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The Role of Music in Forming and Transforming Identities

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Write an essay of 2,500 words on the following topic: ‘With reference to two contrasting musical forms and cultural traditions, discuss the role of music in forming and transforming identities.’ Introduction This essay will explore the role of music with regards to the formation and transformation of identities within the ‘emo’ subculture contrasting it to the dance music tradition. The subculture of emo music engulfed many young adults of today’s generation including myself and those who were drawn to its spectrum and their affiliation to the music will allow for an in-depth analysis of points made by scholars which will allow me to contrast the emo subculture to that of dance music. Dance music has become increasingly popular in the current popular music scene and it offers a distinct contrast to emo music. Therefore, this provides a genuine contrast that can be anaylsed and by exploring the contrasting features of these two music forms and their cultural traditions, it will be possible to conclude the role of music in how it forms and transforms identities today.

Before delving into the meaning of emo I will first explore the definitions of culture and in particular, youth subculture, to which emo is linked with. A culture as Stuart Hall describes is a way in which groups of people “handle the raw material of their social and material existence” and also notes Marx in saying that culture is the practice of realising group life in meaningful shape and form (Marx,

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