Hollywood/Media hates metalheads?

[Bones_xa]

Hello fellow metalheads!
I wanted to sign up to a metal forum to ask this question. Out of the forums I saw, this one was the first one where I liked the look of it, and thus so I am here...
Maybe I will stick around if I like things here. I've been a metal fan for ~ 15 years. Favorite genre is black metal but before I was into that I liked some of death metal.
Also like thrash.
Anyways...

I've been thinking this for a while recently. That hollywood and the media hates metalheads; they always portray them in a negative light it seems to me. What do you think?


Whenever I see a "metalhead" or person with long hair or other cues associated with metal heads they usually always seem to get such a negative depiction.

Like in movies for example, they always seem to make them out to be: aggressive, unsuccessful, unattractive, drug addicts, low on the social scale, social outcasts, having mental problems, troubled and confused immature teenagers, creepy, dangerous people you need to watch out for, villains, and even make them victims of murder, etc., the list goes on.

Its like the media hates these types of people because they are basically non-conforming and individualistic. The media wants the masses to be sheep! So they send a rather strong message that: these kinds of people are the lowest of the social class. Don't be like them, be "cool" and conform... Total fucking bullshit!

In real life however, I have met some very nice, intelligent, good and cool individuals who are "metalheads" as I guess you could call them - basically people who just love metal music.

Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
\m/

 

[SomeGuyDude]

First off, welcome!

Secondly, yeah. Metal will never have that acceptance of other genres. Even trap rap has a sort of bizarre mainstream embrace these days, where characters will be riding in a car or going to a club and listening to Gucci or A$AP and what have you.

Metal? Come on. It's SO abrasive and SO angry that it just can't ever hope to be acceptable on a wide stage. It has nothing to do with "individuality". If anything, these days everyone is going into overdrive to be unique. Even a lot of pop bands are trying to be somehow "indie". It's tone and attitude, that's all.

When it comes to media portrayal... it only makes sense. You match music up with attitude. It's not that they're starting with a metalhead and then making him look bad, it's they're starting with a bad character and attaching the music that fits it best. Which is metal. It's loud, it's aggressive, it's pissed off. So if you want an aggressive, pissed off, disaffected character, put some metal on him.

The BEST we get is the "comical" metalhead, like Thumper in The Butterfly Effect where they make the "metal" image as absurd as possible for comedic purposes. That's the best we'll get. We're not going to get many "normal" characters that listen to death metal, because death metal isn't "normal" music.

I say fuck it, let's keep it that way. Let the music stay dangerous.

 

[Balls McHoolihan]

Good topic. I think Someguydude hit it on the head there.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Metal's an odd thing because it's like people want it to be both subversive AND accepted. On one hand, we absolutely embrace the violent, hateful, frightening imagery it presents, but on the other have issue with metal being seen as the music for violent, hateful people. We accept and even relish in the fact that good metal is simply too extreme to ever break into the mainstream, but then complain that it's scoffed at and looked down upon by mainstream sites.

If you ask me, we should be 100% a-ok with the negative press metal gets. A band like Circle of Dead Children, Gnaw Their Tongues, Darkspace, Portal, or Nails isn't made for the limelight. If Hollywood wants to keep saying that metalheads are devil worshipers, drug users, violent punks and serial killers, FINE. That weeds out all the people with fragile sensibilities and easily damaged psyches.

Me? Holy shit, you guys. I've always loved villains in film and literature. I root for Bane over Batman every fucking time. I love metal because of its dark, visceral edge. I love tapping into the primal areas of my mind while blasting through an album by Gaza or Black Sheep Wall. For it to get mainstream acceptance would mean it to be softened enough to avoid offending anyone. Fuck. That.

 

[Nephilim96]

To be honest, a lot of the stereotyping is pretty fucking truthful. And you know what? I really don't give a fuck. I consider myself to be pretty weird, anyways.

 

[matt schrauben]

I don't know a single person, metal fan or not, that doesn't think hollywood is fucking gay. So really, I could careless what they think.

 

[Eligos]

I think the most accurate depiction of a metalhead I've seen in a Hollywood film would be the character Rory in Extract (if for nothing else, watch it because Mila Kunis has a primary role):



He plays bass in a "grindcore" band called Gorecock. I used quotes because the music in the scene where they play a house party sounds more like rehashed Lamb of God material.

The guy's pretty incompetent and oafish though, so personality-wise, it;s pretty far off base from the average college educated, nerdy, socially awkward metalhead I'm used to meeting.

 

[Bones_xa]

Its definitely true that metal would be best left non-mainstream.
Make it mainstream, and let the media get a hand in it, then it will suck.

So yeah I agree to best leave it getting looked down on by mainstream. As basically said, it weeds out weak minded people.

Maybe I'm bothered that there are stereotypes that ALL metalheads are a certain way. But then again, why should I care what those people think.