The Aesthetic Attunement of the Decepticon Moped Army

by Greg Schweser
"One day may the streets be filed with the roaring of 50cc engines and the highways be to clogged for bloated four wheelers to travel on" -- from the Decepticon web page

Imagine this scenario: You are walking down a suburban street on an early spring afternoon enjoying the nice weather. Mothers are walking past you pushing their babies in carriages. Children are playing games in their front yards. You hear a distant buzzing sound. Everyone around you looks up curiously as the buzzing gets louder and louder. Suddenly filling the street comes hundreds of mopeds from around the corner. The children scream. The mothers gasp. . . The Decepticon Moped Army is in town! Mopeds as far as the eye can see swarm the street forcing the traffic to come to a standstill and frightening everybody in sight. The Decepticon motto 'swarm and destroy' and the previous scenario contain a hint of absurdity. In reality, the Decepticons number in the twenties and consist mostly of scrawny college aged kids. Although the tough attitude seems out of place in reality, it's implicit absurdity does have some important implications for the values and beliefs that the members of this group hold. Members of the Decepticons are all at an age in their lives where they have recently been torn from the securities of dependent childhood living and forced into the adult world of rent, responsibility, work, and school. Because of their Schillerian aesthetic ethos, however, the Decepticons are able to assuage the potential anxieties and turbulence of this period of life.

One hundred years before Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic theory of personality, Friedrich Schiller reasoned that:

The sense impulse excludes from its subject all spontaneity and freedom, the form impulse excludes all dependence, all passivity. But exclusion of freedom is physical, while exclusion of passivity is moral, necessity. Both impulses therefore compel the mind, the former through laws of Nature, the latter through laws of Reason. So the play impulse, in which both combine to function, will compel the mind at once morally and physically; it will therefore, since it annuls all mere chance, annul all compulsion also, and set man free both physically and morally (Schiller, p.74).

The play drive opens one's eyes to aesthetic beauty and balances out both drives to create an equilibrium between reality and form. It balances out the sensuous and formal drives so that neither one will overtake the work of the other. The play drive involves neither morals nor impulses; it merely allows one's precepts to 'play' with one's sensations in order to see the beauty within the world. This play drive is persistently apparent in the behaviors and beliefs of the Decepticons. This drive allows them to escape the rigid formality of work life while allowing them to live a 'way of life' that is exciting as well as responsible.

The main reason for the vigorous dedication that the Decepticons have for their mopeds is the excitement that the moped offers. When asked 'why the moped?', a Decepticon will likely say 'because mopeds are fun' rather than citing economic or environmental reasons. Although such reasons may be secondary, the Decepticons are more interested in the excitement that comes with riding. 'Rides' frequently begin with one person riding his or her moped around the neighborhood. Other Decepticons are summoned form their houses and encouraged to participate. Usually, whenever a Decepticon has spare time, he or she will never refuse a ride. Eventually a pack of eight or nine moped riders is created and the swarm begins. The feeling of harmony that comes from riding with several other people is, for the Decepticon, immeasurable.

There is also an immense amount of pleasure that the Decepticon gets from riding a moped that only runs because of the work he or she put into it. Mopeds break down frequently and fixing them up has become a central part of the thrill for the Decepticon. The pride that comes with having a working machine can only be attributed to one's own hard work. The aesthetic beauty of the moped is personified when the moped becomes a figurative extension of its owner. The amount of energy one puts into the moped makes it, for the Decepticon, a physical part of the body. While the Decepticons claim that what unites them as a group is love of the moped, there seem to be other factors which have caused them to come together. The aesthetic ethos is not simply represented in their ability to play with their environments while riding their mopeds, there also seems to exist a creative and artistic influence which precedes the moped as a form of expression. It has been reported that some of the original members first became acquainted at local music shows. Although taste in music is not completely homogeneous within the group, there seems to be a general disposition for musical appreciation as well as other forms of creative expression. Among the Decepticons are many musicians, painters, graphic designers, and artists in general. In a sense, the aesthetic ethos is a prerequisite for Decepticon membership, not merely a result of it. Additionally, the Decepticons are able to maintain their ethos by only accepting members who they are sure will take the moped seriously but at the same time be able to enjoy the thrill of life. The balance between seriousness and enjoyment of life is very important and without such a balance, the entire configuration of the Decepticons would be drastically different.

The Schillerian aesthetic ethos is also manifested in reaction to criticism. When riding, the Decepticons are often not given respect from other motorists. People shout taunts from their cars and yell things such as 'get a real bike' or 'get off the road.' When these comments are made, they are taken very lightly because the Decepticons believe that their transportation experiences are much more pleasurable than those of other commuters. They also feel that they get the last laugh when they pull up at red lights beside the cars that spouted taunts. In playing with these other people's criticisms, they rev their motors and try to appear tough, which given the average Decepticon physique, is usually a very whimsical act. The Decepticons are also able to creatively play with their opposition in other ways. In reaction to a rival 'gang' who jokingly sought to destroy the Decepticons, they had a cartoon published in the campus newspaper which humorously ridiculed the opponent 'gang' debasing their validity as a legitimate organization. This ability to play with and creatively rebut their opposition serves to strengthen the Decepticon ideal. Not only do these retorts offer humor for group members but they also strengthen the group's identity by maintaining group values of endurance and non-conformity to popular ideals.

There is much insight to be gained about this group from the origin of its name. Decepticons were toys of the Transformer series. They were the evil antagonists of the Transformers and could change their form from robots to machines such as cars, robotic insects, spaceships, etc. . . That the moped group decided to take on the Decepticon name suggests that the group members lead double lives. Computer programmers or students by day, evil threatening moped riders by night. The contradiction of 'threatening mopeds' seems a little ridiculous at first, and it is a little ridiculous but there is something awe striking when ten shiny mopeds go buzzing along the road occupied by scrawny twenty year olds who refuse to be threatened by anyone. Even the fact that the group took its name from a toy implies that they are a bit lighthearted about the purpose of their organization. The time and care they put into maintaining their mopeds, however, imply that they are also sincere and dedicated to their cause of seeking the thrill that comes from riding the moped.

Interesting parallels may be drawn between the Decepticons and other similar groups and organizations. Aspects that they both borrow and refuse of other groups further demonstrates their aesthetic ethos. In many ways, the Decepticons are similar to the Hell's Angels or other motorcycle gangs. Although the traditional motorcycle gang is typically construed to be aggressive or tough, the Decepticons resist this image but do pay it playful lip service by sarcastically claiming to be militant. The image of the moped could be conceived as a toy when compaired to a full sized Harley. Additionally, the physical appearance of the Decepticons is much less intimidating than that of a motorcycle gang. One cannot help but to notice the satirical undertones of the moped gang when placed next to the motorcycle gang. They do have some similarities however. The Decepticons value group pride and cohesion and often ride in packs. They even have their own Decepticon uniform consisting of 'Moped Army' lettered in Old English style on jackets and T-shirts.

The Decepticons also play with the notion that they are a gang similar to that of a street gang. The 'Moped Army' uniform mentioned above is an example of this satirical comparison. Fliers are pasted up regularly around town which say 'Moped Army' and depict the Decepticon icon. Although these fliers are meant solely to spread awareness of the group, they appear a bit intimidating and could be equated with gang signs that are sometimes spray painted on walls. The Decepticons facetiously entertain the notion that they are actually a dangerous gang in town. To them, this is an amusing way to making themselves known as something which they obviously are not. Compared to how many people construe street gang members, the Decepticons are non-violent, jovial, easy going kids.

While members of the Decepticons have been forced to deal with the realities of strenuous real life responsibility, they have been able to maintain their youthful ideals of thrill seeking and excitement. Using their abilities to play with the situations that life gives them, they have been successful in avoiding the possibility of leading dull and pointless lives devoid of meaning. Their Schillerian aesthetic ethos enables them to work as adults and play as kids. They are very serious about their ability to do this. As their medium, they have chosen the moped and they have been able to remain faithful to this medium. Their dedication to the moped is instantly obvious as one looks at the Moped Army web page and scrolls down the dozens of pictures they have compiled of fancy mopeds. Although they take their 'moped pride' very seriously, they are also able to be lighthearted about their involvement in the group. This is evident in their satirical 'Moped Army' jackets and fliers as well as their inclinations to mockingly snap back at people who taunt them as they ride.

Disclaimer There is definitely more substance to the Decepticons than mentioned above. In writing a configurational analysis, I am forced to produce a somewhat skewed view of this group. By confining the members of the Decepticons to an ethos, in this case a Schillerian aesthetic ethos, I have felt inclined to leave out some information and distort other information. Although I originally felt that this particular ethos was in fact representative of this group, I came to awkward moments while trying to analyze data that did not fit it perfectly. In describing the ethos of the Decepticons, I felt that I was trying to argue a particular viewpoint rather than simply describe the nature of the group. Some information was omitted because it contrasted slightly with the aesthetic ethos. Although I could have described such information in a particular way in order to attempt to make it fit, I felt that such a maneuver would nevertheless make the paper more confusing. If not adding confusion, I would definitely be adding my biases. Indeed I added my biases by omitting some information in the first place.

I also felt the necessity to describe the Decepticons in a positive light. Because I know some them personally and find their hobby interesting and amusing I feel a need to describe it as such. Is this much different than an anthropologist who is intrigued by the practices of the Trobriand Islanders or the Kwakiutl Indians? In attempting to articulate my interest in the Decepticons, my phrasing and selection of material was definitely, if not subconsciously, affected. More importantly, I believe, is the fact that I ignored certain aspects which also present great insights into the subculture, particularly that of utilitarianism. Some major reasons that people choose to ride mopeds are that they are the easiest place to get from one place to the other, they take less energy to operate than bicycles, and they require much less fuel than cars. This information, although it does not inherently contrast with the Schillerian aesthetic ethos, is somewhat unrelated and would have detracted from my 'argument.'

Work Cited:

Schiller, Friedrich. On the Aesthetic Education of Man. Translated by Reginald Snell (1994). Thoemmes Press. Bristol, England.

Thanks to Simon King, Dan Webber, Vanessa Sly, and Jason Nickol for their interviews.