 |
| |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shave your head! Dye your hair green! Wear black makeup! Be different! The following are words of advice are from a visual rock fan. Many of these fans use the terms visual shock and visual kei to describe their music and alternative lifestyle. Whatever you would like to call it, their style, their attitude and the mysteriousness of their unusual dress and hairstyles. All over the country and all over the world there are groups of Asians who choose to live a visual lifestyle. May it be them trying to emulate their favorite bands such as Marilyn Manson, Malice Mizer, Glay, Rouage or L'Arc~en~Ciel, these people are misunderstood. Of course, not many Asian Americans care to talk about GenerAsians who pursue this type of lifestyle. "It's not normal," said a friend. "People who dress or look that way must have many problems." Is that really the case? "I think they [visual rock emulators] tend to be very good people," said visual rock fan James Wu. "I know a few people who are in bands and they don't do drugs or anything wild. They are just people who are more into music than anything else."
One had purple/maroon hair, another with red and one who looked normal but was draped in black clothing. They carried black and metal-like suitcases with stickers all over them and a blue plastic flower. The customers inside the restaurant looked at them in disbelief. Some began to laugh and point their fingers. My associate took a peek and said, "Very interesting." Interesting is right. I had to talk to these girls. With my sketch pad in one hand and a camera in the other I approached the three visual rock fans. As I approached their table, they gave me this look which sent chills up my spine, but I continued toward their table. I asked them why they like to dress this way. "The music, the makeup, and the ability to express one's beauty," Saita said. After her answer, the group is joined by two more girls, Shouka and Terra. Among the five, Shouka stood out with her orange-red hair. Looking at their suitcases which had stickers and photos all over them, it's obvious that the girls are big fans of the visual rock group, Rouage.
"It's outrageous and it rocks," Shouka said. "I think that visual rockers have outlandish fashion ideas and statements that can be quite fascinating at times," Terra said. Do you mind that all these people are looking at you strangely? "The attention is actually quite nice," Chika said. "I think it's much more difficult for guys to dress visually because many people think they are gay. "Within my male friends who dress this way, many of them are straight," Chika said.
The male fans of visual rock have been asked if they were comfortable in dressing visually in college. "I don't want to attract attention everyday," James Wu said. "Maybe once in awhile if I feel crazy." As some spectators might find their hair or overall style offending, there has been a new visual fad that has been stirring controversy. The disturbing fad among a few visual rockers is the Nazi uniform style popularized by the band Dir En Grey. The visual rock fans interviewed for this story are all college students. They only dress this way a few times a year to escape reality and to be different. Each do live normal lives and like everyone in college, they want to achieve a good career. They know that not many Asians are into this type of music and fashion style but that doesn't bother them. For now, their love for the music and their way of showing their love for it is all that matters. For that passion, going visual is the only way.
Read more articles by AC's Dennis A. Amith
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
