Dark Academia: We’ll Fight Despair with Poetry and Statues
The dark academia scene induced excitement and intrigue in me when I found about it in one of my Internet explorations. Dark academia gained popularity amongst the youth on sites like Tumblr and Tiktok as well as more familiar social media sites like Instagram, but I didn’t know that. I found it by way of happy accident, and as an academic, I was nothing short of delighted. I was one of those people who loved learning so much I took extra classes just for the knowledge. I eventually became a professor and found myself drawn toward classic vintage attire dark colors. When my friends talk about traveling, they usually talk about bright blue skies and shining sun on a tropical beach. When I think of traveling, I imagine visiting historic cemeteries filled with alabaster statues adorned with enigmatic symbols and wandering down cobbled streets in ancient towns. Then I found the dark academia crowd online and was happy to realize that there are not only other people like me but that there are a lot of them who are crafting accounts devoted to the lifestyle. There was a natural affinity. Dark academia is an aesthetic lifestyle scene with people who enjoy learning for the sake of learning but have some edge going on. They are definitely the kinds of people who would like spending their vacations in old towns surrounded by statues preferably by an old, vast library with stained glass windows. These are book enthusiasts, people with leather journals, clad in tweed and somber or neutral colors. The show Peaky Blinders, which spans from the late 1800s to the 1920s, will give you a rough idea of the tailored, put together looks and aesthetics favored by dark academic enthusiasts. It’s the type of clothing people wear when they are pursuing the serious(ly romanticized) intellectual work of their highest and most intense aspirations. Think attire appropriate for both a lecture and for some wandering with a sketch book under cloudy skies. These people are playing sonatas and fugues and are imagining future adventures in castles with secret passages to forbidden libraries. They may like depressing literature, but it’s just a means to fighting the despair generated by the mundane; it’s a beautiful cure though heavy in theme.
Trends: they come and go. For someone deeply interested in enduring ideas and aesthetics of great power and value, trends aren’t really something worth registering, unless of course, the trend is just that: a celebration of the academic tradition or of powerful creativity. Dark academia has taken the initiative and built itself up as an immersive experience of intelligence and imagination. There’s been an anti-intellectual streak in American popular culture for as long as I can recollect, and mainstream aesthetics seem to be fast fashion or corporate music driven or influenced by the bare bones minimalism aesthetic for the most part. Dark academia isn’t that. I see it as a rebellion against the same old that has been dominating youth culture for so long. That doesn’t mean the scene is boring. If anything, it’s more interesting than some of the subcultures out there precisely because it values thought, imagination, and aesthetics.
The trend is growing right now because so many students are stuck at home. The isolation and online learning environment are sparking day dreams of learning new and powerful ideas and exchanging thoughts with unique individuals — in person. Some trekking across campus in the throes of a great and powerful love might be in the forecast too. Library escapades have never been so attractive.
I think this scene is easy enough to understand: it’s academic but dark. It has edginess to it. These people read banned books and dream vision poetry about alluring yet dangerous phantoms and brave knights. They’re debating philosophy, and a nihilist is not only in the room talking with them, he’s also making them zines. Even though the nihilist is excessively negative, they like him anyway. They love art but in the melancholy style. They dream richly but pinch pennies, thrift store gurus pairing tweed with combat boots. They are making color coded flash cards while blasting dismal and ornate symphonies.
Does that mean the scene isn’t for everyone? There are a few people out there who argue that the scene is too focused on Euro-centric culture. From what I’ve noticed online though it seems like there are people from all walks of life who are into dark academia. From some of the more popular social media accounts, it is clear that the people in the scene discuss books that are by people of color. They discuss colonialism’s effects on academia. To be honest, they seem to be having better conversations than most of us. They aren’t calling each other names in the midst of cut-throat political diatribes. When someone brings up a concern or an issue, everyone calmly exchanges ideas. They make it a point to be welcoming to anyone who enjoys the lifestyle and aesthetic. I imagine that if dark academia enthusiasts felt more diversity were needed, they would easily start social media accounts devoted to that, and they would have thousands of followers. It isn’t entirely about high literature and fancy symphonies though. Dark academia types enjoy Harry Potter. They like making crass jokes about Roman emperors. They listen to rock and pop playlists that have unusual themes, like Olivia Lee’s “You’re Investigating the Biggest Crime Scene in a Century Playlist.” What about age? This scene seems to be mainly composed of college students, but some of the people have graduated and are in their late twenties. I don’t think you need to be a certain age to enjoy dark academia. The lifestyle is focused on the college experience, but anyone who lives the lifestyle and likes the aesthetic elements can enjoy dark academia for what it is. If you think about it, there are plenty of professors and curious, information minded people that already have been into dark academia without even knowing there was any kind of official subculture.
Dark academia also has some sisters and a cousin so to speak: light academia, witchy academia, and cottage-core. Light academia is just like dark academia but with a lighter color palette and less depressing poetry, perhaps. Witchy academia is also similar to dark academia but with midnight séances and magical oils in the mix. If dark academia had a cousin, it would be cottage core, which has more of a milk maid/pastoral shepherd vintage appeal, favoring puffy sleeves and straw hats. Instead of emphasizing intellectual pursuits and aesthetics, cottage core people focus on picnics in the country, pressing flowers, and baking bread. The cottage core folks also have some powerful social media accounts focused on building community up for people of color. Dark academia’s extended family is easily found once you enter your next Moonlight Sonata driven Internet looking glass realm expedition.
The kind of content you will find on Dark Academia accounts varies. There are aesthetic boards, quotes, book recommendations, study tips, outfit ideas, room transformations, travel pics, creative writing, paintings, statues, and more.
With all that being said, if you are curious about dark academia, I do have some accounts to recommend.
I mentioned Olivia Lee before, but I can’t emphasize enough how enjoyable her playlists are. One day, her work “Dark Royalty Core Aesthetic Playlist” just showed up on my YouTube feed. I needed something to listen to, so I clicked on it and was delighted to discover some enchanting, dark, heavy orchestral music. Since then, I frequently listen to her music playlists. She’s masterful at combining complimentary songs and picking themes that make your research seem more exciting than it might really be. Life doesn’t feel so boring when her music compilation videos are on. It’s easy to think that one day you too could be waltzing in some dark ball room or “studying in a haunted library with ghosts.” Of course, her image selections help build the mood, including people in ornate gowns dancing in halls decked with chandeliers or eerie letters written in faded script.
If you want to check out a Dark Academia YouTube channel that isn’t focused solely on music, I have a couple of recommendations. Check out Veda Corvus. She doesn’t have a lot of videos, but the ones she has are quality. Her channel includes dark academia/witchy recommendations, tutorials, look books, and chatty content. I enjoyed her video “Dark Academia Witch Crafts|| A Cozy Autumn Night.” In the video, she demonstrates activities without it coming off like a purely instructional video. It was just enough to inspire. I also liked her “How to Get the Dark Academia Aesthetic: An Instagram Tutorial” video. She reveals her favorite editing apps and explains how to adjust everything for the perfect dark academia visuals; it’s more involved than I realized but gave me some ideas. Another thing to check out is R.C. Waldrun’s channel. His channel is more academic than dark academia, but there is an informative, well thought out video on dark academia with film and book recommendations. In the video, he really emphasizes the importance of enjoyment and individuality in the dark academia scene, which I think is important. Life is too variable to follow an aesthetic trend as if it were an imperative.
On Instagram, I recommend dxrkacademia because she has a wide range of content. Many of the Instagram accounts devoted to dark academia focus only on one thing, like fashion or mood boards. If you don’t want to follow ten different accounts for your dark academia needs, dxrkacademia’s account has a little bit of everything, such as fashion, music, book, and activity ideas, all in one place. On the other hand, if you are interested in dark academia but don’t want to follow an account that has more textual based posts, finding some purely imagery focused accounts to follow makes sense. One such account is dark.academia.fashion. This account is frequently updated with a wide variety of looks. My favorite part of the account is the stories on the top, where you can find guidance about the fashion and makeup ideas as well as thoughts about the aesthetic. You can also find links to corresponding Pinterest and Spotify accounts.
I only recently learned that Dark Academia is an official subculture, springing from the soil of the interweb like a magical vine leading to the higher potential of the mind (though hopefully without any murderous giants). I view the subculture, organic and untampered with, as a potential remedy for some of our social ills. I imagine our shared humanity paired with the wisdom of great books leading to a better, saner world. Plus, I’m hoping that we’ll eventually see a rebellion against cookie cutter buildings and crappy corporate art. We’ll fight despair with poetry and statues.
