Viral mockery brought sincere affection to a once-despised subculture

Evidence

By 2010, even fringe subcultures like the Juggalos were gaining unexpected validation online. The movement’s core act, Insane Clown Posse (ICP)—often labeled as “the worst band of all time”—received a new pop culture prominence after the group’s viral video for “Miracles” went viral for its widely disparaged lyric “Fucking magnets / how do they work?” As Pitchfork’s Sean Fennessey noted, there was now “an honest affection for the subculture Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope built from the ground up. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 287

Categorization

• XREF: The Juggalos’ online redemption is a case against Marx’s omnivore monoculture: fringe identity gained rather than lost distinction. — connects to: The existentialist craze was so pervasive it drew affectionate parody from inside. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 532