My Dissertation

My Dissertation • 14th July 2025

The Rise of Mainstream Emo

I met with Bee, a 20-year-old online content creator. With 692K followers on TikTok, Bee has been part of the Emo community, both online and offline, for most of their teenage years. Travelling 80 miles to Brighton, I met them along the seafront for a street photoshoot. Donning the iconic knee-high black Converse and a chunky studded belt, Bee brought the maximalist aesthetic to life, along with their friend 18-year-old maths student Betty, who was up for stepping in front of the lens....

It all started with Kerrang!

At 14, I began reading Kerrang! magazines and fell in love with Mainstream Emo. It was a year later that I decided I wanted to be a Music Journalist and study Journalism.

So, when I had to choose what I wanted my dissertation to be based on, I had to make a throwback to my musical roots.

Interviews

Creative Director of Rock Sound James Wilson-Taylor

I spoke to James Wilson-Taylor on his experience with Emo, his journey into music journalism, and his takes on the evolution of Mainstream Emo.

Author Andrew Calcutt

I spoke to author and former lecturer Andrew Calcutt on his book Arrested Development: Pop culture and The Erosion of Adulthood, the formation of subcultures, and online communities relating to Emo.

Photoshoot

Travelling from Essex, I went to Brighton seafront to photograph online content creator Bea and maths student Betty. Using a Canon DSLR, I took simple street-style photos inspired by creator and photographer of FRUiTS magazine Shoichi Aoki.

My vision was to capture what Emo looks like in 2025, with a written interview with Bea and Betty towards the end of my final project.

See the photoshoot below: