The Making and Unmaking of People Imagine that you have only seen deer, elk, caribou, and moose in your life. One day a horse comes along. What would you call this thing? It kind of looks like an elk or moose, but not exactly because of the lack of antlers. Without having a defined category to put the horse in, it makes it hard for you to understand it. You would understand that it physically exists when you saw it, but you might just call it a really weird antlerless elk. This is the concept Ian Hacking explains in his article, “Making Up People”. He tackles the question of how did things get categorized the way they are today, and what were things like before they got put in this categorical order. This theory can be applied to many subjects …show more content…
The specific subculture I want to use as an example is from the reading “In Our Angelhood: Rave as Counterculture and Spiritual Revolution” by Simon Reynolds. Reynolds talks about the roots of the rave culture that started in the UK underground clubs in the 1990’s. Although they still had to run and try to outsmart the police, it actually gave the rowdy teenagers who were causing trouble something to do besides causing havoc at other public events like soccer matches. (Reynolds). But what once started out at as a football alternative and unification of the working class in the UK has now changed. Instead of being a subculture, rave culture is beginning to spill into mainstream and blur the lines between popular culture and rave culture. One example I can think of is right here at the University of Oregon. Nearly every student/young adult I know in Eugene has been to some type of concert/event that would classify as a rave. I think this trend is partially due to the drug culture that surrounds raves and raving. It is no secret that many young adults in college towns use alcohol and drugs, usually at whatever party or get together that are going to that weekend. This makes raves, a place full of music, dancing, and drugs/alcohol, an appealing idea. What really pushes this into the popular culture is the commercial side of it. Instead of having secret warehouse raves, many venues and bars are promoting the idea of a live DJs or a rave type settings because that’s what brings the people in (and the people bring in the revenue). The more money that can be made off something, the more public and mainstream it goes. So while it doesn’t surprise me that raving is becoming more mainstream, it is interesting to see new contrasting opinions on raves. Another example of a changing subculture is from the reading “Elements of Vogue” by Marcos Becquer
A subculture is a part of society that has different ways of doing things that stray from the dominant or mainstream culture. It can sometimes be described as a stereotype. Its members have little commitment to the category. A subculture is different from the dominant culture, but is not necessarily seen as bad, and is generally seen as "okay" with the rest of the dominant culture. It's members still function as a part of
In the 1950s, when rock was developed, one of the first groups to drift to it was teenagers, being attracted to its themes of rebellion and non conformity. Certain groups of individuals have sprung up around certain musical styles. For instance, punk, techno, and ethnic music all include some type of subculture that embrace an entire lifestyle.
Differences in beliefs and values from what the “norm” considers the right way makes you a subculture, but what makes them unique are the instruments they use to make their voice heard. While most people have taken for granted their language, beliefs and values there are some who within their subculture use their music to escape forms of oppression and lack of freedom. Hip Hop and Punk are two large subcultures that are well known through out the world. There are many differences between Hip Hop and Punk and several contributing factors that shape these subcultures but ultimately each one’s existence
Around the same time within the late 1960’s, a new hippie movement was forming, which was often described as a counterculture.
Other than goths I think a subculture that really stands out in our culture is the subculture deemed as redneck, I am not certain what the exact title of this subculture is or should be because it can be pretty diverse. I was raised in a small farming and mining town so I have seen firsthand how diverse red necks can be; a redneck can be anything from a dignified rancher to a back woods, alligator wraslin’[sic], moon shine drinking, hillbilly. Webster defines rednecks as, “a white person who lives in a small town or in the country especially in the southern U.S., who typically has a working-class job, and who is seen by others as being uneducated and having opinions and attitudes that are offensive.”(Webster,2016) I think as a general consensus
Hip-Hop culture is often confused with the Hip-Hop genre. Hip-Hop as a culture is more than just the music, it is a way of life. Hip-Hop music as a genre has changed from being Rap to including Pop. Hip-Hop is an evolving culture, constantly changing as the older generation fades and the newer generation carries on the legacy along with incorporating it's new style. The new generation of Hip-Hop or rather Hip-Hop today focuses more on Partying, music, and Swag rather than the original elements: Deejaying, Emceeing, Graffiti, and B-Boy or break dancing. These elements are still seen in today's Hip-Hop but have adapted a new style.
identified, are the ways that subcultures react to certain norm breaking differently as well as
These are countercultures which are smaller groups within a certain culture group that are in opposition to all the behaviors and norms of the larger group. (Newman, 124) These countercultures contribute to the violation of norms and values of the dominate group.
What is a rave? Raving is a highly subjective experience. One person's best rave is another person's worst. Any attempt to analyze rave culture must recognize the highly personal factor of the experience. Author Daniel Martin defines a rave as “a long period of constant energetic and stylistic dancing exhibited by a large group of people in a hot, crowded facility providing continuous loud House music and an accompanying strobe lit psychedelic light show” . Since the beginning of this culture there has been much controversy on the legality of what goes on in the scene. Through the history, music, people, spirituality we are introduced to one of the newest things affecting pop culture today.
There is something about the ideology of a subculture that sparks an interest in me. Maybe it is intriguing due to its members’ originality, courage to stand up for beliefs, or freely expressing their own self- identity. A subculture forms by individuals taking a risk, separating themselves from the mainstream, and forming their own distinctive norms, not caring what the “normal” members of the mainstream society think of them. Or do they care? Maybe that is the exact statement a subculture is making. Maybe these individuals are forming these groups so that people will care. Maybe their rebellious attitude is a final, somewhat desperate approach to getting that response. The images being portrayed in most subcultures are
In “The Plot Against People”, Baker made light of common annoyances in inanimate objects by using irony, mood, and personification. For example, he created a mood of humor to further stress how everyday objects plot against us. He did this by using phrases such as “...furnaces, gloves, and pliers are incredibly stupid” (Baker 45-46). In addition, he uses personification to persuade readers how objects are plotting against humans. For example, Baker stated that “It is not uncommon for a pair of pliers to climb all the way from the cellar to the attic in its single-minded determination to raise its owner’s blood pressure” (Baker 27-30). This demonstrates to readers how pliers end up annoying humans. In addition, the author conveys his purpose of making light of common annoyances by using imagery. He used imagery when he wrote, “...the automobile never breaks down while entering a filling station with a large staff of idle mechanics”
As influential British subcultural scholars Phil Cohen describe subculture (s): “as so many variations on a central theme – the contradiction, at an ideological level, between traditional working class Puritanism, and the new hedonism of consumption; at an economic level, between the future as part of the socially mobile elite, or as part of the new lumpen. Mods, Parkers, Skinheads, Crombies, all represent, in their different ways, an attempt to retrieve some of the socially cohesive elements destroyed in their parent culture, and to combine these with elements selected from other class fractions.
These were called criminal subculture, conflict subculture, and retreatist subculture. Criminal subcultures tend to arise in areas surrounded by a lot of organized adult crime, this causes young people to have criminal role models and learn how to commit criminal acts. In these subcultures, young people can move up the subcultures social hierarchy by committing more crimes. They are usually concerned with utilitarian crimes which yield a financial reward. Conflict subcultures tend to arise in areas surrounded by very little organized adult crime, so instead of young people committing serious monetary crimes, they are instead committing gang-related crimes to gain gang reputation.
Subculture refers to a minority of individuals who adhere to different rules, dress codes and lifestyle choices from mainstream culture. Throughout this essay the traditional definitions of subcultures, that mainly concentrate on class and style as their main features, will be looked at and explained. It will then be demonstrated how these ways of thinking are no longer relevant to the 21st century therefore the term 'subculture ' needs to be rethought for it to be an applicable category in the 21st century.
Looking at the big picture, subcultures and countercultures are both cultures that have their own values and norms. They are both capable of being a culture within a culture. A subculture is a smaller culture that exists within a larger culture but fit within the dominant culture, where as a counterculture is an opposition to the norms of society and contradict the dominant culture and norms. Both cultures dress and behave in different ways than average citizens of a society and are usually identifiable by their different appearances. A subculture can have its own beliefs, norms and values, but they are usually able to exist