In the article "Azuki: Japanese animation and post-Web3.0 national identity characteristics", from the perspective of Azuki as a continuation of Japanese animation, I explained that the concept of decentralization of Web3.0 echoes with the virtual world in Japanese sci-fi animation reasons, 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.
If you want to use one word to describe the current zeitgeist, people in different places may use different terms, but their value core is universal in 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 around the world have reflected on the so-called "positive energy", the spirit of hard work, and the macro-narrative similar to the American Dream. The collapse of belief must have brought about 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 explore a Web3.0 social and cultural trend triggered by mfers in the postmodern context from two perspectives: mourning culture and new tribes under the post-subculture.
Note: I think that the mourning culture under the post-subculture can be summarized as a branch of the entire postmodern culture; the core of the mourning culture is to resist macro narratives, present nihilism, fragmentation, etc. 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.
To roughly classify NFT PFP projects from the perspective of style and content presentation, BAYC (Boring Ape Club) and mfers are rivals competing with each other on the same track, and the two have similar value orientations in creation. Seneca, the chief designer of BAYC, explained in an interview with Rolling Stone reporter Samantha Hiossong that the model design of Boring Ape is closely related to her own aesthetics. The idea is an ape who is still tired of life even if he has all the money and time in the world. . Sartoshi, the designer of mfers, also stated in his article "what are mfers" that he resonates emotionally with the stick figures he drew. The stick figure 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.
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BAYC #4671
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mfer #1571
The mfers series, as the most minimalist and least "creative" NFT PFP, seems to be eliminated by beautifully designed and high-profile projects. Surprisingly, its stylistic repercussions have discredited most quality projects. Different from BAYC's road to success, mfers' minimalist style has become its killer feature; this is not only related to postmodernism's attack and rejection of high art and elitism, but its rough painting style (lack of verisimilitude) makes People feel more empathy for the physical movements it describes.
"As a "micro image" in the era of Internet communication, mourning emoticons have become visual symbols of emotional release that are favored by contemporary young people for their intuitive images and the characteristics of carrying self-irony and decadence." It is not difficult to see. The visual appeal and communicability of the mfers character model is comparable to that of a meme, and it can directly resonate with people emotionally. From this perspective, we conclude that mefers not only has the negative attitude of the mourning meme (such as Pepe's 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 on Web3.0.
Members of the mfers community not only have no aversion to this abstract image that reflects their real life, but also accept it with a self-deprecating attitude. This series of behaviors such as spreading on a chair, manipulating a computer, and even leisurely smoking a cigarette vividly depict the living conditions of the encryption community in the Web3.0 world (for example: "encryption native" designer Sartoshi's recognition of 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); 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 spirit of the times, mourning culture (postmodern culture). Only through a consensus at the cultural level and a 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 aesthetic and philosophical concepts, but also its high price is no longer "represented" by the general public. (And Seneca himself also 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.)
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BAYC #6444 and mfer #9791
In traditional subcultures, people can only use collective symbols in the physical space to highlight tribal styles, such as the visually conflicting hairstyles of Shamates. 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 the foundation for NFT. PFP endorsement.
Sartoshi claims that in the mfers world he envisions, 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 points more to a certain atmosphere or spiritual state, which can bring a certain sense of belonging to 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, 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 loneliness and emptiness caused by this alienated state cannot be dispelled in real life, not to mention the social discipline. People have been brutally imprisoned for their souls. 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 the NFT PFP project that needs to be publicized, mfers community members are more voluntary to maintain and promote the concept and spirit of the community. Due to 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.
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xmfer #3024, Zuki mfer #2758, ape mfer #3754, Punk Mfers #5653
In the mfers "official unofficial" discord channel, members can even promote their own NFT PFP projects. Even if this kind of situation may endanger the interests of the original mfers holders, community members are willing to continue to encourage this behavior and even voluntarily help to promote it, all because they are spontaneously spreading the community spirit of mfers. From this point of view, the concept of mfers and the blueprint for a bright future presented by web3.0 are the most perfect match, and they are all committed to creating a decentralized world; in this world, every member is respected and enjoys same status and rights.
As mentioned above, the success of the post-subculture NFT PFP project mfers is reflected in two aspects:
First, mfers continues the "sang culture" from the Asian perspective and the "postmodernism" from the Western perspective. From the aesthetic point of view, the rough and sincere model breaks the definition of "art" in the traditional sense, 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 the values and attitudes that resonate with the general public in the Internet age, such as self-deprecation and negativity in the context of late capitalism. The presentation of these two points ensures that mfers have a meme-like virality advantage and unique cultural value.
Second, members of the mfers community, as a new group under the post-subculture, have obtained a free and equal identity in the decentralized world of Web3.0. 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.
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blackblizeᵐᶠᵉʳ#7979
