Entertainment
17 Deep, Dark Emo Muses From Lelaina Pierce to Donnie Darko
If I were to go back to high school today, I would probably feel like Channing Tatum trying to figure out the cliques in 21 Jump Street. I would likely recognize a few social groups, and then be utterly bewildered by the rest. These times, they are a changin'. When I was in high school many moons ago (about 4,000), I was what you might call a little "emo." Meaning, I listened to sad music, wore black t-shirts from my favorite bands, and spent all of my money on concert tickets. Now, at the time I HATED being called such — I was no conformist! I wasn't trying to fit into some Manic Panic stereotype! Oh... who am I kidding? I desperately wanted to fit in and have some sort of identity because high school was hard, my friends were into it, and it made me feel poetic.
I took to bands like Saves the Day and Taking Back Sunday, I shopped at Pac Sun and Hot Topic where I filled my wardrobe with many studded and checkered items. I looked to my favorite movies and TV shows for characters who displayed the sort of distaste for the norm that my big mushy heart ached for. I had a lot of feelings.
If you were anything like me, you probably looked at the following list of emo muses for fashion tips, hints on ways to express your tortured soul, and inspiration for your Live Journal pages. Try not to cry.
Image: Universal Pictures
Daria from 'Daria'
Distaste for most things conventional? Check! Thick-rimmed glasses? Check! Outfit that is punk rock yet approachable? Check check!
Image: fucktonofshows/Tumblr
Lydia Deetz from 'Beetlejuice'
I was scared of Beetlejuice when I was younger for obvious reasons, but now I’m scared by how much my angsty teen self wanted to be like Lydia Deetz. Polaroid camera and all.
Image: mirror-people/Tumblr
Sally from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'
Someone get me to Hot Topic, stat!
Image: tanikayforever/Tumblr
Lelaina Pierce from 'Reality Bites'
Ah, how my cooler older cousin really understood Lelaina and how I desperately tried to mimic that understanding.
Image: annabelgraham/Tumblr
Conor Oberst
BRB, stepping up my cardigan game.
Sam Monroe from 'Life as a House'
Was this movie melodramatic and terrible? YES. Did this movie contain a blue-haired “no one understands me and I hate my father” Hayden Christensen? SURE DID.
Image: New Line Cinema
Charlie from 'The Perks of Being A Wallflower'
I’m talking pre-The Perks of Being A Wallflower movie here and the actual book itself. Reading that book in middle school opened me up to a whole world of feelings and music and INFINITY.
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Chris Carrabba
I probably consumed 5-10 bags of throat lozenges just for the sake of recovering after a Dashboard Confessional-sing/scream-along.
Winona Ryder
She’s already appeared twice on this list because Winona Ryder sure had a knack for playing deep and dark young women who felt like the world was against them in the 1990s. Her parts in Edward Scissorhands, Mermaids, Beetlejuice, Reality Bites, and Little Women made me yearn for understanding, escape, and moody romance.
Kat Stratford from '10 Things I Hate About You'
Not only was Kat Stratford and early emo icon, she was also a total teenage feminist icon.
Image: strawberrylicorice/Tumblr
Christina Ricci
Welcome the Queen of all soon-to-be-emo teens, for she played the most emo children in Casper, The Addams Family, and Now and Then.
Clementine Kruczynski from 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'
OH RIP MY HEART OUT WHY DON’T YOU.
Image: mamanastya/Tumblr
Donnie Darko from 'Donnie Darko'
Being really into literature and anarchy just scratches the surface of all of Mr. Darko’s well, dark tendencies.
Image: davidsawesomeworld/Tumblr
Adam Lazzara
The long hair, the swinging mics, the bleeding-heart lyrics… all of it. Thank you Mr. Lazzara and Taking Back Sunday for making the soundtrack to all of my feelings.
Image: captain-mcquackles/Tumblr
