EDM in Movies: Do New Interpretations Affect Our Culture?

So, are these portrayals of rave culture accurate?

I personally admit that I did laugh or saw resemblances of truth to the stereotypes in We Are Your Friends and XOXO, but throughout the films (especially XOXO) there was something that didn’t sit right with me. It seemed as if the movies only reflected one side of the electronic music scene, one that was more linked to corporate production and development.

XOXO dramatized elements of the PLURR life-style to make an overly cheesy rom-com. The management of the festival XOXO seemed to lack the professionalism of a good production company (seriously, what artist would have problems getting in like that?). The hostility of security resonates with many festival goers, and there are plenty of festivals that are run poorly without the consideration of its attendants. But, it just seemed a little over the top in XOXO.

XOXO often represented the worst parts of EDM culture; the angry bros and people that are just there to get messed up, the corporate big-room festival that has little to no regard for its attendants, and the “asshole” experienced DJ. These elements can be a part of the EDM scene and we have definitely seen the stereotypes, but at our core, it’s not what we’re truly about. The movie did make an effort to illustrate PLURR and putting differences aside, but it was minimally represented in comparison to other stereotypes.

In contrast, We Are Your Friends showed a less cliche interpretation of the rising DJ. The movie also portrayed common stereotypes, but it seemed to reflect that our actions can have consequences. Max Joseph tried to show the art of production, and it was great that we saw Cole Carter using the sounds around him to make music. That moment was a true attempt to capture the essence of electronic music, and the importance of bringing new styles and sounds to the scene. Similarly to XOXO, the festival portrayal in WAYF seems to be more one-sided and corporately produced.

That’s why watching movies like XOXO and We Are Your Friends bugs us so much.

We know that there is so much more to the festival scene than what is represented in these movies. The festivals that make the attendants, love, respect, and inclusiveness their core philosophies are the ones that need to be made into movies. These qualities demonstrate the meaning of PLURR which, in turn, represent the best parts of our culture.

While many of the stereotypes have some truth, we pride ourselves, and our community as a whole, on much more than that. Many of us have jobs that are completely unrelated to our festival lives (some of us might even keep our festival life on the DL). We aren’t just a bunch of party kids looking for drugs. We are there for the love of music and feeling of togetherness, that we sometimes can’t feel in our critical society.

That is why it’s hard for us to view our culture in this lens: seeing how these stereotypes look back at us.

How Should We View These Movies Then?

WAYF seemed to poke fun at or critique elements of the EDM community, including genre snobbery, misogyny and sexism, lack of originality in music styles, changes in the community over time, etc. XOXO seemed to be an overly dramatized rom-com, with much less substance than WAYF. Honestly, the movie lost me when Shannie and Ray climbed into the sewer. It just continued to be over the top from there.

Are these movies supposed to be a sole representation of what’s wrong with EDM culture? A way to poke fun at it? If you view it in that sense, the movies might be a little more enjoyable. If these movies were made to actually be a “true” representation of electronic dance music, rave culture, PLURR, and festivals – then it seems a little one sided.

These are things to consider when critically viewing the electronic music festival, rave culture, and DJ portrayals in these movies. Is there a way to make a good, well-written portrayal of EDM culture in a movie, and what kind of qualities would be needed to make that happen? Or maybe, EDM should just stick to live festivals and performances.