟ve got‟ means that the „I‟ does not

get anything better except being far away from the terrible loneliness.

Generally, this scene depicts the satirical condition of young people in

overcoming the adolescence phase because sometimes there is no right place

available for them to express their anxiety feeling.

Repeatedly, this music video is proposed to show the viewers about the

correlated problems suffered by American in general and adolescents

specifically. The miserable condition shown by the little boy is similar with

what America endured at that time. After the 9/11 attack, like what have been

stated in the previous discussion that everything connected with miserable and

desperate feeling have covered various sectors of Americans life. No more

luxurious stuff can represent American condition post 9/11 suitably since the

great national suffering has changed the perception of America toward

everything. It seems that there is no other way out for America to come back to

its previous position before the tragedy had happened as a superpower country

in the world. This fact might raise the miserable feeling of general Americans.

While the miserable feeling is being experienced by almost all Americans, the

industries especially those who concern on youth culture have found that Emo

youth subculture is the next saleable big thing. The exploration of miserable

feeling in Emo is made exaggeratedly which can be watched in almost all of

The Used music videos. Young people are invited to experience the anxiety

feeling deeper and more sensitive than facing the reality of life optimistically.

This kind of feeling exploration can be accepted well by the American youth commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id154

since Emo can represent what most Americans suffer as the impact of 9/11

strike besides general miserable feeling experienced by adolescents in puberty

phase. The little boy within the video who is confused in looking for the way

out unintentionally describes the miserable feeling experienced by those two

sides: Americans in general and adolescents. Historically, the previous

members of Emo, around 1980s did not really focus on the miserable feeling in

this youth subculture. DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic applied by the members of

early Emo in 1980s proved that miserable thingy was not the main focus in the

subculture. It was true if the gloomy or miserable topic was also used in the

1980s Emo youth subculture, but not as the main theme which had been deeply

exploited. From this process, it is clear that the miserable thing, a feeling of

hopelessness and confused, is a form of commodification found in nowadays

Emo youth subculture.

v. The Bird and The Worm

The Bird and The Worm applies the singing performance mixed with

narrative video concept where in here, Bert figures out youth anxiety feeling in

various scenes.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id155

Figure 113 Figure 114 Figure 115 Figure 116

The first scene appears in the beginning of music video. Here, Bert anxiously

sits in a messy room while other band members are not with him (Figure 113).

He covers his head with upper part of hoodie to visually reinforce the anxiety

feeling. In the previous subchapter before, it has been discussed that hoodie in

Emo raises the sense of anxiety, mysterious and gloominess. The purpose of

scene take in this figure is to show the anxiety and mysterious side of Emo

experienced by the band members represented by Bert. In the next scene, he

opens his hoodie while watching his surrounding area worriedly as if

somebody was hunting him (Figure 114). The medium long shot are used in

those two scenes to focus on Bert‟s fear expression. While those scenes are

lasting, he sings „he wears his heart safety pinned to his backpack, his

backpack is all that he knows…shot down by strangers whose glances can

cripple the heart and devour the soul‟. From the lyric, Bert as the singer

poetically describes the fear toward something invisible while he has no power

to face it. It can be obviously seen from the phrase “he wears his heart safety

pinned to his backpack, his backpack is all that he knows” in describing his

weakness so that as if he only has the „backpack‟ to protect himself from any

destruction. His fear toward the „invisible creature‟ is depicted by the rest of

the lyric „shot down by strangerscommit whose to user glances can cripple the heart and perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id156

devour the soul‟. The word „strangers whose glances can cripple the heart and

devour the soul‟ poetically means that there is something that is really feared

by Bert. This fear is a common topic owned by most of young people in facing

the adolescence phase.

Next figure is a scene when Bert peeps what happens outside his room

through the door hole. He can see that there is an unidentified haunting him

(Figure 115). The coming out of this creature is intended to show the

realization of fear feeling. Next scene is scene where Bert suddenly drowns in a

mysterious deep water inside the chair he sits (Figure 116). Both of these

scenes are running together with the instrumental sounds without any lyric

heard. The function of this instrumental is intended to strengthen the

dramatization of Bert while struggling with his fear problems. All of the

visualizations of The Used‟s music videos reflect fear in general suffered by

young people. Repeatedly, the comings out of those scenes are intended to

strengthen fear impression of being older in the Emo style. Before Emo

emerges in the early of 2000s, there is no music exploring dread thing in such

way, even Emo in the early of 1980s. However, everything related to the fear

seems like a common and popular Emo formula since 9/11 tragedy has

happened. American young people can deeply explore their fear in Emo.

Similar like the previous phenomenon, the rising of nowadays Emo is used to

emphasize the ambient atmosphere post 9/11 with a component of anxiety

feeling suffered by common American adolescents. Fear is the most visible

thing that America experienced after the tragedy since her symbol of commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id157

superpower has been destroyed unexpectedly by the unknown enemy. The

scenes of the video have clearly described the dreadfulness of America.

Similarly, fear is intimately experienced by adolescents since they have to enter

a new stage in their life which will be different from the childhood phase. The

way the video explore the feeling in Emo style, has change the fear as a legal

requirement in this youth subculture. In fact, Emo previously is an underground

youth subculture which faced „fear‟ of getting older in contrast with such

vulnerable way by practicing DIY ethic. Overall, The Used‟s music videos

show the commodification of Emo by exploiting youth anxiety as the only

main theme with the related topic like depression, loneliness, alienations,

vulnerability, confuse and the like as a standard image of Emo Kids represented

by The Used.

commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id158

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

A. Conclusion

Youth subculture is a group of young people in gathering and expressing

their adolescence sense in a resistance to the dominant parents’ role. One of the

most noticeable youth subcultures is the existence of Punk in 1980s which

legalizes the rebellious side of young people against the standard norms of British

life controlled by parents. In America, there are various youth subcultures

applying the same ideas in acquiring a space in the society controlled by the

dominant role. Within a youth subculture, the members are obliged to

communicate each other using the agreed means of communication such as

fashion, behavior and music. The different means of communication between one

to another group shows that each youth subculture has its own characteristics in

accordance with the norms made by the members.

Along with much exposure in media, the previous meaning of youth

subculture has lost. The peculiarity of youth subcultures is what the media look

for to make the next big thing consumed by the society. Therefore, youth

subcultures today are not like the previous groups who merely focused on how the

members get a place to express their feeling due to the identity crisis facing by

adolescents. Youth subcultures’ exclusive means of communication such as

fashion and behavior have been commodified to easily sell in the market. The

commodification process is foundcommit in almost to user all of youth subcultures existing

158 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id159

today. As it has been stated in the background of thesis, the commodification

process is also found in today Emo youth subculture. There is a wide range of

differences found in nowadays Emo compared to the previous one especially in

the scope on how the members communicate each other. To see on what kinds of

youth subcultures commodification are, the analysis is anchored in ten of The

Used’s music videos as the main data.

Emo in 1980s was rooted from Hardcore and Punk scene by practicing Do It

Yourself (DIY) ethic and claimed to be free from any mainstream media

interference. Emo term is derived from Emotive Hardcore because the first

generation of Emo youth subculture came from Washington D.C. music scenes

creating the more personal and sensitive songs yet still wrapped in the noisy tunes.

The recent Emo term, however, dramatically turns into a term for youth subculture

of which members focusing only on the personal problems related to the

adolescence phase and neglecting the basic idea of Punk, DIY. Media have

exaggeratedly exploited Emo that adolescents know this youth subculture

mistakenly. Being the members of Emo subculture means that they have to dress

and act in Emo way. Means of communication such as fashion and behavior have

been commodified by media which lastly encourages young people to do the

things alike in order to be considered as Emo members.

The commodification of youth subcultures is simply found in the production

of Emo bands’ videos. Here, ten of The Used music videos have been analyzed to

observe that the elements within the videos show the commodification of Emo

subculture in terms of fashion and behavior. Having developed the main research commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id160

question mentioned in the early chapter, the analysis is held to see the

commodification of fashion and behavior within the music videos. Fashion in the

early Emo in 1980s was not really exaggerated like what can be watched within

The Used’s music videos. Although gloominess became the basic theme of this

subculture, but the fashion was still not inflated because of the influence of

Hardcore and Punk scene at that time. However, nowadays Emo’s fashion has

been adjusted with the theme of the group which spotlight on the gloomy and sad

theme. To see the aspects of Emo fashion in details, it is needed to make points of

analysis about the commodification of Emo fashion within the music videos such

as clothing, hairstyle, accessories and make up.

The gloomy theme brought by the Emo subculture has been applied on the

upper and lower clothing such as the wearing of dark colored t-shirt, bright

colored t-shirt and tight pants. Also, hairstyle as the aspect of fashion has become

the commodity in the video since the performers have shown various kinds of

Emo hairstyle to the viewers. In the scope of accessories, the commodity within

the videos is found on the wearing of additional stuffs related to Emo theme such

as certain type of shoes, wristbands, piercing and tattoos. Last, the wearing of

make up for boys of which previously considered as improperly used is also kind

of commodity in Emo fashion shown by the performers within the videos. From

all of the analysis on fashion, it is gained that The Used music videos seem to

make the viewers understand the standard of Emo through the details of fashion

shown by the performers of the music video either the band members or the

models. commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id161

Furthermore, the behavior of the performers within the videos is also the

commodity found within the music videos. In 1980s, Emo practiced DIY ethic

which became the basic idea of Hardcore and Punk scene although their music

and lyric focusing on more individual problems. Emo behavior nowadays has

been commodified by focusing in a personal and sensitive problem only. Dealing

with the adolescence problem, Emo has been stated as a youth subculture which is

very sensitive about the common experience in youth phase such as rebellion and

anxiety. The youth rebellion of Emo is gained well within The Used music videos.

If the in the 1980s Emo, rebellion was delivered from hardcore subculture

members practicing DIY ethic, Emo rebellion today gains from the behavior of the

Emo members on the music scene particularly on the stage. The stage

performances of The Used members appeared on the video describe well the

rebellion side of Emo today. Another commodification in behavior is also found in

how the performers within the videos give the description of anxiety feeling. The

previous Emo did not take the anxiety feeling seriously because the subculture

was rooted from hardcore and punk music scene which was recognized as a strong

and rebel youth subculture. However, in conclusion, through the performance of

the performers within the videos, it is concluded that common feeling of

adolescence phase has been commodified because Emo today is commonly

popular for the relation with the general anxiety feeling such as alienated, terrible

loneliness, rejected and the like.

The commodification of Emo subculture in America will be impossibly

happen without the influence of the society’s social and cultural background. It is commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id162

needed to notice that Emo subculture is dramatically popular in post 9/11 era. If it

is connected to the general situation in America at that time, the gloominess

covers all aspects in that country including the entertainment business. Before the

national tragedy of 9/11 happened, the millennium hysteria still dominated the

entertainment industries. Music genre such as hip hop, R&B and pop could be

accepted well by the society as the form of hysteria post early millennium period.

However, after the tragedy happened, such hysteria collapses due to the national

suffering. American media focuses to search the next big thing that can cover the

situation in America at that time. In entertainment business for youth, Emo

becomes the right target to sell. Combining the national suffering post 9/11 and

sensitive feeling in adolescence phase, Emo is considered saleable and acceptable

in American youth life. This basic background has encouraged the subculture to

be exaggeratedly exploited and commodified.

B. Recommendation

Analyzing various phenomena of youth subcultures is really interesting.

There are various extra factors behind the phenomena of youth subcultures’ rising

and down period in a society. To study what kinds of factors behind it is

challenging. Due to the lack of youth subculture’s analysis, it is really

recommended for the other American Studies researchers, who have a great

interest in studying youth subcultures, to find out the phenomena happens to

certain youth subcultures since it has been acquired that nowadays youth

subcultures are rising and down dramatically due to the additional factors behind commit to user perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id163

it. Moreover, since the symbolic systems of communication of a youth subculture

are being commodified by the industries, it is needed to look the idea of youth

subculture deeper than what can be seen through media perspective. Not all of the

youth subculture’s symbolic systems of communication described by the media

nowadays have really represented the real youth subculture. Thus, the further

analysis of various youth subcultures is expected.

commit to user