1.Subcultures,Post -subcultures,and Fans

2. Power,Divisions,Interpretation,and Change 3. In the course of this chapterwe shall consider fourimportant themes. Firstly,subcultures, we shallsuggest, are intimatelyconnected to issues of powerand struggle. 4. One of the most importantapproaches to subculturesconceptualizes and analyzesyouth subcultures in termsof opposition to andincorporation in dominantculture. 5. Secondly, as the concept ofsubculture divides widerforms of culture intosmaller units, the conceptpotentially allowsconsideration of the divisionof culture. 6. Moreover, as well asfacilitating examination ofcultural divisions, the conceptof subcultures also aidsanalysis of how culture isfragmenting. Are there moreand more subcultures? 7. The third theme concernsinterpretation. It can be offeredof the meaning of anysubculture. Moreover, Suchreadings or interpretations tendto neglect the meaning of thesubculture for its participants. 8. This difficulty is compoundedby the fact that youthsubcultures are highly visiblein the mass media, wheretheir members are oftenstereotyped as folk devils whoprovoke moral panic. 9. The fourth theme is theargument that because ofthe way that society andculture is changing, it is nolonger possible or useful toorganize the concept ofsubcultures. 10. At this point, it may beilluminating to pause andreflect on your ownenthusiasms and activities.Do you belong to a groupthat you might not be awareof as a subculture? 11. Would you class yourself asa fan of any form of culture(music, television, sport,etc.), and how important arethese activities in youreveryday life? 12. Folk Devils,Moral Panic,andSubcultures 13. Cohens Folk Devils and MoralPanics (1973) introduces anumber of important and stillsalient ideas concerning the wayin which subcultures (and fans,enthusiasts, and marginalizedgroups) are represented in thepress and visual media. 14. Cohen emphasized the reaction ofvarious official bodies and themedia (esp. the press) to relativelysmall-scale disturbances that tookplace at English seaside townsbetween 1964 and 1966, whichcreated a moral panic in the societyaround the folk devils of mods androckers. 15. ModSignificant elements of the modsubculture include fashion(often tailor-made suits);music, including AfricanAmerican soul, Jamaican ska,British beat music, and R&B;and motor scooters. 16. The original mod scene was alsoassociated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night dancing at clubs.From the mid-to-late 1960s andonwards, the mass media oftenused the term mod in a wider senseto describe anything that wasbelieved to be popular, fashionable,or modern. 17. RockersRockers or Leather boys aremembers of a biker subculturethat originated in the UnitedKingdom during the 1950s. Itwas mainly centred aroundBritish cafe racer motorcyclesand rock and roll music. 18. Cohen begins with what hecalls The Inventory, whichemphasizes the mediareporting of the clashes ofthe mods and the rockers. 19. Cohen argues that mediareporting systematicallyexaggerated and distorted theevents, maintained that theywould happen again; therefore,predicting future occurrencesof the same type and used modsand rockers in symbolic ways. 20. According to Cohen, a word(mod) becomes symbolic of acertain status (delinquent ordeviant); objects (hairstyle,clothing, etc.) symbolize theword. Through this, a moralpanic was generated. 21. The generation of moral panicin turn produces opinions andactions to do something aboutit. Cohen discusses theseresponses through three furthercategories: (1) Sensitization;(2) Societal Control Culture;(3) Exploitation. 22. Moral PanicUpdated 23. All sorts of groups fromfootball hooligans andstriking workers to singlemothers, drug users andasylum seekers seem to belabeled as folk devils and togenerate moral panics. 24. These panics are seen bysome commentators asstrategies on the part ofthose in power to creatediversions from realissues. 25. For example, the idea ofblaming asylum seekers fordelinquency and for taking uppublic service is used to divertattention from more importantissues such as causes ofmigration and politicaloppression in their countries. 26. While the idea of moralpanic remains a useful tool,it should perhaps be usedcarefully in the contextwhere differentiated sourcesof information are availablethrough electronic media. 27. Youth Subculturesin British CulturalStudies 28. ResistancethroughRituals: 29. There are seven conceptsintroduced in this paper whichneed to be considered in somedetail: culture, hegemony,dominant culture, dominantideology, class culture,subculture, and parent culture. 30. There are seven conceptsintroduced in this paper whichneed to be considered in somedetail: culture, hegemony,dominant culture, dominantideology, class culture,subculture, and parent culture. 31. We understand the wordculture to refer to that levelwhich social groups developdistinct patterns of life, andgive expressive form to theirsocial and material lifeexperience 32. There are 3 aspects of sociallife identified in this definition:social experience, socialgroups, and patterns of life.Culture is both a level/area ofsociety and the forms in whichthe raw material of socialexperience is handled. 33. Cultural Hegemony describes thedomination of a culturally diversesociety by the ruling class, whomanipulate the culture of the society the beliefs, explanations,perceptions, values, and mores sothat their ruling-class view becomesthe worldview that is imposed andaccepted as the cultural norm; 34. It is the universally validdominant ideology that justifiesthe social, political, and economicstatus quo as natural andinevitable, perpetual andbeneficial for everyone, ratherthan as artificial social constructsthat benefit only the ruling class. 35. Clarke et al. further argue thatthere is a dominant culturewhich connects to the dominantclass. However, they do notidentify the content of thisdominant culture, nor do theyexplain the specific content ofthe dominant ideology. 36. An ideology is a set of consciousand unconscious ideas thatconstitute ones goals, expectations,and actions. An ideology is a set ofideas proposed by the dominantclass of a society to all members ofthis society (a "receivedconsciousness" or product ofsocialization). 37. Marxs assertion that classesare the most fundamentalsocial groups generates theassumption that cultures arefundamentally class cultures(The Bourgeoisie andAristocrats, The Landowners,and the Proletariat). 38. Subcultures are sub-sets smaller, more localized, anddifferentiated structures withinone or other of the largercultural networks. Subculturesin this approach have to beseen in class context. 39. Finally is the concept of parentculture. There was a working-class parent culture whichgenerated other distinguishablesubcultures. Youth subculturesare connected to, first, theirparent culture and second, tothe dominant culture. 40. Ted / Teddy Boys 41. Teddy Boys date back to thelate 1940s and early 1950s,when, following the war, ageneration of youngsters withmoney to burn appropriatedEdwardian (Teddy) clothingstyle currently in fashion. 42. Teddy Boys were the first realhigh profile rebel teenagers,who flaunted their clothes andattitude like a badge. It comesas no surprise then that themedia was quick to paint themas a menace and violent basedon a single incident. 43. Skinheads 44. The skinheads are recognizableby their shaven heads, steel-toed boots, and tattoos. A groupof aggressive working-classyouths, associated with footballhooliganism, racist violenceand neo-Nazism. 45. Working-class youth subculturestake some things principallyfrom their parent culture, butthey apply and transform themto the situations and experiencescharacteristic of their distinctivegroup-life and generationalexperience. 46. YouthSubculturesand Gender 47. The TeenybopCulture ofRomance 48. Pop music,Rave cultureand Gender