Subcultures and the Mainstream Media

I Wanted To Make Something That I Wanted To Hear That I Wasn’t Hearing

            I am ready to discuss something that is not heavily discussed in the realm of subculture. Angela McRobbie and Jenny Garber’s essay title says it all: Girls and Subcultures. In examining this article, I would first like to illustrate the point that McRobbie wrote this in 1977, and there has been much change the role females play in subcultures today than they did forty years ago I will elaborate on further.
            The absent of the role of feminism in subcultural studies cannot be ignored. As McRobbie points out “Very little seems to have been written about the role of girls in youth cultural groupings’, absent from classic subcultural ethnographic studies, the pop histories”. Does this mean that studies of subculture are a misrepresentation of the subculture, as one of the genders involved is almost entirely ignored? What is the reason of this absence, are females not there or is it that research is male oriented so preconceived subconscious sexism is carried out.
            Understanding where females have a role in subcultures that are male oriented with masculine undertones it is important to look at early subcultures. An example of one of these subcultures is the teddy boys in the 1950s. While females did exist, they did not play a huge role. This is largely due to spending time on the streets with this subculture eluded to sexual invitation, and largely under cultural influence to protect their image and reputation females did not want to be thought of as promiscuous.
            As time moves on, the role of females becomes more recognized as part of definable subcultures. Thornton describes three of these subcultures: the motor bike girl, the mod girl and the hippy girl. The image of a motor bike girl is a pin-upesque girl part of the biker subculture. The idea of a female in this subculture, and that image is often used in soft-pornography and advertising. These are both tools of men, for men, and the motor bike girl existing as a player in the subculture and her role becomes an afterthought. Whether many women even had a role in the motor bike subculture is questioned, as they were usually there only as someone’s girlfriend, as a sex object or caregiver as McRobbie quotes Hunter Thompson “If they were not object of the “bang-bang” the only other role open to them was of a “Mama”.

            The other second subculture women emerge in McRobbie illustrates are the mod girls. This subculture sprouted from consumerism, dressing up well and having a level of glamour.  This subculture was not heavily questioned as the dominant look for these girls was still neat and tidy. Never the less, it was one of the first times a female could represent in a subculture without being attached to a male. Though still feminine, the mod look was heavily influence by boyish femininity. The role of males are still not absent in women being part of the subculture.

            The final subculture McRobbie takes a look at is the hippy. Women in this subculture developed when exploring higher education at universities in the 60s and early 70s where they were able to experiment, have opportunities for self-discover and develop their own personal style. Higher education had been something restrictedly for men previously, and these opportunities allowed for women to become their own people, feel less cultural expectation boundaries and become part of a subculture.

            This article was written in 1977, shortly after the hippy girl assumed role in that subculture. Since then the role of women in subcultures continue to grow. An example of this can be seen in the documentary Not Bad for a Girl, about the women musicians in grunge and Riot Grrrl music genres. It takes a look at the negotiation of gender identity, gender performance, stereotyped and gendered expectation in the indie music industry for females. The title of the documentary is worth taking a moment to look at, “Not Bad for a Girl”. Even in the celebration of women in music, it subordinates women in the hierarchy of the music industry and culture.

(Kathleen Hanna, lead singer/song writer of riot grrrl band Bikini Kill, who gave this blog post’s title quote - notice her shirt)

            As gender equality continues to progress the role women play in subcultures and society will continue to grow and have more significance. I would now like to point out that the article I chose for this blog post was of my own choosing from the textbook. Ten of twelve of these blog posts were essays chosen by my professor. None of these articles focused on or rarely mentioned the role of the women in the subculture. This was the only article in the textbook that focused on women, with the exception of one about drag kings – women dressing up and attempting to be perceived as men.

Apramian, L. (Director). (1995). Not Bad For A Girl [Documentary].

McRobbie, Angela . “Girls and Subculture.” The Subcultures Reader. 2nd ed. Ken             Gelder. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.

I Don’t See People – I See Clothes

I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don’t do that so much anymore.

            People apart of a subculture, that subculture if their life. A skinhead does not put on his Dr. Martens and suspenders to become a skinhead. It is always a part of his life and there is no separation between his life and the subculture. All subcultures are like that, except the graffiti subculture.
            In the article The Graffiti Subculture by Nancy Macdonald, the very first point it outlines is there is a clear line between graffiti life and “real life”. Those who belong to the graffiti subculture have their own day-to-day lives separate from the subculture.
            If it is not a part of their “real” life, what is the point of being part of such a subculture? To make a name for themselves, without risking anything. Graffiti artists write their name as an attempt to reinvent themselves, and make a name. Writing their street name on the wall of a building is saying “look at me, here I am”. Whether they receive a negative or positive response, they are putting themselves out there.  Or are they? It is not their real name, they are not really making a difference and it is for a subculture that is not the world they truly live in. Writing your name on a wall is not real.

            Graffiti writers Macdonald interviewed felt they left a piece of themselves where they left their tag, that they belong. If they were to write on a moving object, such as a train, they would be going wherever that train is going. They are not going where that train is going, it is not real. As these artists leave all traces of “real life” when they enter the graffiti world, and leave the graffiti behind when they enter their “real life” again, it is not different than playing the computer game Second Life. Graffiti is a form of escapism for these artists.
            The quote “the pen is mightier than the sword’ has no meaning in this world of Graffiti where people just scratch their name in paint across an old building. A teenager writing Brake or Stylo or Meow across a wall is not mighty because they are not saying anything. They are not reclaiming the streets or participating in an indirect form of activism, it is completely self-serving to see their name written on a wall and it does not change the world. The graffiti subculture as expressed in Macdonald’s article The Graffiti Subculture does not play significance in the world, though that does not mean all graffiti is meaningless.
            Banksy’s film Exit Through the Gift Shop explores another side to the graffiti subculture.  While there is still a large separation between the artist’s real life and the graffiti he makes, what he leaves behind for the world to see has significance, is a form of activism and makes people think.  It is not just a narcissist fulfilling sight to have one’s name read by many.

            Banksy’s work is artistic and of political and social commentary. An example is of the inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner he displayed at Disneyland. He uses street art and graffiti as a way to spread ideas, questions and conversation among the public and masses. He wants to question what people are exposed to on the streets without choice, such as advertising, and change what it is people are forced to look at on their daily commute.

            Graffiti has the power to be a powerful medium. What is spread across a building thousands of people walk by every day can make a difference. It can be a form of activism and make a change in the world rather than being a self-serving cry for attention. Graffiti subculture has the ability to be a subculture with meaning; it just depends on what that message across the building is.

People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are “The Advertisers” and they are laughing at you.
You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.
Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.
You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.
- Banksy

Banksy (Director). (2010). Exit Through the Gift Shop [Documentary].

Macdonald, Nancy. “The Graffiti Subculture.” The Subcultures Reader. 2nd                         ed. Ken Gelder. London:  Routledge, 2005. 148-156 Print

The Only Good Skeleton is a Gold Skeleton

            Douglas Crimp in his article AIDS Activist Graphics illustrates the movement the group ACT UP New York created in demonstrating through media the growing issue of AIDS. It was killing lots of people, spreading rapidly particularly in the lower east side of New York and there was a lack of awareness of it. Creating awareness alone is a powerful form of activism, especially on an issue such as AIDS that was considered taboo. Even the Museum of Modern Art would not include exhibits of the AIDS crisis.

            This was unacceptable. People were dying and the disease was spreading, all because the top group of people who dictates what everyone else is to see and be aware of decided it should not be in the light. They were not the people or the demographic that was at the highest risk of AIDS. They were condemning others to face the disease because they considered it not a crisis and off limits. ACT UP continued to spread awareness with posters all over New York City of the AIDS crisis.

            For The Yes Men, as seen in their 2009 documentary The Yes Men Fix the World, nothing is off limits. They go beyond attempting hold corporations and government accountable for their actions and what they owe people. They involve the media and make the public aware, which not only puts the pressure on these large organizations but assists in sprouting other activists for these causes that had been until The Yes Men stepped in, kept out of the media. Examples are holding Dow Chemical responsible for the Bhopal disaster and the Louisiana government who took livable homes away from victims of Hurricane Katrina.
            One thing I could not help but noticing while watching the film, as it parallels to many other scenes I observe in life, the majority every scene is cast with white men. That is with the exception of the interviews with victims. This is because white men hold the highest level of power in the world.
            This parallels to the issues raised in AIDS Activist Graphics as it is not the white men who are the primary victims, but rather the primary power holders. As Crimp refers to the “’others’ of aids” as “queers, women, Blacks, Lationos, drug users, sex workers” (362). These are the people at the bottom, while powerful white men, as the 1%, continue to dictate how it shall be. This is not right.
            Activists such The Yes Men and ACT UP use the media as a powerful form of activism to reach people on issues that affect the 99% but are kept hidden by the highest powers. They take that power away and give it to the masses by enlightening awareness, and inspiring other activists to take charge of the issues and to stand up for those who are helpless and themselves.

  

Crimp, Douglas. “AIDS Activist Graphics.” The Subcultures Reader. 2nd ed. Ken             Gelder. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.

Bichlbaum, A. (Director). (2009). The Yes Men Fix the World [Documentary].

I Ain’t Runing the System, I’m Bombing the System

            The idea of subcultural capital is introduced in Sarah Thorton’s essay The Social Logical of Subcultural Capital.  Subcultural capital is a form of capital that exists, such as cultural, economic and social, but is the capital defined by aesthetics and how a person fits into a subculture. It is outside of their economic and social status, as those are factors of no relevance in how they fit into a subculture.  Thorton explains subcultural capital as “Just as books and paintings display cultural capital in the family home, so subcultural capital is objectified in the form of fashionable haircuts and carefully assembled record collections”.  How “cool” or “hip” a person is in regards to the values and standards of the subculture defines their subcultural capital, replacing what cultures primarily look at in judging a person.
            This is common throughout many subcultures, that the subcultural capital takes the primary role in the value the person has in the subculture, versus in society where often a person is judged by their economic and social status.  What that subcultural capital consists of varies from subculture to subculture.  An example of this can be seen in Henry Chalfant’s 1983 documentary on New York City’s break dancing and graffiti culture called Style Wars.  In these subcultures it is talent and ability in the forms of break dancing and graffiti that generate their subcultural capital.  This runs a bit deeper than many subcultures, as for the most part they generate subcultural capital almost strictly on appearance.  That is not to say, that there are not particular style standards for the break dancing and graffiti subcultures in New York City in the 1980s.

            Thorton illustrates “the linchpin of an alternative hierarchy in which the axes of age, gender, sexuality and race are all employed in order to keep the determinations of class, income and occupation at bay”, the role of gender becomes far more important than class.  There are many points throughout Thorton’s article I do not agree with. The primary concern for me is that it is sexist.  I always am personally offended when women choose to write about the role of women in a subjective manner as it is widely acknowledge in academic settings, as Thorton writes how females are on the lower end of the hierarchy of culture/subcultures and choose to be there.
            Beyond that criticism, Thorton has a fairly strong point that subcultural capital plays in many subcultures, especially in club culture.  This standard applies to many subcultures, though there is a difference in their dance, musical taste, dress code, and rituals between them.  Though they have differences, they are all taste cultures and still abide by this same “rule”.  To have subcultural capital, the right dressing, slang, style, and attitude must be attained to fit into the subculture.  It is entirely dependent on knowing what is cool and keeping up that constantly changes fads.

Chaflant, H. (Director). (1983). Style Wars [Documentary]

Thorton, Sarah. “The Social Logic of Subcultural Capital.” The Subcultures Reader.             2nd ed. Ken Gelder. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.

Not For Sale

 

           “A tragedy confined to distant lands”, is something most people dismiss dilemmas they hear on the evening news, a problem that would never affect them. That is a quote from Julian Sher’s article from Bejamin Perrin in reference to what he thought was an issue other, poorer, and developing nations face. He was incorrect; the issue is one that is a growing crisis in Canada. The issue is human trafficking.
            Julian Sher’s article Sex trafficking: a national disgrace was featured in the Globe and Mail in 2010, and is a review of the book Invisible Chains: Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking by Benjamin Perrin and the current state of human trafficking in Canada.
            Many people are unaware the human trafficking exists in Canada, and even some people have been made ignorant to that it is happening all over the world. Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 documentary In This World examines people-smuggling, as two refugees are followed as they are snuck through borders from Pakistan to Western Europe. Not only does the film depict their struggles and journey but the realness of moving people in the world illegally and how they are degraded to almost nothing.
            While the film examines what is happening on another continent, there is a much worse form of trafficking Sher and Perrin take a look at that is going on in Canada, sex trafficking. Women from Columbia and Congo are trafficked to Canada where they work in massage parlours and brothels. They are forced to have sex with men for barely anything as those who “own” them and purchased them from the trafficker make profit. It is not just those from other nations being brought here either, a fourteen year old from Ontario was sold for sex on Craigslist.
            Sex trafficking is a growing crisis in Canada as Sher refers to “The sex trade is the new drug trade” . More money can be made off of sex workers than drugs, as they are not one use only, along with less risk of being caught or given as severe jail time. Every sex worker “owned” makes these criminals approximately $280,000 a year. The largest issue in Canada in relation to human trafficking is that it has only been a crime since 2005, and of the thirty people charged since then with the crime only five have been convicted.
            The works of Winterbottom, Sher and Perrin bring into light the severity the human trafficking crisis is in Canada and the rest of the world. It makes people realize that whether it is happening in our own backyards or away, these people around the world being trafficked like animals are worth more and deserve our attention.  Human trafficking results in a high payout and a slap on the wrist as the highest risk for the traffickers. For the people being trafficked, it results in being use and dehumanized.

 

Sher, Julian. “Invisible Chains: Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking, by Benjamin Perrin - The Globe and Mail.” Home - The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/article1758620.ece>.

Winterbottom, M. (Director). (2002). In This World [Documentary].

The Things You Own End Up Owning You

            The term anti-consumerism plays the role of an oxymoron in our society, with all the consumerism that being “anti-consumerist” creates. This theory and exemplified in the article The Rebel Sell by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter, and in the 1999 film Fight Club by David Fincher.
            Though it can be initially interpreted as an anti-consumerism film, Heath and Potter refer to the film Fight Club as a critique of mass society above anything else. They also refer to critique of mass society as “the most powerful forces driving consumerism for more than 40 years”. The film fight club, as well as other forces of anti-consumerism drive consumerist behaviour and reinforce buying more than any billboard advertisement or celebrity endorsement.
            The character Tyler recognizes that he creates his self-identity through consumerism, what he buys and what he owns. He says “That condo was my life, okay? I loved every stick of furniture in that place. That was not just a bunch of stuff that got destroyed, that was me!”. He realizes without his stuff, he was nothing, and in that realizes the large role consumerism played in his life and the emptiness it created. The only way for Tyler to move from that was to become against the institutionalized society and consumer culture he once largely contributed to and was a part of. As Tyler challenged consumerism in being a part of Fight Club and the cult it becomes, he is consuming something different and selling his own identity.

            In the article The Rebel Sell Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter discuss people that attempt to be anti-consumerist, and the own consumerism derived from that. These people are very brand aware and avoid buying into large brands and popular culture, rather supporting smaller and independent culture that shares beliefs about anti-consumerism. But how can buying from anyone be non-consuming? It can’t. The market is aware of the people, and supplies the demand for anti-consumerist literature and products. This is the irony in trying to be anti-consumerist.
             An example of one of these products mentioned is Adbusters magazine, an anti-consumerist magazine that can be bought on most newsstands. It was a magazine I bought and read through most of high school, as did many of my friends. I remember one day one of my friends showing up with the Blackspot Sneaker, and I became aware of the contradiction the magazine was for the first time. This is a pair of shoes that could be purchased from Adbusters, as an alternative to mainstream brands that use child labour. They are made of hemp, recycled tires, vegan leather and produced in fair-trade factories. Regardless of what they are made of and how they are made, it is still an anti-consumerist magazine creating a consumerist product. It is just a critique of society fueling consumerism. Those Nike shoes you’re wearing is wrong says Adbusters, buy these shoes instead.
            For myself, the most interesting part about the article The Rebel Sell followed the last sentence of the article, “The Rebel Sell will appear in book-length this September from HarperCollins. Click here to order a copy from Amazon.ca”. To inform myself more about consumer society I should probably order that book right now. That is the world we choose to live in.

Fincher, D. (Director). (1999). Fight Club [Motion picture].

Heath, J., & Potter, A. The Rebel Sell | This Magazine. This Magazine.
            Retrieved March 16, 2012, from http://this.org/magazine/2002/11/01/the-rebel-sell/

You Bet We’ve Got Something Personal Against You

             David Laing’s essay Listening to Punk is an appropriate title, because as he explains listening to punk music is much different than listening to music of any other genre. Punk subculture stands out beyond its aesthetic appearance and style, but the style of music as well.  In recording music Laing explains “Recording can be thought of as spaces in which the various sounds are placed in relation to each other” and the “amplified voice can be seen to provide a comparable object for identification” for listeners. Punk is different though, as it refuses the perfection of the amplified voice that is generally used when singing.  In punk the singing voice is rather replaced by a mixture of speech, recitative chanting or wordless cries and muttering.
            The speech and chanting in punk plays a larger role than the music itself. The music to accompany the lyrics is often not at polished as other genres, because it is not as important. The pleasures of the music having great harmony, melody and “prettiness” would only contaminate the song and distract from the words. Laing refers to punk singing as “lacking of variety”, as there is often little movement within songs from soft to loud, one accent to another or high to low. A well known example would be the voice of Joe Strummer, the lead singer of 1970s British punk band The Clash.
            It is the message in the lyrics that are the main point in punk music, as Laing explains punk as “where the verbal narrative seems often to be more important than the musical discourse”. Punk music is often a form of protest song, with established meanings and ethics. It has a strong adherence to the dominant social values, and it’s these values that speak loudest in their songs.

            Can punk music be enjoyed without agreeing with the message? Laing does not think so. In much mainstream music it is possible to enjoy the song without being attached to the emotion and message it is sharing, but because punk’s lack of mass appeal it how it initially sounds this is not possible. For the average listener, the voice repels beyond the context of the song. The message must be agreed with and mean something to the listener. This is why the punks are so invested and tied into their subculture, they must be truly passionate about what is stands for and the meaning behind the music that represents them.
            While there is a niche appeal for punk music, the subculture punk music is important to and created, it is the most important thing that exists. The punk subculture and their passion for their music is exhibited in Penelope Spheeris’s The Decline of Western Civilization, a documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980 about the Los Angeles punk rock scene.  It documents concert footage and interviews of band members, their fans and audience and those involved in the punk music industry. Their passion is clear – bands are willing to be hurt by show-goers, and fans by other fans, as they express their enthusiasm for the music and their union for what is being said.
            Though punk became mainstream in the 1970s with bands such as The Ramones and The Clash, this documentary takes a look at the underground and grittier world of punk.  The band members have fierce commitment to their anti-materialistic, anti-consuming and do-it-yourself ethics. When singer of the band X Exene was asked about not having money, she said they had enough as they were fed, paid rent, and could buy ink and needles (for tattooing). She has all she needs to live, and do what she enjoys without the impression she needs more. The title of the documentary should not be interpreted as a reference to punk subculture leading to the decline of western civilization, but rather punk subculture is a response to the lifestyles of the masses being the decline of the western civilization.

            If what punk has to say is so important, so critical of the world around them and advocate for change, why would they not attempt to appeal to more people? Their anger is expressed through how they sing, and their message will not be compromised for style. David Laing’s theories are confirmed in The Decline of Western Civilization when Black Flag is interviewed and asked about why their songs are so short, one of the members insists they are not shorter than any other song someone would hear, they are just performed at a faster rate. It is not their fans receiving the shorthand, it is those who do not give the music a chance.
            Punk music rejects convention in both musical style and ideologies, and this documentary is important in the examination of the punk subculture. As many people are initially repelled by punk music and punk lifestyle, the film allows the genre and music to honestly speak for itself. A more underground and out of spotlight subculture, punk has a lot to say the world can learn from if they listen.

Laing, David. “Listening to Punk.” The Subcultures Reader. 2^nd ed. Ken Gelder.             London:  Routledge, 2005. Print

Spheeris, P (Director). (2010). The Decline of Western Civilization [Documentary].

I Wasn’t Like Them

            What are the values society holds? Do they depend on person to person? Subculture to subculture? Is there a certain standard of values society holds, that all other values can be measured by and use to judge a person? In his article The Subterranean World of Play Jock Young quotes Matza and Sykes for establishing the idea that it cannot be assumed everyone adheres to the same middle class behaviour and values, and it goes beyond having those values or not. Society is not split into two groups as if it was horizontal where those above behave to these stands and those below to not. Rather, these standards of values are split vertically across different groups in society and there is no true system of values for all of society.

(We are not all the same)

           Young illustrates with the example of drug use across society as a way to examine different values. Drug users cannot just be looked as an entire group, and non-drug users as the other group. Rather, Young believes the subculture drugs are being taken in much be looked at with the ideas of the group’s world view in mind when taking drugs. The main point is behaviour cannot be understood in isolation, but how it relates to that group’s values and place in society must be examined.
            In a world that is draining, demanding of so much work since consumption is high people often look for more. This is where many subterranean values are born, what Young refers to as the “search for new kicks”. In society subterranean values can be looked as negative values to hold, that they are hedonistic, aggressive and create a disdain for work. It is believed by some work and progression should be the primary focus, while leisure leads to despair. This is not believed by all.

(We will be judged)

           Leisure values, which are subterranean values, and Karl Marx’s idea of a utopia is raised in Jock Young’s The Subterranean World of Play. In Marx’s utopia work is synonymous with leisure, and subterranean values would therefore be just ordinary values. Though this utopia does not parallel our world now, nor does it parallel Marjane’s world in the film Persepolis. Even by some, these values are the most important part of a life and being human. Friedrich Schiller said “Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays”.
            If Schiller is right, in play and leisure values does one truly find themselves, that is what Marjane in Persepolis was looking for. She attempted to use these values in finding herself and where she belonged in society within a subculture. She began listening to punk music and smoking pot, concerned with leisure and becoming a part of the punk subculture movement. Leisure values hold such a high place and importance in life, Marjane learned this from her parents. They would risk punishment by going against the law to attend parties and drink alcohol. These values made life worth living.
      Beyond numbing or escaping aspects of ordinary life, these values can mean so much more. “It is during leisure and through the expression of subterranean values that modern man seeks his identity, whether it is in a ‘home-centered’ family or an adolescent peer” says Young (150). Not only did Marjane turn to punk music to escape the terrible war and its implications in her country, but it helped her try to discover who she really was within different subcultures she was apart of. In being part of those subcultures and embracing such values, whether it as an Iranian girl, an Iranian young woman in Vienna, a “French” woman or whoever she appeared to be, they aided in her on her journey.
            Having subterranean values is not something limited to particular subcultures, but all subcultures. Young says “All members of society hold subterranean values, though some accentuate these values and disdain the workaday norms of formal society” (149).  These values are important in all of society, as without them there would lack the need for immediate gratification and consumption, which would halt production. At what point are these values acceptable subterranean values a member of society should hold to continue to play the consumer game, and at what point are they a deviant and considered hedonistic?
            This point returns us to the idea of horizontal and vertical value systems in society mentioned above. There is no judging society’s values as to a specific standard. As Young said, values must be looked at through the subculture and its views in relation to the world.

A song to compliment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAtUw6lxcis

Young, Jock. “The Concept of the Sub-Culture and Its              Application.” The Subcultures Reader. 2nd ed. Ken Gelder. London:             Routledge, 2005. 148-156 Print.

Satrapi, M. (Director). (2007). Persepolis [Motion picture].

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want

            Style plays a large role is any subculture. It is how they distinguish themselves as part of that subculture, distinct from others and share a visual affinity to the rest of the world. In the article Subcultures, Cultures and Class John Clarke acknowledges the importance of style and various youth subcultures being identified by their possessions (101).
            It is beyond the possessions themselves that create a style, particular objects being worn and appropriate is not all it takes.  According to Clarke it is the “activity of stylisation, the active organization of objects with activities and outlooks” that creates style. While provided by industries, these possession that grow to represent a particular subculture are chosen and use by that group in constructive their own distinctive style. The group makes the possession part of the subculture, it is not the not subculture that relies on the possession to make it a group.
            It cannot be argued though that the possessions used by the groups helps distinct it and represent more than the object, but becomes a sign of that subculture. This is what Clarke refers to as commodities having cultural meanings.
            In the film This is England by Shane Meadows, style has a huge influence on the subculture and being a skinhead. When the main character Shaun wants to become part of the skinhead culture, his style is the first thing that changes in the most apparent way. His dress and how he is perceived is already an issue for Shaun even before he makes the transformation. At one point in the film he tells his mother “I’ve been picked on three times today, all because of my trousers”. This confirms the importance of dress and style in not only establishing as part of a subculture, but the role is plays is classism in society.
            Not fitting in mass society with his appearance, among other aspects, Shaun becomes part of the highly stylized skinhead subculture. When joining he gains the uniform including Doc Martens, Ben Sherman shirts and a shaved head to match.

            Clarke refers to post-war subcultures addressing problems of their class experience but with symbolically displaced resolutions. This just as the skinheads create their own style as what they can financially afford being a part of the working class is not of the standards society expects, so they create a resolution in their own style. These are not real solutions though, because while now they accept their style, the class issues still exist.
            What I find so interesting about the focus of style in the skinhead culture is that it tends to convey anti-establishment and therefore anti-consumer values. This is not reflective in that emphasis on fashion. Shaun needed to have those Doc Martens as the brand represents he is part of that subculture, and without them he felt he could not. The subculture relies to a great extent on style.

Clarke, John, Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson and Brian Roberts. “Subcultures, Cultures and Class.” The Subcultures Reader. 2nd ed. Ken Gelder. London:   Routledge, 2005. 94-105. Print.

Meadows, S. (Director). (2006). This Is England [Motion picture]