What Is Truly Rebellious?
I had a friend once who told me that the most truly "punk-rock," edgy, rebellious, and countercultural things you can do are not following causes and ideas that are trendy and considered acceptable within your immediate circle -- but rather, do the opposite.
So, the idea goes, if everybody is wearing a "Save the Whales" T-shirt, eat whale for lunch...or if not necessarily eating whales, eat a can of tuna that isn't expressly "dolphin safe." Put a recyclable item in the non-recyclables garbage bag. Buy something at Walmart. Buy a f**king Walmart t-shirt that says "Walmart" on it. Or: "I heart Walmart." Eat a Big Mac. Wear fur. Watch Fox News. And the list goes on and on.
If you have read the last paragraph and your blood-pressure has gone up by merely looking at the words...if your mind is screaming "YOU CANNOT DO THAT!!!"...then maybe you can comprehend that such acts are quite contrary and countercultural, quite taboo. And I feel as if even pointing this out -- taking a moment to look at things with a different point-of-view, turning the fun-house mirror upside-down -- is also taboo. It's dangerous and unpredictable, this plasticity of mind. It potentially could lead to Anarchy...and not even the fashionable Anarchy with the white masks.
I am very concerned about what I eat; is it organic, how high is the sugar content, were the chickens treated OK, etc. I value sustainability. I'm considering going vegan. I take time to consider what my cats think of things, if whether I am violating their basic rights as sentient beings by picking them off the couch so I can sit. I don't like to kill insects. Really, it is something out of "Portlandia".
But I am also concerned by how, in our quest to be better people and live healthier, more progressive lives, we allow ourselves to fall into dogma...how we become intractable and severe with others who do not see life in the same way. In dogma, things fall neatly into black-and-white, not leaving room for shades of gray and complicated circumstances. People who do not think as we do are considered "evil." We become what we were fighting against. And this happens because the secure and simplistic nature of dogma is seductive. This happens because it is so easy to fall into our primal primate natures and classify everything into "with us" and "against us: to be killed and eaten"...especially when we are so very convinced that we are correct and, ironically, highly-evolved.
One of my favorite scenes in The Avengers is when Black Widow tries to strike a deal with Loki, and Loki just goes off on her and basically tells her to go f**k herself. He's like: "You are a murderer and your employers are murderers, and yet I'm the bad guy? No, I'm not making a deal with you so you can have your boyfriend back; I have no desire to fall into these familiar movie tropes. Instead, my new goal is to turn everything those tropes stand for on their head and dance on the flaming, bloody remains. Just because. I want to turn the fun-house mirror upside down; I want you all to be uncomfortable; I want to blow your minds."
Loki's job, as Trickster, is to blow all our minds, because our minds have been calcified in dogma of one stripe or another. The elephant in the room of "The Avengers" is that most of those heroes do have blood on their hands. This isn't even something in the movie that director Joss Whedon hides, but rather revisits over and over again. Loki may be a lord of lies, but proven liar Nick Fury is only one level away from being the same.
Loki's goals regarding the alien invasion of Earth are rather spotty and vague. Bruce Banner refers to him as "crazier than a box of cats." Why is Loki doing all this? Is he motivated simply by his sibling rivalry with Thor? Is this his way of pissing on his Dad, who he resents?
Loki uses chaos as a means of destroying the calcified, static state of our own beliefs and perceptions. We desperately need this because without the ability to question and move beyond our dogma, we cannot truly evolve. There can be no Avengers headquarters until Stark Tower is beaten down and stripped of most of its letters. "STARK" must be busted down to simply "A." The individual heroes cannot learn to truly be Avengers unless Loki unleashes the horde. Loki might have caused strife amongst the team on the Helicarrier, but he also led them to the truth about what S.H.I.E.L.D. really wanted the power of the Cosmic Cube for.
According to movie conventions -- which Loki has specifically spat upon in his exchange with Black Widow -- the green-clad trickster cannot win at the end. The fact of his countercultural ideas being dangerous is made clear by gagging him at the movie's finale. Loki can no longer be allowed to infect the world with his challenge to the prevailing view of reality...at least, for now.
Ironically, Loki is by far one of the most popular characters from "The Avengers." Ironically, the movie itself is playing the trickster role within the comic book industry -- its massive, multi-billion dollar success to play a huge role in how the business and fandom changes over the months and years to come.
Going back to our counter-countercultural, taboo-breaking whale-eating Fox News-watching "New Rebel" from the beginning of this post, one could say that his or her "rule-breaking" might be nothing more than mere affectation if there is no true conviction or theory informing it. But what if, like Loki, it serves the purpose of making us think critically about our preconceived notions...breaking down our ego in the process and clearing the field for the next stage of our development?
You: "Save the whales."
Loki: "I'd much rather eat them. Shall I eat a whale-burger in front of you right now?"
You: "That's evil! Whales are gentle and noble creatures!"
Loki: "How about cockroaches? Cockroaches are gentle. I've never seen one slap somebody. Why are whales noble and cockroaches not?"
You: "Whales...are more developed!"
Loki: "Ah, so you are saying that (air quotes) developed creatures are more deserving of death."
You: "That's not what I'm saying!"
Loki: "So you're saying that we must save the cockroaches as well? Save the Cockroaches?"
You: "No..."
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| Original cave-drawing of Loki |
You: "That isn't the issue..."
Loki: "Yes or no? Have you ever killed a cockroach?"
You: "I don't have to answer this, it isn't the point..."
Loki: "But it IS the point...you said 'save the whales' and yet you have no coherent theory as to why the cockroaches should not be saved as well. I am just looking for some clarity on the matter."
You: "Whales are important for the eco-system!"
Loki: "Cockroaches eat garbage and feces; I think they are just as important to the eco-system. Aren't they?"
You: "You're just being an asshole!"
Loki: "No, you are intruding on my space and telling me that I must see things as you do. I am asking you to simply clarify your position. And you respond with an ad hominem attack, which leads me to believe that you are trying to distract from the fact that your argument isn't very strong. Now: have you or have you not ever killed a cockroach, yes or no?"
You: "FUCK YOU, YOU FRUITY ASSHOLE!!!"
This is fun to do at parties.
* A comparison is easily drawn here to that most famous of all rebels, Lucifer...but that would take a whole new post to really explore properly.
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