What is a youth subculture?
- a group of individuals whoa re 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.
What are the values of a subculture?
Link to values... how the subculture view:
- Conformity and rebellion
- Attitude to capitalism and consumerism
- 'Tribal' rivalry
- Traditional or 'neophile' (a person who loves novelty, one who likes trends; person who accept the future enthusiastically and enjoys changes and evolution)
- Ideology in 1950 and 1960s - peace, rebellion against parents, radicalism - reactions against the post war.
- Many groups are involved in protest and resistance against the mainstream.
- Teens will often move between subcultures and older youths mix and match styles/values from a mix of subcultures.
- Adults can appear to conform for most of the working week, but re-enter the subculture at a specific time (weekend, festivals)
Subculture
- In the 21st century the 'dominant meaning systems' that define the mainstream are crumbling.
- 'There is no mainstream. There are many streams' Mainstream is in continuous flux.
- Nothing for teens to react against - instead driven by other motives; and these must be understood by their own individual terms.
Teddy Boys 1950s
- Rock n Roll, kids were blown away by the new sound.
- Drainpipe trousers and velvet collars and sideburns.
- Effect was huge despite the minority.
Mods 1960s
- Ben Sherman, Parka, Royal Air Force symbol.
- Ride customised Vespas and Lambrettas
- Drugs, pills and speed etc.
- The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones
Skinheads 1960s
- working class youths
- close cropped/shaven heads.
- Jamaican rude boys and British mods in terms of fashion
- attitudes towards race and skin colour became factors of their culture; neonazi.
Punks 1970s
- emerged from USA, UK and Australia
- punk rock, listening to recordings or live concerts of a loud agressive nature.
- non-conformity to politics etc.
- Sex Pistols.
The Cultural Revolution 1950s: Britain was entering an increased freedom after the war, old social strustures started to be challenged by by the youth who were previously confined. American way of life became key apsirations of the British public (deregualtion of broadcasting in 1954 and availability of colour magazines) as we reached a worldwide economic boom post-war. The Labour government was defeated by the Conservatives markign a shift in government from state control to more individual freedom 'Set the People Free' slogan.
American culture was seen by some as a symptom of cultural degeneration and offered the British a rich and desirable future. Cultural imperialism - promoting, distinguishing, separating or artificially injecting the culture of one society into another (American influence on Britain post-war)
Teenagers came a recognised social group and in turn beacme more affluent, they demanded goods that could differentiate them from the adult world and express their group identity. Manufacturers met these demands, increasing the interest in fashion and music, making brands relate to a culture.
Social Mobility: there was a general feeling of optimism but also a sense of uncertainty, through the upward movement of media, financial and cultural factors. New freedoms and liberties had been gained, but as a result society had become more fragmented and less predictable.
Giroux (1997)
Youth as an empty category
Henry Giroux enforces the awareness of who in fact writes the media, adults. They then have the power to portray negative opinions upon youths of today which does not reflect reality. Creating anxieties and beliefs made by adults to adults, creating a false pretence of how youth culture is today; these fears are constantly changing therefore reflects upon society.
e.g Harry Brown - representation of youth through micro elements, binary oppositions (literally shows the fears of adults causing rebellion, adults vs teenagers)
Acland (1995)
Ideology of protection; deviant youth and reproduction of social order
Charles Acland looks at how the upper and middle class put fear into youth, by casting them out of society and putting them into the category in which youth violence and crime occur. The media helps to put the message out and create this fear within young people by dominating TV, newspapers etc. and surveillancing their behaviour.
Gramsci (1971)
Cultural hegemony [leadership]
The use of dominance of one social class, predominately the upper/middle class of their social norms, making them the norm for all people. This causes other social constructs to accept these concepts overriding their previous principles.
Cohen (1972)
Moral panic
'Folk devils' appear and the media are set into panic, in which the politicians and police get involved as an event happens that shifts the peace in society. As like the Mods vs Rockers scenario, where two youth groups conflicted causing a riot, that then provides fear on society of youths due to one event.
McRobbie (2004)
Symbolic violence
She believes that contemporary British television emphasises the middle class dominance, with the outcome that working class people are the negative social group.
Gerbner (1986)
Cultivation Theory
Television overestimates the level of crime by showing more programmes that involve it, causing people to think it is becoming a wider problem, changing our perceptions upon reality, showing the increase in the thought that youth are involved in violence etc. 'mean world sydrome'
Directed: Joe Cornish
How are the main characters introduced?
How does the representation change?
- The youths are seens as threatening to society, robbing her of her phone etc. and seen to have fear of the police showing their involvement with them.
- Working in groups as a from of fear, int he nighttime.
- Banadanas and hoodies, iconic elements of British youth, dark clothing to fit into their surroundings, not visible clearly to the subject, stereotypical disguise.
- Cowardness group of men against one women, shows the impact of gender.
- Territorial between middle and lower class.
- Colloquial language to youth culture of that class, overdoes the language for possible comedic aspects.
- the alien introduction, put them as being vunerable too, as Cornish goes back to the sci-fi representation of Horror, putting the real monsters back to being the fear of people.
- These youths become the heroes as an attempt to resolve tensions between middle class and working class youth.
Directed: James Watkins
How are Jenny and Steve represented?
How is this contrasted with the representation of the other characters?
How important is the issue of social class?
How are young people represented?
- Youths act like animals, predatory instinct that go in groups, appear threatening with a pitbull, protective barrier. Territorial to Eden Lake.
- Violence in the nighttime, most vunerable beign a stranger ina place you dont know.
- Jenny and Steve are shown as a happy couple, middle class couple on a holiday.
- Male violence against women. Women seen to be primarily sexual objects, both Jenny and the female in the gang.
- Negative representation of youth, involved in violence, replicating horror.
- Shift in music as the youths are introduced causing a change in mood into something more sinister.
- Satnav 'turn around'
- Jenny and Steve are seen helpless without weapons, highly vunerable situation against the youths. Knives are seen, shows the use of househol items items rather than ability to access guns.
- Rural district where the scene is set hints a poverty aspects without access to education, the youths shown not to be in school, if in summer, they also have nothing better to do than to terrorise the public.
Robin Wood - basic formula of the horror film is 'normality is threatened by the monster. I use "normality" here to mean simply "conformity tot he dominant social norms"'.
Horror provides a more realistic fear than such old ideals for the genre; vampires, sci-fi and aliens. The negative representation of youth creates fear, as it is a possible outcome for people to be involved in violence caused by this social age.
