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The False Dream of Cottagecore | How the problematic romanticization of Western rural life reveals our discontent with the modern world
(beneaththepavement.substack.com)
this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2024
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I was missing one aspect as to why so many of us are drawn towards cottagecore, which is that the return to a more simple life means a return towards more connections with non-humans. People and their different non-human allies (plants, animals, fungi) go way back and recently we've lost touch. We don't miss the sourdough for aesthetic reasons. We miss the sourdough because it's an old friend.
The world we have created is entirely human-centric, and now we feel alone.
As to the aesthetization and commercialization of subcultures - that has always been a risk and is in no way limited to stuff liked mostly by girls. As soon as a subculture gains a name the vultures arrive. Just waiting for the new range of solarpunk softdrinks to be available in my local store tbh.
I like this, except you said the world we've created is human-centric, and I would disagree to say that it's technology or screen-centric. I think it's a craving of connecting with the earth, doing things with your hands, experiencing the satisfaction of hard work, etc. It's connecting with ourselves, others, and the earth.
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I can't say for sure, but I wonder about this supposedly lost connection with nature. How long ago did we lose it? Did we ever have it? Rurality was under Christianism, which taught its followers that nature's whole point was to be submitted to us. Education was scarce and ecology did not exist as a concept. Did we really commune with nature, or were are forefathers blindly wrestling with it?
My mother grew up in an atheist socialist society. There was no particular emphasis on nature as something particularly exploitable or overly important. Still she can point out every tree that is common to our area, most bushes and flowers and all common edible mushrooms.
People would simply know about these things because they were relevant, simply for the lack of a TV and internet to occupy your time.
From my very limited knowledge of history I would wager a guess that humans went gradually from 'natural forces are more powerful than us, therefore godlike' to 'our human-shaped god has given us the power over nature and we must tame it' to 'ooops neither seems to be correct, what do now?'. Quite a few sustainable approaches had been implemented by traditional societies in the past, and we should learn from what worked back then and combine it with what works now. No need to copy the past 100%, no need to reinvent the wheel every week.
I agree that First Nations still have a lot to teach us about nature. Cottagecore is not about them though.
You're right, and that's what I get for scrolling on Lemmy sleep deprived at night and not making the connection between cottagecore's specific religious colonial aesthetics and your comment.
My bad, I'll strike my previous statement.