I once saw a video bashing the Shamate, just for how they looked. I started to watch video's about the origins of the subculture and only got more respect for the shamate subculture. And now i kinda see it as the embodyment of "no matter how dire the situation is, people will find a way to enjoy themself.". And i just love that about these guys.
Right along with you there. I thought it was dumb as hell when I first saw it. After learning more about them and their whole subculture I really hafta respect them.
They are looked down upon in China because their “peasants” or poor country folk that became factory workers in urban areas. Social class bias is very very strong in East Asia. I literally dated a girl from Taiwan and ended the date within minutes because she asked about my background and realized I was born in the mainland and scoffed at me, so I walked right out of the date instantly.
@@VirtualDialog More likely that it was either a perceived slight that actually wasn't, or just never happened. Rando Chinese guy has no control over the actions of the Chinese government, and all the (admittedly, fairly intelligent) Taiwanese people I know understand that
Impressive how one guy has started all this. Especially in a country like china. It's sad to see it receive so much backlash. The subculture seems pretty fun and harmless.
They've got balls doing this under a regime like China too. If I were to ever visit China, these are probably the people I'm the most likely to get along with lol. Though I'd definitely get myself locked up in no time at all.
@@NeostormXLMAX It's a weird combination of different subcultures. The difference is that we don't live under totalitarian regimes, so it doesn't take nearly as much balls to do that here or in Japan.
the whole point of the scene style that they are basically copying(good for them) is to project the beliefs of the subculture. like the elitism, hyper individuality, edginess, etc… the clothes are almost meant to make people upset lol.
I love these kids! I'm afraid for them in the current climate and I wish they wouldn't inhale all that harmful dust when they dance. These guys are the real deal, there's a lot more to them than meets the eye and I respect them and their bravery. Excellent video!
I was talking the other day about wanting to try therapy again ( I got kicked out of it last time because i stopped turning up so I could play poker with my sailor moon playing cards )
@@0therun1t21 I don't think that would help me. I am a practical person. If I can't see how it would work in practice, then I don't know how I can write about my thought process. I am a confusing person, only my dad understands me and I confuse others including myself
I watched a video from serpentza on shamate and it was one of the rare instances of him speaking positively about something from china. He used to go to raves with them and said they were the only people who he felt genuinely accepted him for who he was, not because of the money or a foreigner status.
"Rare Instances" ....... he compliments China and People regularly..... its the CCP that ruined Chinese life but i have a slight inkling you already knew that ...
As a Chinese person that grew up in the West, Serpentza is pretty hardcore subvert racist. I can literally be his Chinese counter part if I made a channel that only revolved around all the negative and evil things in American society. But I’m not insane.
The thing about Serpentza is, he's a piece of shit who shifted into anti-China propaganda (that is what he produces) when he realised there was more of a market for it than his crappy travelogues. He's always had a colonial, 'white god' mentality, so it's not surprising that he wasn't accepted for 'what he was'. Because he was, is, and always will be a piece of shit.
I started to work in a factory in another country very early, so I related a lot with these guys. The only difference is that my "Salvation" was the Punk Rock & Skateboarding, stay free fellas!
Its not sha ma tay😂 it is pronounced sha ma tuh, sending love from Hong Kong where culture is dead and freedom has been replaced with the fear of being arrested for singing a song.
I've noticed that this guy can't pronounce anything except English. I think his videos are good, but the pronounciation of all 'foreign' words pisses me off. He pronounced visual kei as 'visual key' 😂
@@cheu666this and the fact that most of the context-building facts that he gave were incorrect and from a comedically diluted American perspective 🥲 hearing him mispronounce Guangdong and then mislabeling it as a city (it’s a gigantic province) and then calling it low class was kinda crazy LMAO. Also the stuff he was implying at the beginning was so poorly explained - “china hates shamate because communism” when it’s actually way more nuanced than that
Such a profane way of communication, it nibbles at my linguistic tendencies. I was a student of Hong Kong for about 7 years and actually managed to learn 19 ways of swearing without foreigners learning. Gotta love them. *smirks darkly as I fist bump your small shoulder*
one thing to point out authoritative = trust worthy and likely to be respected vs. authoritarian: strict and demanding especially in terms of type of governing style. I only point this out because I've had so many discussions of authoritative parenting vs. authoritarian and how authoritative is the healthiest (think "gentle" parenting that is becoming more common). Authoritarian parenting is the strict, no discussion, throw your stuff away, still believe in spanking, track kids with gps down to the minute kind of parenting. So it's important that people don't equate authoritative with authoritarian when it's not correct. Otherwise great video and don't usually point things out but i thought this was important. keep up the great work :)
Regarding the title of the video: I think more than Cyberpunk, Shamate are meant to copy Visual kei musicians as well as male hosts as portrayed in Japanese media ( for example Ouran Highschool Host Club etc.) . Cyberpunk Shamate seem to be a subgroup of the wider Shamate.
shamate might very well have been inspired by actual hosts bc it's very edgy to imitate s*x workers. I do want to clarify a common misconception in the west. The anime OHHC, does not accurately show how hosts look or operate in Japan. The characters are bougie private school kids, and the demographic for the manga and show were teenagers, so it's very sanitized. What OHHC shows is closer to an experience at a themed restaurant or cafe in Japan. The closest equivalent to hosts in the west is vegas nightlife combined with male s*x work/ gigolos. It's red light district work, so it's under the table, and shady. clients are mostly female s*x workers or women who have money and are considered too old, or powerful, to marry
His pronunciation is WHACK. at first I thought it was bc he never heard the words pronounced but then he showed clips of the words being pronounced in documentaries. If you're gonna be doing this stuff for a living, pronounce the words right bro
same for Adieu, that he pronounced "adoo", like the word "ado" in "a lot ado for nothing", the Shakespeare play. It's pronounced A-dee-uh, folks, and means "to God" originally.
Bro. God Bless You for posting this. As someone who has never heard of Shamate before, I now have so much respect for the subject of this video and you, especially because you put so much high level effort into putting this together so beautifully. You captivated me the entire time while teaching me about a subculture Id never knew while helping me respect exotic expression like Visual Kei. Thank you and rock on!!!
*my masculine cheeks start to turn a deep crimson red that matches the intensity of my eyes* My dearest princess, might I accommodate you on this fine weekend?
When you look at the hukou system in the context in which it was created, you can see the logic behind it. In the 1950s, China was not only one of the poorest countries on earth, but it was overpopulated and only had a handful big cities. If the government allowed people to migrate to wherever they wanted, poor people would all go to Beijing and Shanghai and the two cities would immediately become overrun with migrants and cause the deterioration of both cities. Look at Nigeria for example. Lagos used to be a beautiful city, but since it's one of maybe two big cities in Nigeria, it's overpopulated and falling apart rapidly. But in the modern day, China has over 100+ big cities. The hukou system is no longer needed. But because of the hukou system, the government is able to lie about its homelessness rate. If a migrant is homeless in a city that they have no ID for, then it doesn't actually count because they weren't supposed to be there in the first place, they have a home in whatever province they originally came from😇
That “classy, elegant” opposition subculture reminds me of how Pitchfork-reading indie rock fans and hipsters would treat and talk about fans of pop punk, emos, scene kids, mallgoths, etc in the 2000s-early 2010s
Love this one. As a recovering amateur edge lord I thought I knew a bit about this kinda thing … but I didn’t! This is fascinating, thanks. I’m also currently reading a great book on ancient china too so there’s some synchronicity going on there as well! Cheers!
This is really wicked video! I recently became very invested and a big fan of Shamate, and started writing my own article for a personal blog about it last month so It's really cool to see others covering this subculture!
Very well, I think the attraction some people have with black magic or the ocult, can be traced back to our primordial desire for religious meaning in our lives. The darkness is intoxicating because it is mysterious and since it has a time of forbidden, it gives us a feeling of a greater power to be controlled and used. It is a form of expression combined with a religious outlook on life. Very interesting and very beautiful 🙂
Luo Fuxsing talking about sitting at home and doing his hair and makeup alone is totally relatable to me. There’s something empowering about doing this.
You have a special talent for identifying and exploring truly niche topics like this (at least, from a Western point of view). Really fascinating stuff, great work
It would not surprise me if the murders of some shamates were true. In 2012 up to 70 teenage boys were killed in Iraq who dressed in emo style and the murders were carried out by paramilitary groups as an attack on Western culture. Even in Hungary in 90s and early 2000s the skinheads would beat up young men who dressed in punk-rock style clothing. I witnessed that myself multiple times. Everywhere in the world bored narcissists always looking for vulnerable people to attack and humiliate because individuality is a way of fighting back being controlled and being shat on with a help of a community that is a threat to rich people and governments.
“You probably have some preconceived judgment for these people” Nah. I have some preconceived notion that I’ve found my type of people on the other side of the planet ;p
Vkei fan here! I’m probably a bit late to the party, and someone has probably already said it, but this style seems more similar to Oshare, a visual kei substyle that popped up in the late 2000s and 2010s I think? It’s a lot more like scene fashion, it’s an upbeat and colourful take on the genre and it’s one of my favourite styles. I wish it stuck around a bit longer as I believe now it’s considered a mostly dead style. Also man, these stories are heartbreaking. Though, as an alt person myself, I always find it fascinating how self expression becomes such a powerful and often resorted to tool in protest!
They remind me more of goths, i think. Especially how goths looked in Japan in the 80s in Japan before the style became visual kei. It's really cool. I'm glad this video showed up in my feed.
When I was in college, there was a time when Sha Ma Te was quite popular on the internet. Young wearing with exaggeratingly weird hairstyles and clothes are suddenly everywhere on the internet, although most of the comments are disapproving their actions. Later I realized they are just a tight-knit community with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and unable to find a comfortable life in the big cities. People judge them not entirely because of their weird fashion style, but because they are poor and uneducated.
Imagine you're standing in the middle of the desert around 7 A.M. and a herd of Shamate begins moving toward you, 50,000+ of them all moving forward in unison, speed-walking toward a single Saguaro cactus to converge
Shamate, Punks, Emos, Goths, LGBT folk...its the same story just in different places. Oppressed people express their frustrations at the oppressors and in return are oppressed further. Its so fucking sad.
And as a former Scene Kid from the MySpace era. And I’m talking peak scene era. 2003-2010, after that it kind of got too mainstream to still be a subculture. Much like prehistoric emos listening to Cursive and wearing sweater vests with button downs looking like members of weezer. where as when it got mainstream, kids would listen to MCR and wore black and a To Write Love On Her Arms shirt being called Emo. During its time, scene was a subculture made up of lower middle - low income - or even poor class kids who went to post-hardcore shows (metalcore, grindcore, ect) that took from tenants of punk with DIY fashion, colorful aesthetic, and built around a music scene. Scene was much more than just a look. It was a social group that allowed the weirdos a place to feel welcome and belonging. This seems like the Chinese version of scene to a T
I feel for them, the fact that they were literal kids who went to work in factories for little money so they wouldnt starve and they were able to band together for a sense of community is in a way heart warming. There's an underclass that has developed in my own country (that im part of), but they're nowhere like this, they tend to wear track suits and do crime like sell drugs. But the issues are there and its growing. We truly do live in a cyberpunk world, just China is the literal definition of it while other countries are slowly getting there. When I was getting into my teen years in the 2000s there was so much optimisim where I'm from, homelessness was almost solved, peoples wages were really good etc etc but the moment 2008 happened everything changed, and the government that took over in my country decided to basically destroy the place. You can literally see the low life growing bigger each passing day, like in my city when I moved there for university in 2020 for the most part the city was peaceful but now I hear about gun battles happening in broad daylight, more homeless, more people struggling.
Wow I can’t believe this. I honestly thought the time that subcultures could crop up in the style of the classical era of things like punk, new romantic, and goth was finally gone forever. A lot of this reminds me of Steve Strange and the Blitz kids who spawned new romantic out of the love for Bowie but went off into its own movement of music and fashion
Well, I happened to stumble across this on my feed and thank you! 100% worth the watch and straight to the point and very informative, just what I like! Subscribed and looking forward to more uploads!
At least (in China of all places) a subculture was left alone to thrive. In the UK, most (maybe all) of our subcultures, were driven by music. Now (post 2000) all of them are stillborn. Musical subcultures have no time to cook in the shadows. Before the cells have barely had time to divide (let alone, form, mutate and evolve) the greedy spotlight of commercialism, shines upon them. Our spaces have been captured, and the Internet, social media, rampant commercialism - and even DEI have all had their part to play. The native youths of the UK, have had their souls stolen, and the only way they know that to be true, is through depression - and the uncanny feeling - that something they have never known, is missing.
No clue why these comments are so awful, but this was a really entertaining and informative video. I was glued to the screen. The pacing kept me watching just as much as the researched content and clips did. It's kind of shocking the shamate aren't a known phenomona. Good vid.
I used to think I was the dominant in the relationship, but I got into a fight with a shamate guy who has an alternative personality that acts like Goku Black from Dragonball and I was basically crying. My boyfriend made me feel better and even got rightfully angry that someone dared to hurt me. I love that man.
This movement is absolutely amazing, most movements come from combined efforts but this one was made from passion and love for freedom of expression. I like that they have created an alternative style that is made all its own! So fricken cool and I want to learn more about them!
You tubers who make video with passion like you are so underrated as opposed to those guys who pump out daily overly edited videos that are just a straight up assault of the senses.
those who hated them were most likely jealous that the shamate actually had the courage to freely express themselves in an unique way that was their own despite the given circumstances.
Lol throwing that really old dir en grey video for Jessica is a crazy head trip being a fan for so long I adored this video. Very cool to hear history about this fashion. It really brought me to who I was when I got into vk.
This makes me feel ashamed of owning products made in China. On the other hand, it's almost impossible to avoid it. It's the race to the bottom, the worst of both worlds; the totalitarian control grid of communism, with the ruthless pursuit of wealth and profit-human rights and environmental concerns be damned- of unfettered capitalism.
Compared to a lot of other closed cultures the shamate actually seem like they have a solid point to make and that's dressing so vibrantly to be noticed since they're literally getting shit on as people by everybody else and are barely surviving. I can get behind something like that way easier than some protest based on some musical genre or what have you, this has nothing to do with all we take for granted, it's literally people who can't get noticed in any other way and could potentially blend in with the homeless no one treats as humans anyway if it wasn't for this.
as an american that lived and was educated in china during the 2000s, the golden era of shamate(杀马特). i can say ppl really be hating on these kids for no reason. we hated them cos of their nonconformity spirit, and they dont look like the rest of us. the word shamate had become an insult to people that dress differently and gaudy or cheap barbershops that do odd cuts. but now looking back, they're a bunch of brave kids that are fighting the oppressive society and us npc lol
Just found this video, and gotta say I love to see shamate get some attention in the west. If anyone is more interested can look up the China Show/China fact chasers shamates, it’s two white guys who lived in china for a long time, they’ve had some awesome experiences with them and love the subculture. They deserve zero hate, they are extremely self aware and are super funny and kind people, in a country like China they are actually a breath of fresh air surprisingly.
A lot of scene kid fashion in the early to mid 00s was inspired by by Japanese culture & fashion. Believe me, we were weebs, and I loved me some Malice Mizer. It was like a crosse between that & 80s nostalgia
i thought it was really funny when you were assuming the viewer(me) found these people to be weirdoes, when really I saw their style and immediately liked them lol
all that research but u didnt bother checking how luo fuxings name is pronounce? cmon man u did such a great job it would have taken u 2 seconds to check that x is pronounced as sh in chinese and luo is not pronounced as luau
I once saw a video bashing the Shamate, just for how they looked. I started to watch video's about the origins of the subculture and only got more respect for the shamate subculture. And now i kinda see it as the embodyment of "no matter how dire the situation is, people will find a way to enjoy themself.". And i just love that about these guys.
It's a vibe, it's like 80s big hair anime scene kids. 😂 and as a scene kid back in the day, I approve of all this rn
Right along with you there. I thought it was dumb as hell when I first saw it. After learning more about them and their whole subculture I really hafta respect them.
They are looked down upon in China because their “peasants” or poor country folk that became factory workers in urban areas. Social class bias is very very strong in East Asia. I literally dated a girl from Taiwan and ended the date within minutes because she asked about my background and realized I was born in the mainland and scoffed at me, so I walked right out of the date instantly.
@@zeitgeistx5239i mean that might also have to do with China trying to erase Taiwan from the map
@@VirtualDialog
More likely that it was either a perceived slight that actually wasn't, or just never happened.
Rando Chinese guy has no control over the actions of the Chinese government, and all the (admittedly, fairly intelligent) Taiwanese people I know understand that
Impressive how one guy has started all this. Especially in a country like china. It's sad to see it receive so much backlash. The subculture seems pretty fun and harmless.
They've got balls doing this under a regime like China too. If I were to ever visit China, these are probably the people I'm the most likely to get along with lol.
Though I'd definitely get myself locked up in no time at all.
@@TearThatRedFlagDownits just scene kids in the west, or the japanee movements like visual kei
@@NeostormXLMAX It's a weird combination of different subcultures.
The difference is that we don't live under totalitarian regimes, so it doesn't take nearly as much balls to do that here or in Japan.
As a person that also wanted to look like a VK muscian in the 2000's, this was bittersweet nostalgia-esque trip
I like the whole vibe though 🙃 punk is punk man 😋🥰
@@RoboArc😅😊 3:34 3:40 😊😊😊😊
This sounds like very similar conditions in Manchester in the late 70s that birthed the post-punk scene. Interesting stuff!
Never judge a group by how they look. Only by how they behave, what they believe and why they behave the way they do.
the whole point of the scene style that they are basically copying(good for them) is to project the beliefs of the subculture. like the elitism, hyper individuality, edginess, etc… the clothes are almost meant to make people upset lol.
I love these kids! I'm afraid for them in the current climate and I wish they wouldn't inhale all that harmful dust when they dance.
These guys are the real deal, there's a lot more to them than meets the eye and I respect them and their bravery.
Excellent video!
I was talking the other day about wanting to try therapy again ( I got kicked out of it last time because i stopped turning up so I could play poker with my sailor moon playing cards )
@@kiseee1774 Maybe you can combine these activities, no harm in asking, right?
@@0therun1t21 I don't think that would help me. I am a practical person. If I can't see how it would work in practice, then I don't know how I can write about my thought process. I am a confusing person, only my dad understands me and I confuse others including myself
I watched a video from serpentza on shamate and it was one of the rare instances of him speaking positively about something from china. He used to go to raves with them and said they were the only people who he felt genuinely accepted him for who he was, not because of the money or a foreigner status.
"Rare Instances" ....... he compliments China and People regularly..... its the CCP that ruined Chinese life but i have a slight inkling you already knew that ...
As a Chinese person that grew up in the West, Serpentza is pretty hardcore subvert racist. I can literally be his Chinese counter part if I made a channel that only revolved around all the negative and evil things in American society. But I’m not insane.
The thing about Serpentza is, he's a piece of shit who shifted into anti-China propaganda (that is what he produces) when he realised there was more of a market for it than his crappy travelogues. He's always had a colonial, 'white god' mentality, so it's not surprising that he wasn't accepted for 'what he was'. Because he was, is, and always will be a piece of shit.
Serpentza was a sex pest who got BANNED FROM JAPAN😂😂😂 even japan and korea didnt want him, before settling in china
Laowai and serpentza arent the most reliable people to get information on china lmao, thats like asking talibans opinion on america
I swear you dig up the the most interesting things.
Idc if they look weird. That hair is amazing!
Anime hair IRL
Sculptors with hair
I started to work in a factory in another country very early, so I related a lot with these guys. The only difference is that my "Salvation" was the Punk Rock & Skateboarding, stay free fellas!
Its not sha ma tay😂 it is pronounced sha ma tuh, sending love from Hong Kong where culture is dead and freedom has been replaced with the fear of being arrested for singing a song.
RIP British leased Hong Kong. Hello CCP-snitch-on-your-neighbours Hong Kong.
I've noticed that this guy can't pronounce anything except English. I think his videos are good, but the pronounciation of all 'foreign' words pisses me off. He pronounced visual kei as 'visual key' 😂
@@cheu666 I stopped watching them because it annoyed me too, I get it
@@cheu666this and the fact that most of the context-building facts that he gave were incorrect and from a comedically diluted American perspective 🥲 hearing him mispronounce Guangdong and then mislabeling it as a city (it’s a gigantic province) and then calling it low class was kinda crazy LMAO. Also the stuff he was implying at the beginning was so poorly explained - “china hates shamate because communism” when it’s actually way more nuanced than that
All my Cantonese friends love me, they call me "cao ni ma", it means grass mud horse or something
Such a profane way of communication, it nibbles at my linguistic tendencies. I was a student of Hong Kong for about 7 years and actually managed to learn 19 ways of swearing without foreigners learning. Gotta love them. *smirks darkly as I fist bump your small shoulder*
akshually, that's mandarin
HMMMM
But that's mandarin. In cantonese they would call you "diu nei lo mo" 🥰
one thing to point out authoritative = trust worthy and likely to be respected vs. authoritarian: strict and demanding especially in terms of type of governing style. I only point this out because I've had so many discussions of authoritative parenting vs. authoritarian and how authoritative is the healthiest (think "gentle" parenting that is becoming more common). Authoritarian parenting is the strict, no discussion, throw your stuff away, still believe in spanking, track kids with gps down to the minute kind of parenting. So it's important that people don't equate authoritative with authoritarian when it's not correct. Otherwise great video and don't usually point things out but i thought this was important. keep up the great work :)
DIR EN GREY MENTIONED 🗣️🗣️🗣️❗❗❗ RAAAWWRR SUBETEWO YAMI NI 🗣️🗣️🗣️❗❗❗
Malice Mizer mentioned less gooo
I gotta rep my boys
Wow. I remember listening to MM and DEG about 16 years ago. Oh the nostalgia
@@lolwtfbbq111 I just came back from DEG live 😭
DEG heads UNITE!
Regarding the title of the video: I think more than Cyberpunk, Shamate are meant to copy Visual kei musicians as well as male hosts as portrayed in Japanese media ( for example Ouran Highschool Host Club etc.) . Cyberpunk Shamate seem to be a subgroup of the wider Shamate.
shamate might very well have been inspired by actual hosts bc it's very edgy to imitate s*x workers. I do want to clarify a common misconception in the west. The anime OHHC, does not accurately show how hosts look or operate in Japan. The characters are bougie private school kids, and the demographic for the manga and show were teenagers, so it's very sanitized. What OHHC shows is closer to an experience at a themed restaurant or cafe in Japan. The closest equivalent to hosts in the west is vegas nightlife combined with male s*x work/ gigolos. It's red light district work, so it's under the table, and shady. clients are mostly female s*x workers or women who have money and are considered too old, or powerful, to marry
I’m pretty sure shamate is pronounced (SHA-MA-TOUE/TOE) not (SHA-MA-TAY)
His pronunciation is WHACK. at first I thought it was bc he never heard the words pronounced but then he showed clips of the words being pronounced in documentaries. If you're gonna be doing this stuff for a living, pronounce the words right bro
same for Adieu, that he pronounced "adoo", like the word "ado" in "a lot ado for nothing", the Shakespeare play. It's pronounced A-dee-uh, folks, and means "to God" originally.
Fucking nerds
Was looking for this comment, man that pronunciation was bad
Shut up dude
Bro. God Bless You for posting this. As someone who has never heard of Shamate before, I now have so much respect for the subject of this video and you, especially because you put so much high level effort into putting this together so beautifully. You captivated me the entire time while teaching me about a subculture Id never knew while helping me respect exotic expression like Visual Kei. Thank you and rock on!!!
very thoroughly researched, entertaining and informative. Thank you for your video
Always
Sorry guys, have to cancel my plans. My favorite RUclipsr just uploaded a long form video on a topic I have little to no idea about
Blessed G Unit
*my masculine cheeks start to turn a deep crimson red that matches the intensity of my eyes* My dearest princess, might I accommodate you on this fine weekend?
Time to watch the video on 2x speed
Why isn’t it the dubious little clout whore? Still going after older men or that’s wear thin for you 🤔
Boy if thats ever a mood
When you look at the hukou system in the context in which it was created, you can see the logic behind it. In the 1950s, China was not only one of the poorest countries on earth, but it was overpopulated and only had a handful big cities. If the government allowed people to migrate to wherever they wanted, poor people would all go to Beijing and Shanghai and the two cities would immediately become overrun with migrants and cause the deterioration of both cities. Look at Nigeria for example. Lagos used to be a beautiful city, but since it's one of maybe two big cities in Nigeria, it's overpopulated and falling apart rapidly.
But in the modern day, China has over 100+ big cities. The hukou system is no longer needed. But because of the hukou system, the government is able to lie about its homelessness rate. If a migrant is homeless in a city that they have no ID for, then it doesn't actually count because they weren't supposed to be there in the first place, they have a home in whatever province they originally came from😇
Lol thank you propaganda bot
That “classy, elegant” opposition subculture reminds me of how Pitchfork-reading indie rock fans and hipsters would treat and talk about fans of pop punk, emos, scene kids, mallgoths, etc in the 2000s-early 2010s
Love this one. As a recovering amateur edge lord I thought I knew a bit about this kinda thing … but I didn’t! This is fascinating, thanks. I’m also currently reading a great book on ancient china too so there’s some synchronicity going on there as well! Cheers!
This is really wicked video! I recently became very invested and a big fan of Shamate, and started writing my own article for a personal blog about it last month so It's really cool to see others covering this subculture!
0:00 | Intro
0:18 | Prologue
5:54 | Luo Fuxsing - The Creator of Shamate
15:55 | About Shamate
23:53 | Oppression & Crucifixion
39:33 | Legacy & Rebirth
You are a god send.
@@graymads
Damn, that's wacky.
To be honest this Punky aesthetic is so cool
Very well, I think the attraction some people have with black magic or the ocult, can be traced back to our primordial desire for religious meaning in our lives. The darkness is intoxicating because it is mysterious and since it has a time of forbidden, it gives us a feeling of a greater power to be controlled and used. It is a form of expression combined with a religious outlook on life. Very interesting and very beautiful 🙂
This was kinda sad :(
Luo Fuxsing talking about sitting at home and doing his hair and makeup alone is totally relatable to me. There’s something empowering about doing this.
I imagine if shamate kept evolving the Chinese gov would of labeled them a terrorist group.
You have a special talent for identifying and exploring truly niche topics like this (at least, from a Western point of view). Really fascinating stuff, great work
It would not surprise me if the murders of some shamates were true. In 2012 up to 70 teenage boys were killed in Iraq who dressed in emo style and the murders were carried out by paramilitary groups as an attack on Western culture. Even in Hungary in 90s and early 2000s the skinheads would beat up young men who dressed in punk-rock style clothing. I witnessed that myself multiple times. Everywhere in the world bored narcissists always looking for vulnerable people to attack and humiliate because individuality is a way of fighting back being controlled and being shat on with a help of a community that is a threat to rich people and governments.
“You probably have some preconceived judgment for these people”
Nah. I have some preconceived notion that I’ve found my type of people on the other side of the planet ;p
Vkei fan here! I’m probably a bit late to the party, and someone has probably already said it, but this style seems more similar to Oshare, a visual kei substyle that popped up in the late 2000s and 2010s I think? It’s a lot more like scene fashion, it’s an upbeat and colourful take on the genre and it’s one of my favourite styles. I wish it stuck around a bit longer as I believe now it’s considered a mostly dead style.
Also man, these stories are heartbreaking. Though, as an alt person myself, I always find it fascinating how self expression becomes such a powerful and often resorted to tool in protest!
They remind me more of goths, i think. Especially how goths looked in Japan in the 80s in Japan before the style became visual kei. It's really cool. I'm glad this video showed up in my feed.
When I was in college, there was a time when Sha Ma Te was quite popular on the internet. Young wearing with exaggeratingly weird hairstyles and clothes are suddenly everywhere on the internet, although most of the comments are disapproving their actions. Later I realized they are just a tight-knit community with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and unable to find a comfortable life in the big cities. People judge them not entirely because of their weird fashion style, but because they are poor and uneducated.
That was a really good little documentary. I feel informed on these nice people now.
Imagine you're standing in the middle of the desert around 7 A.M. and a herd of Shamate begins moving toward you, 50,000+ of them all moving forward in unison, speed-walking toward a single Saguaro cactus to converge
LET'S GO, GRAYMADS POST ABOUT NICHE TOPIC
Shamate, Punks, Emos, Goths, LGBT folk...its the same story just in different places. Oppressed people express their frustrations at the oppressors and in return are oppressed further. Its so fucking sad.
Too bad one of those groups are now the oppressors that made everyone walks on eggshells everyday now.
And as a former Scene Kid from the MySpace era. And I’m talking peak scene era. 2003-2010, after that it kind of got too mainstream to still be a subculture. Much like prehistoric emos listening to Cursive and wearing sweater vests with button downs looking like members of weezer. where as when it got mainstream, kids would listen to MCR and wore black and a To Write Love On Her Arms shirt being called Emo.
During its time, scene was a subculture made up of lower middle - low income - or even poor class kids who went to post-hardcore shows (metalcore, grindcore, ect) that took from tenants of punk with DIY fashion, colorful aesthetic, and built around a music scene. Scene was much more than just a look. It was a social group that allowed the weirdos a place to feel welcome and belonging.
This seems like the Chinese version of scene to a T
This is one of the most accurate video essays on the Shamate 杀马特subculture I’ve seen across the web, well made
I feel for them, the fact that they were literal kids who went to work in factories for little money so they wouldnt starve and they were able to band together for a sense of community is in a way heart warming. There's an underclass that has developed in my own country (that im part of), but they're nowhere like this, they tend to wear track suits and do crime like sell drugs. But the issues are there and its growing. We truly do live in a cyberpunk world, just China is the literal definition of it while other countries are slowly getting there.
When I was getting into my teen years in the 2000s there was so much optimisim where I'm from, homelessness was almost solved, peoples wages were really good etc etc but the moment 2008 happened everything changed, and the government that took over in my country decided to basically destroy the place. You can literally see the low life growing bigger each passing day, like in my city when I moved there for university in 2020 for the most part the city was peaceful but now I hear about gun battles happening in broad daylight, more homeless, more people struggling.
Wow I can’t believe this. I honestly thought the time that subcultures could crop up in the style of the classical era of things like punk, new romantic, and goth was finally gone forever. A lot of this reminds me of Steve Strange and the Blitz kids who spawned new romantic out of the love for Bowie but went off into its own movement of music and fashion
Well, I happened to stumble across this on my feed and thank you! 100% worth the watch and straight to the point and very informative, just what I like! Subscribed and looking forward to more uploads!
Love these guys. Top 3 favorite sub.
At least (in China of all places) a subculture was left alone to thrive.
In the UK, most (maybe all) of our subcultures, were driven by music.
Now (post 2000) all of them are stillborn.
Musical subcultures have no time to cook in the shadows. Before the cells have barely had time to divide (let alone, form, mutate and evolve) the greedy spotlight of commercialism, shines upon them.
Our spaces have been captured, and the Internet, social media, rampant commercialism - and even DEI have all had their part to play.
The native youths of the UK, have had their souls stolen, and the only way they know that to be true, is through depression - and the uncanny feeling - that something they have never known, is missing.
that’s an official invite
Top notch video, keep it up.
No clue why these comments are so awful, but this was a really entertaining and informative video. I was glued to the screen. The pacing kept me watching just as much as the researched content and clips did. It's kind of shocking the shamate aren't a known phenomona. Good vid.
I wonder if Miyavi knows he started this
Damn well they were truly one of a kind at the time.
Love your intros btw.
3:57 i just had this playing on soundcloud omfg i was so confused😭
I lived in China and knew some Shamate! They were amazing people
Hey, first time on your channel, that was an interesting take, I like the parrallel with cyberpunk and the oppressive dystopian chinese system
Y'know, soul crushing work culture is not specific to China or authoritarian countries. India a democracy also has terrible working conditions
I used to think I was the dominant in the relationship, but I got into a fight with a shamate guy who has an alternative personality that acts like Goku Black from Dragonball and I was basically crying. My boyfriend made me feel better and even got rightfully angry that someone dared to hurt me.
I love that man.
That was a beautiful story, thanks for sharing
Welcome to you brother Maddy-senpai!
Nice. You shed some light on these poor kids. People do things to survive. Everyone gets a different ride in this world.
This movement is absolutely amazing, most movements come from combined efforts but this one was made from passion and love for freedom of expression. I like that they have created an alternative style that is made all its own! So fricken cool and I want to learn more about them!
That was really interesting. Here is some engagement. Thanks!
bless
Its pronounced like shah-mah-tur/tour.
You tubers who make video with passion like you are so underrated as opposed to those guys who pump out daily overly edited videos that are just a straight up assault of the senses.
great vid, got my sub
those who hated them were most likely jealous that the shamate actually had the courage to freely express themselves in an unique way that was their own despite the given circumstances.
SerpenZA &n Laowai86 introduced me to this culture a year or two back..
Lol throwing that really old dir en grey video for Jessica is a crazy head trip being a fan for so long
I adored this video. Very cool to hear history about this fashion. It really brought me to who I was when I got into vk.
this was a great video thank you. +++ for the pastebin
Wow can't believe this topic made it out of Sinophile YT 😳
These people aren't Sinophiles. They're Sinophobes who know very, very little about the country.
I have so much empathy for the struggle of these kids
Holy shit
Has your PNG always had dual layer antenna?
I just noticed this.
yep
It’s funny how easily people can be controlled if you give them someone else to shit on.
those beats are sick. i got nothing but love for these kids
Long live shamate
This makes me feel ashamed of owning products made in China. On the other hand, it's almost impossible to avoid it. It's the race to the bottom, the worst of both worlds; the totalitarian control grid of communism, with the ruthless pursuit of wealth and profit-human rights and environmental concerns be damned- of unfettered capitalism.
Thnx bro:)
Compared to a lot of other closed cultures the shamate actually seem like they have a solid point to make and that's dressing so vibrantly to be noticed since they're literally getting shit on as people by everybody else and are barely surviving. I can get behind something like that way easier than some protest based on some musical genre or what have you, this has nothing to do with all we take for granted, it's literally people who can't get noticed in any other way and could potentially blend in with the homeless no one treats as humans anyway if it wasn't for this.
Great job
Banger
Bless
He who Bangs is He who spreads wisdom. Bless are the souls within this channel. Thank you gray-chan!
So Punk meets Kandi Raver.
This is fascinating.
They are cool! Punk movement in China! Impressive. This is what the country needs.
Today I learned (no really)
;)
I once gave head
So bald and pure
All my lovers were in love I’m sure
My head so fine and aged like wine
Wrinkled up when my patience declined
What’s up Gray, how you been bud!
AYO WHATS UP JOE!
SSDD broski, hope all is well I see you’re growing very nice! 100k here we come!
What was the song that was written about them mentioned at 36:08 ?
as an american that lived and was educated in china during the 2000s, the golden era of shamate(杀马特). i can say ppl really be hating on these kids for no reason. we hated them cos of their nonconformity spirit, and they dont look like the rest of us. the word shamate had become an insult to people that dress differently and gaudy or cheap barbershops that do odd cuts. but now looking back, they're a bunch of brave kids that are fighting the oppressive society and us npc lol
Deftones/shoegaze vid when???😫
Just found this video, and gotta say I love to see shamate get some attention in the west. If anyone is more interested can look up the China Show/China fact chasers shamates, it’s two white guys who lived in china for a long time, they’ve had some awesome experiences with them and love the subculture. They deserve zero hate, they are extremely self aware and are super funny and kind people, in a country like China they are actually a breath of fresh air surprisingly.
xiaoqingxing gives me BIG ick vibes.
Looks like i get some dope entertainment before work
A lot of scene kid fashion in the early to mid 00s was inspired by by Japanese culture & fashion. Believe me, we were weebs, and I loved me some Malice Mizer. It was like a crosse between that & 80s nostalgia
where is the link to the doc? Sha Ma Te, Wo Ai Ni?
Knowing China the Cheap Hair Dye is Likely got Formaldehyde in the ingredients
I’m super confused. What does Shinee’s song have to do with this? I can’t find anything on internet relating their song to the shamate.
this is literally how punk came into existence.
i thought it was really funny when you were assuming the viewer(me) found these people to be weirdoes, when really I saw their style and immediately liked them lol
all that research but u didnt bother checking how luo fuxings name is pronounce? cmon man u did such a great job it would have taken u 2 seconds to check that x is pronounced as sh in chinese and luo is not pronounced as luau
I ❤ Shamate
Always happy to find another video essayist with cool topics, insta-sub.
Also cyberpunk is: high tech, low *life*
where can i watch the SHA MA TE / WE WERE SMART docu? i can't find it
The music choice reminds me of Dutch Gabber
Hakken en zagen! : - D
She looks like a Mad Max villain in her new rebrand.😂
shamate and chamate have the same sound in portuquese, cha mate are an type o tea, i just want see tea related content, LMAO (good video btw)
WAKE UP BABE, MORE LONG FORM GRAYMADS CONTENT 🫡🔥
SPOOKY!