There are owls, unicorns and deer everywhere I look; patterns repeating on whimsical upholstery, adorning earth-friendly logos, silk screened upon graphic tees, decorating Barbie’s night-gown. Generally speaking, trends have a trend to proliferate ad nauseum until the thought of prolonging the trend makes us, well, want to puke. And therein lies a personal grievance; I have a long history of watching things I cherish become cultural obsessions, their essence turned into icon, their magic-inducing marrow sucked dry, their carcass cast aside in pursuit of someone else’s favorite thing.
Dare I say I embraced the unicorn long before its pewter likeness was dangling from someone’s turtleneck? When I was eight, my mom bought me a stuffed unicorn who came pre-named ’Lancelot.’ He had an iridescent, taffeta horn and he awe-inspired me. He was so much more than a fire-retardant, plush toy with 50 identical kin on the shelf. He was my loyal steed, his fine side-seated posture held tall in the face of more realistic inanimate items seemed to say, “I’m so regal I don’t even need to stand up ”. I placed my hopes and dreams upon this synthetic talisman, unaware that one day unicorns would be chic. Sure they’re groovy but who besides me knows that they’re awesome? Owls are awesome too. Did you ever see an owl fly? They are nocturnal ninjas with feathers that curl at the ends to break the wind silently. Did you ever hear a baby owl call for its mother who is hunting its dinner? It’s a soundbite you don’t want to miss. Did you ever make eye contact with an owl? Scariest staring contest ever. Deer are rectangular. Their legs impossibly long. They make unexpected grunting noises. I saw this stuff for reals. And now I have to fight myself to not blow $15 on a chrome owl piggy bank because, guess what, I love owls!
Calm down, I know what you’re thinking; I’m a self-centered, deluded milk-toast who actually believes I’d be successful if it weren’t for everyone stealing my good ideas. I can admit we share a common cultural reverence for such mystical creatures plucked straight from our national backyard minus the mythical horse who can only be tamed by a virgin, who knows where this thing came from. One can safely assume that in our boxed-in lives, we value trinkets and images that remind us of who we were back in the day when we communed with nature our animal brethren revealing to us in private moments their own unique strengths our characters revealed and updated by these sacred encounters with them. Now, we’re lucky to have a fenced in yard with a terrier to crap in it. We know this on some level and try to tip the balance back again by throwing our money at things that will remind us of a history that provided us a simple kind of sanity.
It has been observed that the unicorn is the only fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears. The current cultural fixation on this goat-like entity indicates a paradigm shift away from fear and toward hope, with a splash of virginity and a phallic object of powers believed to treat poison (what a load for that poor virgin to swallow.) If the other trendy subjects are similarly analyzed and the strengths they represent called out, owls are quiet, stealthy, and solitary. Scarce qualities these days to be sure. Can you imagine an owl multi-tasking, yuckin’ it up with the other birds in his tree while texting his young not to wait up tonight? Deer are abundant and graceful vegetarians with strong rumps and necks for climbing. Again, an equal and opposite response to the detached complexity of modern life; a species high in population with an environmentally sustainable food source and strong body built to transport itself. Consider a deer with thunder thighs rolling through McDonald’s in a Lincoln Navigator? Not so much.
Trends are born and reborn as a response to what’s missing. If we study fashion alone, we have fully stepped back to the 70′s and 80′s, complete with braided headbands, roman sandals, and the same neon, sunglasses frames that used to come with a Happy Meal. What does this tell us? I think we are concocting a potent milieu, an amalgam of cultural awakening combined with a punk rock sense of disenfranchised independence and anarchy, to result in a force to be reckoned with. We are going to have a love fest capable of kicking the squares in the face.
So who cares if I liked it first. What matters is that it’s happening, the pewter unicorns swinging from our turtlenecks as we answer the call of what’s missing. As we step back into the wild and reclaim our authentic existences.
Can we ever get over those things we loved before they were absconded with by popular culture? Why should we? I declare all unicorns MArca’s personal property. Back off virgins!
You know, come to think of it, I never have seen a little girl’s nightgown with a deer on it. Bingo! Thanks for the marketing idea! JK/BFF
You are my favorite milk-toast because you make me laugh my ass off. Thanks Marca.