The Case of Sex Pistols as an Expression of Nihilism in Society

Abstract

Nihilism is arguably one of the most discussed concepts in philosophy, especially in times still relatively close to us, after Friedrich Nietzsche theorised and wrote extensively about it in the second half of the 19th century. Besides representing a set of ideas and a philosophical current, it can be regarded as coinciding with a human condition — an individual’s response to life and society which results from or in perceiving them as meaningless, in an overall context where moral truths or values are rejected or not believed to exist. This implies that nihilism not only has an abstract nature but also a concrete one, which can translate into forms of expression such as literature and art, as well as music. This is precisely what the present paper aims to show, by starting with a brief introductory analysis of the Beat Generation and then moving to the field of music with a more thorough examination of punk rock band Sex Pistols’ case. Indeed, both serve as an example of how a literary and cultural movement and a music phenomenon respectively can be permeated by and propagate nihilistic traits which consist in alienating from the purposeless modern society and its conventions as well as protesting against it, while promoting personal liberation and nonconformism.