scene Mug

The term, "scene," is used in several ways. 1. Another word for "subculture" that doesn't sound quite so scientific, allowing it to be used in daily conversation. Used this way it usually has an adjective modifying it: the "indy scene" or the "hardcore scene" or the "emo scene." When someone refers to a particular "scene," they're talking about everything - the people, the places, the fashion, the music, and the trends. 2. A tongue-in-cheek reference to the trends and fashions of the various scenes. Many of these subcultures were built around countercultural ideals and nonconformist attitudes; the fact that trends even exist is humorous irony, and using "scene" as an adjective originally intended to lampoon that. 3. A trend of sorts that evolved from the indy, emo, and hardcore scenes (see the first definition); basically, anything that can be sold at Hot Topic. As events like Warped Tour - and artists like Avril Lavigne - became popular, the trends and fashions of these three scenes (and a few others) were gradually amalgamized and commericalized to create the generic "scene" monkier. Someone who is "scene" generally borrows from the various subcultures and combines them together - you can tell they're part of *a* scene, but no one is quite sure *what* scene. It is important to note that this use of "scene" refers to a fashion trend - it isn't a subculture in its own right, because it has no music, venues, or attitudes of its own to live on after it loses popularity. 4. An ironic insult toward followers of the "scene" trend outlined in 3. Calling someone "scene" brings up images of Avril Lavigne, Hot Topic, Good Charlotte, and, more recently, Myspace; it implies that he or she is a fair-weather fan, conforming to be popular or to fit in. In that sense, it is related to the term poseur. It also implies being more worried about the more visible icons of a particular scene (the fashion and language, for example) than the music that the scene is founded on. Calling someone a scenester basically means the same thing.