HopeCore: Modern Masculinity And The Death Of CoreCore

I have now lost (or exchanged) many minutes and probably hours to an emerging avant-garde art movement that has been algorithmically prescribed to me for some months now, CoreCore.

What is CoreCore?

Corecore, an aesthetic trend which originated on TikTok, derives its name from the ironic core suffix. Corecore, alternatively know as ‘nichecore’ is an audio-visual subversion of the -core semantics that resists the conventions of -core as an aesthetic such as ‘cottagecore’ which is conjured not just by the image of a cottage but the sound (and warmth) of wood snapping in a crackling fire or video showing the immediacy of nature and liberty of digital disengagement. Corecore instead splices together seemingly unrelated movies scenes, exerts from livestreams and any other online content. The movement originally invoked the nonsensical ideas of dadaism, an earlier art movement that emerged after the senseless brutality and chaos of World War I that responded to the absurd tragedy by reveling in its own absurdity and silliness.

A Gen Z Art Movement

When done correctly I was elated, relieved, and connected. Corecore was scattered lacking focus but could be tastefully curated as a genuine art piece. The reliance on pre-existing media and brevity of the clips. The desire to say something but the insufficiency of words and established format. A true Gen Z art form. Disconnection began to emerge as a central motif. Compiling the videos into consecutive clips creates a potent depiction of modern malaise in an increasingly technology-mediated life. The power of the visuals, often overlaid by cinematic and profoundly sad music suggests a gravity and enormity to the visuals.

The clips are removed from their original context and are repurposed within the context of a movement that objects to a focus on the aesthetic. In understanding the etymology of CoreCore, it’s valuable to understand the semantic meaning of the latter ‘core’ as aesthetic. Aesthetic emerges from the Greek aisthetikos "of or for perception by the senses” whereas core, origins unknown but likely ‘cor’ in Latin, means the "heart or inmost part of anything". In this way corecore is a calling to feel deeply and connect with something more fundamental and central to the human condition, our emotional and physical intuition. Not just to sense but to feel, to be.

Trend Culture and Nihilism

I cannot deny the spell of sonder corecore cast on me. The popularity of the trend which has accumulated 6.8 billion views under #corecore, reflects a disconnection which is shared. Sherry Turkle’s canonical and contradictory phrase ‘alone together’ enters my mind. Corecore elicits a spontaneous understanding that this is the shared human experience for an enormous audience and creates a window of connection that often extends for 60 seconds or less. Something intractably human within the hyperreality of the post-truth era. However in predictable Gen Z fashion the growing popularity of corecore began to condemn itself to trend status and the saturation of the art form has developed a catalog of repetitive nihilism. Corecore, almost exclusively, depicts the plight of a modern man in all his angst and disappointment.

Masculinity & Hope

Warren Farrell and John Gray’s book titled ‘The Boy Crisis’ presents research and discussion that depicts a bleak reality for boys, who are worldwide, 50% less likely than girls to meet basic proficiency in reading, math and science. Its important to note these studies included a focus on high-functioning economies and ignore the 130 million girls worldwide whose access to education is restricted. This blog doesn't act to criticise or endorse the researchers but captures a sentiment shared more and more in mainstream media as a growing cultural conversation. The author details shocking suicide statistics as boys transition into men, the suicide rates shift from equal that of girls to six times that of young women. The book describes the damage of less-involved fathers and reflects on the purpose-void, a vacancy that is palpable through much of the CoreCore genre. The research presented in the Boy Crisis isn't just sad but dangerous. New York University Professor, Scott Gallaway warns of 'a growing cohort of bored, lonely, poorly educated men is a terrifying force in a society addicted to social media and awash in guns' as men are more likely than women to resort to conspiracy, extreme politics and radicalisation.

When Boys Cry

The isolation, purposelessness and heartbreak persists in hopecore. Hopecore acknowledges the challenge in traversing the purpose void in a life of disconnection and disappointment but it differentiates itself by preaching perseverance. After all, hope must get its meaning in relation to suffering. The videos invoke Stoic values of resilience and virtue. This challenge to persevere and to self-improve, though certainly not exclusive to, has established alignment with men's mental health activists and indirectly with ‘manosphere’ subcultures. My initial encounters with HopeCore acted as genuine encouragement and the videos displayed emotional expression from men ranging from sobbing tears to violent outbursts. Despite the jarring effect of the violent outbursts, to watch boys cry was personally moving.

Interestingly, hopecore finds returning cast members in individuals like American comedian Theo Von, Clinical Pyschologist and controversial author Dr. Jordan Peterson, and Ryan Gosling (as Officer K in Blade Runner 2049). Footage of all of these men were chosen in powerful displays of vulnerability and emotional expression. It is not difficult to understand why these men were selected. Theo Von and Dr. Peterson have shared the stage on multiple podcast episodes discussing the purpose void haunting modern men. Officer K embodies stoicism on his journey to regain meaning and create purpose. But the question of why these men, is only of equal importance to the transformative meaning of their regularity as the cast of this new artistic direction. The absurd and unpredictable spirit of CoreCore as a dadaist art movement has been replaced by formulaic sense-making, which for me marks the conclusion of CoreCore and the return to aesthetics.

My Conclusion

The difficulty in establishing meaningful dialogue about men's mental health online is present in HopeCore content where genuine encouragement and emotional expression are smothered by a toxic male culture. A culture that tends toward a perversion of stoicism that aims to liberate men through the suppression of their emotional world or worse, resentment towards women. Hopecore presents genuine emotional expression, stoicism, and even explicit misogyny as hope for deriving purpose through masculinity. Most telling of all, these ideas have become commonly interspersed within a single video where HopeCore expresses the manic sense-making of masculinity by Gen Z men. Mysoginist ideas appear to circle the corpse of CoreCore and the kicking panic of young unwell men. I meditate on what HopeCore made me feel. And now I ask when was it hope? And why?