mfers: Web3.0 new tribes under mourning culture and post-subculture

Original title: "mfers: mourning culture, the new tribe of web 3.0 under post-subculture"

Original author: Mingzin

Original editor: Yusheng

In Azuki: Japanese Animation and Post-Web3.0 National Identity", I expounded the concept of decentralization of Web3.0 and Japanese science fiction animation from the perspective of Azuki as a continuation of Japanese animation. The reasons why virtual worlds echo each other, as well as people's imagination and yearning for an idealized "post-national identity" in a global perspective. However, in this complex global cultural perspective, the two-dimensional spirit of the style school constructed by this blend of style elements and its diversified models does not have a relatively dominant influence. It seems that the general public is resonating with a state of mind that is more representative of people's current state of mind.

If you want to use one word to describe the current zeitgeist, people in different places may use different words , but their value core has a universal nature. In June 2021, a huge social movement - "Lie Flat" was launched in mainland China. "Lie Flat" is a "passive" resistance movement, which reflects young people's attitudes towards a series of social issues such as the unavoidable 996 work system in the domestic environment, internal friction and involution, and the invalidation of labor laws. New York Times reporter Cassady Rosenblum pointed out that not only does the phenomenon of "lying flat" exist in China, but also in Western countries like the United States, the sanctity of work has long been disenchanted.

It can be seen that people all over the world are interested in the so-called "positive energy", the spirit of hard work and the macroscopic vision similar to the American dream. The narrative has been reflected, and the collapse of belief must be followed by a series of social movements and behaviors that must be reversed. The model conception of the NFT PFP project mfers and its highly spontaneous community are echoes of the current global collective "sang culture trend". This article will discuss the social and cultural trend of Web3.0 caused by mfers in the postmodern context from two perspectives: mourning culture and new tribes under post-subculture.

Note: I think the mourning culture under the post-subculture can be summarized as one of the entire post-modern culture Branches; the core of mourning culture is to resist macro narratives, present nihilism, fragmentation, and so on. This is the same as the essence of postmodernist values. Of course, the complexity of postmodernism is worth discussing. Due to my limited knowledge reserve and article space, we will mainly analyze the NFT PFP project, so we cannot give you an in-depth study from the perspective of postmodernist culture. I hope you can forgive me. On the premise of rational use of academic language, in order to take care of non-academic readers, the "postmodernism" used in this article is equivalent to the meaning of mourning culture.

A general classification of NFT PFP projects from the perspective of style and content presentation, BAYC (Boring Ape Club) and mfers are Competing opponents on the same track, the two also have similar value orientations in creation. BAYC lead designer Seneca explained in an interview with Rolling Stone reporter Samantha Hiossong that the model design of Boring Ape is closely related to her own aesthetic. . Sartoshi, the designer of mfers, also stated in his "what are mfers" article that he resonated emotionally with the stick figure he drew. The stickman who was smoking a cigarette and lazily spread out on the chair to manipulate the keyboard made him realize that the prototype of this image was himself in web3.0.

Both artists subtly reflect their appearance in society on the role of design, and these The unbeautified and original NFT characters moved people and made people empathize with this image. Professor Su Hongyuan from South China University of Technology clarified in the article "The Social Representation and Reflection of the Network "Sang Culture" from the Post-subcultural Perspective": "Sang culture mainly refers to the post-80s and post-90s groups in the face of social Class solidification, life difficulties, and work pressure are helpless at times, and they fall into the emotional "vortex" of negativity, confusion, and even despair. Therefore, they use symbols such as words, pictures, and videos to mock and laugh at themselves for their numb and decadent lifestyle. "The symbolic meaning of these NFT characters and their extreme popularity in the NFT market reflect the current real social situation, people's negative world-weariness and escapism mentality.

BAYC #4671

We seem to have seen one such expression in Boring Ape#4671, a passive and world-weary ape Even when attending a party that should be lively, there is no joy to be felt. The depressed and deep eyes with thick dark circles express the psychological depth of the entire character image. Just like what Professor Su Hongyuan said, people under the mourning culture have "numbed themselves". And that eye-catching party hat contrasts sharply with his depressed expression, putting Boring Ape #4671 in an even more absurd situation. Ta is like entering the hell scene in "Confinement" (a drama written by the philosopher Sartre), entering the party where everyone is watching. Gargamel, one of the co-founders of BAYC, also pointed out that there is an existential sense of boredom in the emotions evoked by bored apes.

mfer #1571< /blockquote>

The mfers series, as the most minimalist and least "creative" NFT PFP, seems to be exquisitely designed and attracts attention items eliminated. Surprisingly, its stylistic repercussions have discredited most quality projects. Unlike BAYC's success, mfers' minimalist style became its killer feature; not only is this related to postmodernism's attack and rejection of high art and elitism, its rough painting style (lack of realism verisimilitude) makes people more empathetic to the bodily movements it describes.

"As a "micro-image" in the era of network communication, the mourning emoticon pack is The characteristics of self-irony and decadence have become visual symbols of emotional release favored by contemporary young people. "It's not hard to see that mfers role models are visually appealing and contagious, comparable to emojis, and they can directly resonate with people emotionally. From this perspective, we conclude that mfers not only possesses the very current negative attitude of mourning memes (such as Pepe sad frog), but also its NFT private property setting makes them subject to the same degree of early Pepe cards sought after. Because of this, people who own mfer's unique NFT are like having the right to express their attitudes in Web3.0.

The members of the mfers community not only have no aversion to this abstract image that reflects their real life, but also use a self-deprecating attitude Gladly accepted. This series of behaviors, such as spreading on a chair, manipulating a computer, and even leisurely smoking a cigarette, vividly depicts the living conditions of the encrypted community in the Web3.0 world (for example: Sartoshi, the "encrypted native" designer, agrees with mfers) , and members of the mfer Chinese community who spent time in the millennium web surfing culture were also aroused by their own nostalgia (as shown in the picture below); Demeanor is a global commonality that transcends time and space.

The success of BAYC and mfers is based on the construction of a consensus mechanism based on the current public psychology; the birth of this consensus mechanism is the cultural homogeneity of the global zeitgeist Cultural expression, mourning culture (postmodernist culture). Only through cultural consensus and the perfect integration of the community can we maximize the use of its "mourning" characteristics to expand the project's radiation range in web 3.0. But this perfect fusion is only reflected in its successor mfers. In terms of BAYC, new NFT projects (such as body horror, which is now used by mutant apes), not only deviate from Seneca's original aesthetics and philosophy, but also its high price is no longer "represented" by the general public. (And Seneca himself pointed out that the existential crisis consciousness of the boring ape is caused by having all the money and time, not the more popular "mourning" of mfers.)

If the mourning culture in the context of Web3.0 has the expression of social class, mfers represents the "proletariat" under postmodernism, and BAYC is more like the context of modernism The elites here. And the anti-elite spirit has been injected into the blood of every mfer.

BAYC #6444 and mfer #9791

In traditional subcultures, people can only use collective symbols in physical space to express tribal style, such as killing Matt's extremely visually conflicting hairstyles. As the space becomes virtual, the community in the post-subculture pays more attention to the field of common emotional experience of the group created by cultural construction. As a post-Web3.0 subcultural community, the necessary environment for the success of mfers also lies in the network decentralization framework concept presented by Web3.0, and the social attribute revolution of Web3.0 and metaverse to the concept of "virtual" is also an important factor for NFT PFP endorsement.

Sartoshi claims that he envisions a mfers world where we are all mfers. (The full name of mfers is "motherfuckers", which is better understood in the Chinese context, and I have also obtained the consent of community members.) French scholar Michel Maffesoli pointed out: "The new tribes in the post-subcultural period have no The rigid color of various organizational forms in traditional society, it points more to a certain atmosphere or spiritual state, which can bring a certain sense of belonging to the members of the ethnic group, and is the emotional bond that maintains the subcultural groups.” mfers as a post-subculture The message of the new tribe is "We are all little bastards". This slogan has always been vain, which is in line with the decadent and self-deprecating spirit of the mourning culture, and the decentralized web3. web2.0 and oppression in real society.

In today’s post-capitalist era, everyone feels more or less alienated in social practice. The resulting loneliness and emptiness cannot be dispelled in real life, not to mention that people under the discipline of the whole society have been cruelly imprisoned with souls as objects. Sartoshi said that here we have no king, no ruler, and no clear road map; this beautiful anti-central concept not only helps members of the new tribe get rid of the dual identities of "losers" and "prisoners", but also this The "spiritual home" turns mfers into new ethnic communities with spontaneity and intrinsic motivation. Unlike NFT PFP projects that need to be publicized, mfers community members are more voluntary to maintain and promote the concept and spirit of the community. Because of a more sincere attitude and belief, as well as a mentality that is not driven by interests, mfers is unique in the current NFT PFP project.

mfers is the first project in web3.0 (in addition to cryptoadz) to voluntarily give up intellectual property rights, and it doesn't even have a project party. This fully proves that mfer belongs to everyone, because everyone is mfer; and mfers have abandoned the traditional status of project managers, making power dispersed in the hands of each mfer. No one can control the future of mfers, because the future of mfers is in everyone's hands.

xmfer #3024, Zuki mfer #2758, ape mfer #3754, Punk Mfers #5653

In the official unofficial discord channel of mfers, Members can even promote their own NFT PFP projects. Even if this situation may endanger the interests of original mfers holders, community members are willing to continue to encourage this behavior and even voluntarily help to promote it, all because they spontaneously spread The community spirit of mfers.From this point of view, the concept of mfers and the bright future blueprint presented by web3.0 are the most perfect match, and they are all committed to creating a decentralized world; and in this world, everyone A member is respected and enjoys the same status and rights.

As mentioned above, post-subculture The success of the NFT PFP project mfers is reflected in two aspects:

First, mfers continues the "mourning culture" from an Asian perspective And "postmodernism" from a Western perspective. From an aesthetic point of view, the rough and sincere model breaks the traditional definition of "art", and the minimalist stickman style makes people, especially users who have been immersed in the virtual network world for a long time, empathize with mfers characters. Culturally, mfers inherits self-deprecating, negative and other values and attitudes that resonate with the general public in the Internet era in the context of late capitalism. The presentation of these two points ensured that mfers had meme-like virality advantages and unique cultural value.

Second, mfers community members, as a new group under the post-subculture, have gained a free and equal identity. Members of the new group spontaneously established a community under the declaration of "what are mfers". This organic community vitality has attracted countless people who resonate with the image of mfers. They have created a new group with the decentralized web3.0 Very yearning.

mfers is a combination of the spirit of the times, post-subcultural autonomous communities and web3.0 decentralization.

While there is no roadmap that Sartoshi was referring to, it is the clearest roadmap for mfers.

blackblize#7979

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Reference materials:

Su Hongyuan: "Internet under the Perspective of Post-subculture The Social Representation and Reflection of "Mourning Culture", "Modern Communication", April 23, 2020.

Hissong, Samantha. "The NFT Art World Wouldn't Be the Same without This Woman's 'Wide-Awake Hallucinations'.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2022.

Mingzin.《Azuki: Japanese Animation and Post-Web3.0 Ethnic Identity", 2022, February 15th.

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prision. Vintage Books, 1977.

Michel Maffesoli. The Time of Tribes: The Decline of Individuals in Mass Society.London:Sage.1996.p.98.

Rosenblum, Cassady. "Work Is a False Idol.”The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Aug. 2021.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. No Exit. GradeSaver LLC, 2007.

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