Youth Sub-culture
· A group of individuals who are united through a common value system and tastes (clothes, music, politics etc.)
· A group who are also positioned outside of the mainstream, and who unify as a response to the mainstream.
· Hoodies, emos, preppy, chavs, indie, scene, skinheads, Teddy boys, skaters, greasers, jocks, plastics
· Chavs - wearing fake Burberry, tacky gold jewellery, riding round on bikes or driving cars with low suspension, rap/grime music, tracksuits, ideologies - they are 'cool' or 'hard', may use violence to get what they want, think they are better than anyone else, baseball caps, they are evolving now, wearing chinos - taking
· Subcultures are formed to be different - then it turns mainstream and people lose interest and join another subculture.
Values of the subculture - conformity and rebellion, attitude to capitalism and consumerism, 'tribal' rivalry, traditional or 'neophile' (a person who loves novelty, one who likes trends, people who accept the future enthusiastically and enjoys changes and evolution)
· ideology in the 1950s and 1960s - peace, rebellion against parents, radicalism - reactions against the post war
· Many groups are involved in protest and resistance against the mainstream...
· teams will often move between subcultures, and older youths mix and match styles/values from a mix of subcultures
Subculture
· in the 21st century the 'dominant meaning systems' are crumbling
· "there is no mainstream, there are many streams." Mainstream is a perpetual flux, rapaciously absorbing alternative culture at such a fast rate that the notion of a mainstream becomes absolute
· so if there is no mainstream then there is nothing for the teens to react against
1950s teddies
· anti-establishment subculture - juvenile delinquents - going against the systems
· drainpipe jackets, drape Edwardian jackets with velvet collars, string ties or slim-jims and duck arse haircuts and sideburns
· minority in Britain but major effect
· music - introduction of Rock n Roll
1960s mods
· mod - modernist to describe modern jazz musicians and fans
· uniform is hard to describe and they were prone to continuous revitalisation
· as psychedelic rock and the hippie subculture grew more popular - people drifted away from the mods
· original mods in the 1960s were getting into the age of marriage and having kids which meant that they no longer had the time and money for their youthful past times
· So they died out
1960s skinheads
· w/c youths
· cropped or shaven heads - influenced by west Indian rude boys and British mods in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle
· attitudes towards race and politics have become factors by which they identify themselves
1970s punks
· based around punk rock
· loud aggressive music
· individual freedom
· standing up for their rights
· anti-consumerism
· anti- authoritarianism and anti-establishment
The Cultural Revolution
· What happened before the 1950s?
· following the end of WWII entered a period of individual freedom and affluence
· teens didn't exist before WWII
· many of the old subcultures began to be challenged and new ones came in
· So what changed? - rationing was coming to an end, the American Dream was becoming key aspirations to British youths, introduction of commercial TV, availability of cheap colourful magazines - luxury commodities. a worldwide economic boom, 'Set the people free' - conservative slogan
· America's influence- cultural degeneration, Hollywood movies, TV, glossy mags and consumer goods proved an instant hot with British consumers, Cultural Imperialism - one culture influencing another
· car ownership rose by 250% between 1951 and 1961 and average weekly earnings rose by 34% while the costs of most technological consumer items fell in real terms - more money to spend on goods. - affluence
Rebel Without a Cause
Wild One
No comments:
Post a Comment