"How rebellious!...in a conformist sort of way."
— Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons, "Simpson Tide"
Candace: Hey mom, can I get a pink streak in my hair?
Linda: Why would you do that?
Candace: To express my individuality! Everyone's doing it!
Linda: Why would you do that?
Candace: To express my individuality! Everyone's doing it!
"You can challenge mores, You can bend silly rules, You're rebelling in a non-threatening way!!"
— Crow T. Robot, Mystery Science Theater 3000, "Teenage Crime Wave"
Calvin: Mom, can I have some money to buy a Satan-worshiping, suicide-advocating heavy metal album?
Calvin's Mom: Calvin, the fact that these bands haven't killed themselves in ritual self-sacrifice shows that they're just in it for the money like everyone else. It's all for effect. If you want to shock and provoke, be sincere about it.
Calvin: Mainstream commercial nihilism can't be trusted?!
Calvin's Mom: Calvin, the fact that these bands haven't killed themselves in ritual self-sacrifice shows that they're just in it for the money like everyone else. It's all for effect. If you want to shock and provoke, be sincere about it.
Calvin: Mainstream commercial nihilism can't be trusted?!
"Nothing says rebellion like a generic, store-bought green mohawk. No, really!"
Now here is a man, who has adopted the persona and mindset of the freethinking rebel and turned it on itself. The rebel conservative.
Now it makes sense. Leonardo DiCaprio changes his girlfriends faster than most of us change our Brita water filters, because he believes that women are the most persecuted in the world and he’s showing all the ladies of the planet some love and affection and he’s doing it one woman at a time. He’s just starting with the tall, blonde, young skinny models. He’ll get to you short, brown-headed, non-skinny oldies eventually.
—Michael K.
, "Leonardo DiCaprio Says That Women Are The Most Persecuted People In The World"
, "Leonardo DiCaprio Says That Women Are The Most Persecuted People In The World"You might be one of those people who thinks hipsters ruin everything they touch. You might think that 21st century youth culture—once a cauldron of sex, style and subversion—has been neutered and blanderized and sucked dry of any meaning and most of all, menace. If so, you may want to stop reading now. Because the Borgcube has turned its attention to that last redoubt of rebellion, Satanism...I can't help but think of the rites of Cybele, the Queen of Heaven in the ancient world, whose blood-soaked priests would hack these not-Satanists to dogmeat on account of being so unspeakably lame.
...I can't help but think of the rites of Cybele, the Queen of Heaven in the ancient world, whose blood-soaked priests would hack these not-Satanists to dogmeat on account of being so unspeakably lame.Music Agent: OK, be wild. Be as wild as you wanna. If you feel like wetting yourself, go with it, OK? Anarchy's good. They like anarchy, OK?
Musician: But what are we supposed to say?
Music Agent: What? Don't say anything. Jeez, do you wanna blow this? You know how much these stupid hats set me back?
— Airheads
Save me from netrunning rules that assume you can break into Eurobank and embezzle five million bucks, but you better pay your phone bill on time or you're in big trouble (page 133)! Save me from the "Just Say No" message in the "Drugs" chapter; however admirable, it hardly suits the genre. It puts the text in the curious position of advocating rebellion, but only in socially acceptable ways - of living on The Edge, but living healthy. Uh-huh.
The CYBERPUNK game talks endlessly about how life on The Edge is daring and dangerous - and then, every so often, striking a wise-guy street-smart tone, it offers earnest advice like you get from your grandma (e.g.: "A job? Yeah, even in the Dark Future, you gotta pay the bills, chombatta. And you want a job..." — page 48; "You can make a copy [of protected software] ... but think what happens if you screw up..." — page 131). Remember, boys and girls, the path of least resistance is good citizenship.
The CYBERPUNK game talks endlessly about how life on The Edge is daring and dangerous - and then, every so often, striking a wise-guy street-smart tone, it offers earnest advice like you get from your grandma (e.g.: "A job? Yeah, even in the Dark Future, you gotta pay the bills, chombatta. And you want a job..." — page 48; "You can make a copy [of protected software] ... but think what happens if you screw up..." — page 131). Remember, boys and girls, the path of least resistance is good citizenship.
