Californication, emo hair cuts and Slayer

"Emo" is fast becoming one of the most widely misunderstood, misused and abused words in popular media today. Like "emo hair cuts" - a descriptive term that can reference hairstyles that don't strictly belong to the emo subculture - you can be forgiven for being a little confused about emo, emo haircuts and the emo music scene.

So what does all this have to do with the Showtime series, Californication? As it happens, quite a bit.

Did you notice Hank's daughter, Becca, lying on her bed listening to Death Cab for Cutie? Becca is the stereotypical emo kid. She wears black, has black unusually styled hair, she likes write poetry and songs lyrics, and she plays guitar and sings in her own band. She's what people are thinking when you hear that irritating catchphrase: cheer up, emo kid.




Hank's Agent's assistant, Dani is far more interesting. You probably wouldn't consider her to be emo at all, yet you'd probably find hairstyles like hers on a dozen emo websites. If you looked closely at Dani you probably noticed the "SG" tattoo on her arm. The tattoo is the logo of the suicide girls website. SG is a real website with a huge gallery of girls that look like Dani: Girls with great hair, interesting tattoos and even more interesting piercings. Even more surprising than such a direct reference to SG on Californication is the fact that Dani actually has her own profile page on their website. Go see if you can find it :)

So what's my point? Well compare Becca and Dani. Very different people with very different looks, but both could be considered to have emo hair cuts if you go by what you see online. Sure, Dani is into BDSM - perhaps she even likes the concept of having pain inflicted on her - but emo? Not in the strictest definition of the word.

The thing is the meaning of emo is changing. Plenty of people get upset about that, but it's a pointless argument. Emo, and emo hair cuts are what people say they are. There's no point getting bent out of shape about it all. Just enjoy the pictures and do what you want with your hairstyle :)

Since we're talking about Californication, here's some Californication trivia for you:

Have any of your own? Leave a comment below!

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