Subversion: Subsumed

Subversion traces its etymology back to Latin’s subvertere.

Sub means underneath, like a submarine sandwich at the bottom of the ocean. Vertere means to turn, so when you put them together, you get a sort of turning from beneath.

A subversio, then, was when something was upended from within—and not from the top, but rather from the bottom of society or civilization. By the time of Old French, the word subversion implied destruction of authority from within, but slowly and perhaps sneakily. This contrasts with a revolution, which can be sudden; most subversion is typically more gradual.

If you grow up in a culture that values conformity higher than individuality, you’re likely to see subversive elements cropping up. When UK censorship kept reaching further, Monty Python figured out clever ways to subtly undermine the very idea of a government controlling what people said.

Subversion is like the ultimate power-to-the-people idea. It gives a voice to the otherwise voiceless, who otherwise don’t feel safe enough to express their dissent or make their point heard loudly.

And yet, our system is still here—still thriving, even. That’s because all subversive acts that are truly dangerous to the system are ultimately folded into the system itself. Let’s consider a few specific examples of where subversion was subsumed, or brought into the system where it could be commodified and commercialized.

Weird Al recorded Another One Rides the Bus in the bathroom of Dr Demento’s studio, but years later he was a top selling artist on MTV. Did Weird Al become a commodity, though? No, not exactly—but he was now marketed and sold, so the resistance took on a much safer feel over time, and Al’s lyrical content shifted noticeably.

Rebellion starts as shocking and controversial, but sometimes shock and controversy can sell. Punk rock music was a unique way to escape the confines of the system, or at least that’s how I saw it when I was a kid. Was I able to escape, though, or was I just exploring something that had just been added in? After all, how had I been exposed to these ideas other than from within the system?

During the 80s, we had several movies about teenage rebellion, showcasing the angst of coming of age. Some of these films used dark humor quite well, and those are the ones that resonated with me.

Right as my need to rebel boiled over, the system delivered just the right commoditized product—call it one unit of subversion, on sale for $0.99 at the video rental store up the street.

Maybe it was Heathers or Repo Man this week, but eventually it was The Decline of Western Civilization and punk music. Had punk, too, been gobbled up by the system?

Certainly, although it still functioned as a check on some of the system’s worst impulses. As the punk fashion and ethos began to spread, the system itself moved in the general direction of the subversive elements. Today, you can have facial piercings and visible tattoos and get a job that pays well, but back then, it was all about deliberately excluding yourself from that system.

We didn’t quite realize that the system was going to change in order to accommodate us, but it surely did. Our subversion became a part of the system and ideas gradually changed over time. LGBTQ rights became a real thing for most people in the US, and openly making jokes about sexual assault gradually became uncool.

Then again, are the corporate-sponsored Pride events the same thing? Is streaming a DIY musical artist on Spotify the same as buying a seven inch from them?

Have you noticed pockets of resistance becoming parts of the machine in your own world? Did we win, or did the system just realize that it needed to change in order to get our money?