I used to think there was such a thing as “mainstream culture”. But the more I observe people, the more I think that is a myth.
As you get to know people, you gradually realize that everybody is engaging in outside culture. People naturally cohere into groups that focus on the rejection of some form or other of mainstream thinking.
People generally don’t think of themselves as being part of an outsider culture. Rather, they think that some aspect of mainstream thinking is fundamentally flawed.
Generally there is some larger issue involved. The issue might be education, or the environment, or religion, or government, or individual rights. There are lots of issues to choose from.
The important thing is that people within any given social group all agree that in at least one particular way, most people in society are crazy. They comfort themselves — and each other — by knowing that at least they’ve got it right.
There is an irony here, and it is this: Being part of one outsider culture or another is the most mainstream thing there is.