Subcultures as related to social class

Question 1

What did Hall and Jefferson/Hebdige say about youth subcultures?

Answer 1

• Subcultures= form of resistance to dominant cultural values and a means of creating alterantive cultural identities
• Rebellion due to social exclusion/ marginalisation- lost identities
• Formed by excluded groups- create own distinctive cultural practices and styles as a way of expressing their style and resisting cultural norms

Question 2

What studies did Hall and Jefferson’s resistance through rituals include?

Answer 2

• Clarke (skinheads)
• Jefferson (teddy boys)

Question 3

What did Jefferson say about youth subcultures?

Teddy boys

Answer 3

• Teddy boys= emerged at a time of high employment and relative affluence. Excluded from general affluence (dead end futures). Style (Edwardian jackets, suede shoes, bootlace ties) were an attempt to be like middle-class superiors

Question 3

What did Clarke say about youth subcultures?

Skinheads

Answer 3

• Skinheads= skinhead culture represents an exaggerated form of w/c masculinity . Macho attitude, extreme form of manual worker clothing . Felt w/c identity was under threat so exaggerate it as a form of resistance

Question 4

What did Hebdidge say about youth subcultures?

Punks

Answer 4

• Bricolage- describes punk culture- reuse of ordinary objects for fashion (ripped clothes, piercing bodies/clothing with safety pins , bin liners as tops). Emerged as a resistance to mainstream media/fashion industries + political elements.

Question 5

What did Brake say about youth subcultures?

Answer 5

• Solutions to the problems causing youth subcultures were ‘magical’, symbolic solutions
• Subcultures provide a collective identity and feelings of strength/power to youths

Question 6

What did Hebdige say about ‘incorporation’?

Answer 6

• Describes how subversive styles (ysc) are often taken over by media/fashion industries and incorporated into the mainstream- lose edge and element of rebellion

Question 7

What does Thornton say about youth subcultures?

EVALUATION

Answer 7

• Challenges CCCS idea of social class as an element of youth subcultures
• The key definer of club culture is shared taste of music style/dance culture
• Youths are exempt from adult financial commitments (bills, mortage)- instead enjoy disposable income and period of freedom