Image: My Chemical Romance - "Helena" [YouTube]
Until January 15, 2025, visitors in London can explore the exhibition “I’m Not Okay (An Emo Retrospective)”, which offers a glimpse into the youth culture of the emo scene from 2004 to 2009. Hosted at the Barbican Music Library, the exhibition provides an “unfiltered look at when youth culture was cute, raw, vulnerable, and unapologetically different”.
You can look forward to plenty of camera phone photos from old hard drives and Photobucket accounts, offering an honest look back at the emo era of the 2000s. The exhibition is brought to life in collaboration with the Museum Of Youth Culture.
Nostalgia With My Chemical Romance & Co.
2024 marks the 20th anniversary of My Chemical Romance’s second album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, and In Love And Death by The Used is also turning 20. 2004 gave us many great albums that are essential to the emo movement. Therefore, My Chemical Romance’s song “I’m Not Okay” couldn’t be a more fitting title for the exhibition.
The event organizers at the museum are personally passionate about the subject:
“The ethos of emo resonated deeply with a generation, channeling collective teenage melancholy into a transatlantic subculture that thrived in cyberspace just as well as in the basement venues of grotty pubs. With one foot IRL and the other in MySpace, emo wasn’t just a scene – it was the only way of living, the only way we could envision our futures."
“The exhibition examines how this scene intertwined with internet fame and drama, with teens expressing their angst through confessional lyrics, tight jeans, and dyed black hair. I’m Not Okay delves into how emo became a positive force for acceptance, addressing issues of sexuality, mental health, gender, identity, and belonging. It was one of the first subcultures to bridge the physical and digital worlds, laying the groundwork for today’s digital youth quake led by TikTok and Instagram.”
The goal is to share memories and evoke them in the visitors.
Munsur Ali, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee, noted that many exhibition images were donated:
“This new exhibition, rich in discovered and donated visual material from the era, will prove very popular with everyone who drew comfort and inspiration from their favourite emo bands’ confessional lyrics, and strength and a sense of release from creating their own visual identity.”
The exhibition is certainly worth visiting for anyone feeling nostalgic about a memorable and formative time in their lives.
