Subculutres Evaluation

WHAT I HAVE DISCOVERED SO FAR...

A subculture is a group of people who differentiate from the parent culture and brings together individuals to allow them to develop a sense of identity. There is a distinction between an accepted majority style and a subculture as an active minority style. Dick Hebdige argued that a subculture is subversion to normality. They are critiscised and perceived as negative.  Subcultures are difficult to imagine without their own type of music as they come together around a certain music genre, however, there is much more to them.

Compared to the clear balance of gender in the mainstream, punks and skinheads had an influence of transgender fashion. I think this could have been influenced by the clear gender difference during the 1950’s which they rebelled against. Watching the BBC’s 1952 show taught me what could have influenced subcultures to emerge. DIY became popular in the 50’s, which later created DIY fashion and bricolage in the Punk subculture as an anti-consumerist statement. Bricolage is a postmodern term to represent taking elements and regurgitating them to create something new. This means incorporating items typically utilised for other purposes e.g. the safety pin shifting the purpose from practicality to fashion and bin bags were warn as part of the bin men strike during the ‘winter of discontent’.

The punk movement was all handmade, cheap design and was deliberately crude and energetic with the use of collage and hand lettering. Cheap fanzines were published and most famously were Jamie Reid’s Sex Pistols designs. This style of work represented the fashion and beliefs of the subculture. 

Although a subculture may be revolutionary, differentiating itself from parent culture, eventually it will be brought back into the system. The subculture will be turned into a commodity, a style that people can buy. Everything that is 'different' will become normal by making it familiar or part of mass culture e.g. punk rock fashion becoming mainstream with stores like ‘Claire’s Accessories’ selling safety pin jewelry and studded dog collars to teenagers as fashion. Globalisation plays an important part as brands have strong associations and become a ‘sponge’ to subcultures but sometimes they also get absorbed by the mainstream. A great example is Dr.Martens. Once being adopted by the punks, they are now part of the parent culture with high street stores like Topshop selling them. People become more aware which makes them popular, usually influenced by celebrities.

Punk music had a very anti-commercial sentiment that then turned into commercial success.

They started making money and becoming successful which meant their ideology lost all meaning. Punk fashion was then in advertisements and high street stores or magazines. This idea of Punks being anti-commercial is contradicted by The Sex Pistols reforming on many occasions. Cyberspace played an important part, especially because Myspace was so music based. Maybe cyberspace is going to become the route of subcultures as it becomes more popular.