Abstract
We develop a process-based framework, articulating the escalation of difference between “private” self and “public” display as an alternative trajectory in the pursuit of authenticity to alignment and compromise. A parsimonious model presents an endogenous dynamic of binary choice that generates momentum toward polarization. The model is illustrated in the context of “black” metal – a branch of heavy metal music that appeared in Norway in the early 1990s, notorious for its involvement in criminal activities. Using fanzine data, we construct a narrative of how a process of escalation led to innovation and transgression through self-selection and exclusion. The analysis addresses two related theoretical problems – what motivates actors to challenge normative scripts and “burn the bridges” to social acceptance, and why such challenges may prove more effective in achieving recognition than compromise. Examples from politics, culture and sports reinforce the importance of these problems.
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Notes
Our account is related to Snyder’s (1974) “self-monitoring” theory in emphasizing the fundamental behavioral opposition between assimilation and differentiation, and in treating both as legitimate pathways to authenticity. If Snyder (1974) posits personality as the key predictor, our framework is situational, assuming that actors may compromise in some situations, but escalate in others. Escalation here is not specific to a personality or a genre.
A classic example are the former communist societies, characterized by the constant, systematic dissembling by which citizens exhibited public behavior that was misaligned with what they really think. This insincere form of compromise between state ideology and private dissent is memorably articulated in works of fiction, such as Boris Pasternak’s “Doctor Zhivago”, as well as in sociological research (e.g. Kuran, 1995). But the problem is universal in nature, as implied by the Existentialist notion of “bad faith” – one can compromise with society, but if the compromise is in “bad faith”, it fuels estrangement from oneself (Sartre, 1993).
A list with detailed information on the fanzines and interviews is available from the authors upon request.
From here on in the text we will refer to “Norwegian black metal” simply as “black metal”.
In the words of Euronymous (Beat Magazine No. 2, 1993): “Black metal is so extreme that not anyone can get into it…There have always been a lot of cliques in metal and not even the metal society has taken it seriously. When then comes someone who is serious about what they are doing, everyone is shocked. Black metal is meant to be serious, not because others shall take us seriously, but because we are serious. It is talk about religion and we praise the evil and believe blindly in a god creature just like a Christian.”
The rejection and escalation are recognized by first wave bands. According to Mantas, a founding member of Venom, “I’ll admit we used to sneak into the old graveyards and do photo sessions there and all that kind of stuff. But as for wanting to go out and actually destroy the stuff, I mean, that never really crossed our minds. So I think it’s an aspect of it that people have taken, and taken to the extreme.”. The interview is accessible on:
Euronymous interview in “Thanatography”, May, 1990.
Euronymous interview in “Slayer” Magazine # 8, Feb/March, 1991.
In “1991: the year that black metal blew up the world” by Chris Chantler, “Metal Hammer”, July 20, 2017.
The traditional strategy (i.e. sincere playing of a public role) would typically be more effective… until it is not
(when the role playing is unmasked as theatrical performance). For theatre to be effective, it must be “invisible”.
It is disheartening to observe in hindsight the extent to which the Nazis did what they had actually stated they would and how the perceived “sincerity” of Hitler aided his rise in a political context that was widely perceived as “corrupt”. Boyd (2017: 218) gives the telling example of a former German communist in the mid-1930s who stated that: “[Hitler] at least is a sincere man, he is the only one”. Hitler often emphasized his authenticity in speeches (i.e. “Deep inside, I have remained exactly the same as I had been before [becoming chancellor”]. One cannot underestimate the fact that part of the popular appeal of the Nazis was due to the alignment between their discourse and escalating political action, and their steadfast rejection of compromise, which had been by then largely discredited as political machination.
In fact, police figures from the UK show that the number of matches at which hooliganism — ranging from throwing coins to fighting — occurred, rose from 727 in the 2012-13 season to 1128 in the 2017-18 season.
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Sgourev, S.V., Aadland, E. “Burning the bridges”: escalation in the pursuit of authenticity. Theor Soc 52, 65–93 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-022-09477-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-022-09477-1