Did Someone Say Dark Academia? - What Actually Is It?

A bonus video about the dark academia aesthetic... and what is it in my eyes.

Essays and insights:

[chelseagirl]

As a middle-aged English professor living in an apartment lined with bookshelves and full of old wood furniture -- I'm delighted to hear this is a trend!

[larisa]

“In simple terms dark academia is young people trying to dress like old people” I cackled bc it’s TRUEEE

[princessdelfi]

dark academia is the romanticization of learning and I love it

[freebeerishere]

thank you for talking about “finding your own dark academia” kind of thing. it’s a shame many (such as myself) fall into this trap of dark academia being limited to literature. it can be about science, maths, music and for me it’s art and history.

[Awall]

So I just found out that the way I dressed in college 20 years ago as a history student is now an aesthetic...huh.

[andrewrobinson]

“Dark Academia is *not* a cult”.
Me: *slowly lowers the hood of my tweed robes* ...oh...

[freebeerishere]

fun fact: u don’t need to read the secret history and the picture of dorian gray to join dark academia kids

[reneeamani]

To me, dark academia is much more than just dressing preppy and decorating your room, it's about your love for learning. It's about having a passion for your subject of interest & being devoted to opening your eyes to the endless possibilities of things in the world. And your passion doesn't have to be literature. I think that's where some individuals feel a little stuck. Your passion could be about absolutely anything. As long as you enjoy it. Learning comes in so many different shapes and sizes. It also doesn't mean working on something 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without indulging in anything else. You could spend time learning about something twice a week And still be considered "dark academia." As long as you enjoy what you're learning.

Of course not everyone has to be like this. I'm just talking from personal experience.

My love for learning started from a very young age. I was particularly drawn to reading, writing and the performing arts as well as music. As I grew older, especially as i moved on to secondary school, I fell in love with singing and joined the school choir. My favourite classes were English literature, performing arts and history. I mostly loved learning about medieval England. I think that's where my "dark academia" kicked in, aha. I only found out that it was classed as an aesthetic recently though. However I seem to have adopted a similar aesthetic anyway. I'm quite fond of it; I enjoy pretending I'm not from the 21st Century sometimes lmao.

Love your video, by the way. ✨

[sergiovela]

Dark academia is just ravenclaws trying to be fashionable
It's me, I'm ravenclaws

[gloriawoosiuk]

It's 1AM and I happened to find myself exactly where I'm supposed to be.

[b.siddique]

Do you narrate audio books? If not please do.

[rafaella]

I was into dark academia without even know it.

[FatherBroseph]

You don't look like how your voice sounds

[elizaindisguise]

apparently ive subconsciously been adhering to the dark academia aesthetic this is fascinating. i bought the secret history years ago at a secondhand bookstore, im genuinely am so passionate in shakespeare and theatre, and i just liked the fashion associated with dark academia before even knowing what it was lol. im a dark academia noob (like legit i heard about it yesterday) but i find it so interesting that there's a name to the kind of person i kinda am. great video!


i love your voice btw i would 100% listen to an audiobook read by you

[maia]

gays
its dark academia in autumn
cottagecore in spring
italian summer in summer
and vintage on winter


now all of the four aesthetics of the gays are organized

[styleandthecity]

Dead Poets Society introduced me to dark academia and it's been interesting exploring the aesthetic

[an]

I loved the aesthetic of Remus Lupin so much back in high school, now I'm into dark academia:)

[annjay]

5 years ago people made fun of me in school and now my lifestyle is an aesthetic on tik tok, what a time to be alive...

[MYYQ]

My dark academia aesthetic is quite Soviet - esque, in the sense that I have literally no interest in classic literature, and despise fiction, Shakespeare, old art, poetry etc, but I'm a slut for 1900s political, military and soviet history, and atomic energy. I've always wanted to be a 1940s pioneer of nuclear science, working on the Manhattan project in overcoats and brogues and baggy shirts, or a ww2 era politician, or a Soviet analogue photographer or videographer. Im guilty of trying to force myself to read classic literature to fit the mould of being 'true' dark academia, but I'm so much happier pouring over books about Dunkirk or the battle of the Atlantic, sat in my dark room developing photographs, learning Russian, or watching Bernie Sanders speeches on YouTube. My own take dark academia is a bit odd, but I adore it.

[treri]

The problem for me with dark academia is that I'm polish. I love mitology, I love philosophy, I also love literature. But when it comes to classical stuff like Sheakspire- it's not for me. I remember I was so dissapointed with "Romeo and Juliet", maybe becouse of the translation, but it didn't seem romantic to me at all. I prefer polish authors like Adam Mickiewicz, Stefan Żeromski, Sławomir Mrożek, Ignacy Krasicki - those are my countrie's classics. I also can't enjoy all the quotes, I will probably never be able to understand them like a naitive.