Youth Sub-Culture

What is a youth sub-culture?

A group of individuals who are united through a common value system and tastes (clothes, music, politics etc.)

A group of people who are positioned outside of the mainstream and, who unify as a response to the mainstream.

What are the values of a sub-culture?

Emo, chavs, thugs, goths, scene kids, geeks, hipsters, jocks, hippies, skaters, punks, mods, rockers, new-romantics,

Chavs
Want to rebel against any authority type figure, stereotypically come from a deprieved lower class background with a broken family and will show signs of aggressive behaviour and not complying to rules and regulation.

Many chavs will wear lots of sports brands including mainly tracksuits worn Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Umbro, Donnay etc.
Short hair with an aggressive dog.
Grime/hip-hop/r&b
Modified car - tinted windows, big speakers, souped up car.

What are the values of a sub-culture?

Conformity and rebellion
Attitude to capitalism and consumerism
Tribal rivalry
Traditional or 'neophile' (a person who loves novelty, one who likes trends; person who accept the future enthusiastically and enjoys changes and evolution)
Ideology in 1950's and 1960's - peace, rebellion against parents, radicalism - reactions against the post war.

Many groups are involved in protest and resistance against the mainstream...
Teens will often move between subcultures, and older youths mix and match styles/values from a mix of subcultures
Or that adults can appear to conform for most of the working week, but re-enter the subculture at specific time (weekend, festivals etc.)

Subculture

In the 21st century the 'dominant meaning systems' (that define the mainstream) are crumbling.
"There is no mainstream. There are many streams." Mainstream is in perpetual flux, rapaciously absorbing alternative culture at such a fast rate that the notion of a mainstream becomes obsolete.
So if there is no mainstream then there is nothing for the teens to react against - instead they are driven by other motives; and these must be understood on their own terms, individual terms.

1950's Teddies (Teds/Teddy Boys)
Anti-establishment, some of the original juvenile delinquents
Their uniform - drainpipe trousers, drape Edwardian jackets with velvet collars, string ties or slim-jims and DA (duck arse) haircuts and sideburns
They may have been a minority in Britain but he effect they had was huge (especially the clothing
Their music - Elvis Presley

1960's Mods
Mod (originally modernist to describe modern jazz musicians and fans) is a subculture that originated in London in the late 1950's and peaked in the early to mid 1960's.
Uniform hard to describe as they were prone to continuous revitalisation
The Who and Small Faces would change their musical style.

1960's Skinheads
Originated among working class youths in the 1960's
Close cropped or shaven heads, influenced greatly by West Indian rude boys and British Mods in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle
Originally not based on politics or race
Fashion wise, Skinheads range from a clean-cut 1960's mod-influenced style to less-strict punk and hardcore - influenced styles

Early 1970's Punks
Emerged from USA, UK and Australia
Based around punk rock
Listening to recordings or live concerts of a loud, aggressive genre of rock music called punk rock
Punk-related ideologies are mostly concerned with with idividual freedom and anti-establishment views.

The Cultural Revolution
1950's - 1970's

War - time of survival just before the 1950's - rationing, tight society
Anti establishment - breaking free from the shackles of the war and gaining more wealth
Many old social cultural structures were broken
The American way of life had started to become key to the aspirations of the British public (both cultural and material goods)
Increased availability of cheap colour magazines brough a proliferation of advertising for luxury commodities
A world wide ecnomic boom (postwar regeneration schemes)
Labour was defeated by the Conservatives at the 1951 General Election, This change in the government marked a shift from state control to increased individual freedom the Conservative election slogan promised to 'Set the People Free'
Youth given more freedom through the deregulation and commercialism of society.
Massive increases in the production and availability of consumer goods stimulated mass consumption.
People were expected to have goods such as tvs, fridges, music systems and cars as a basic requirement (more disposable income)
Car ownership rose 250% between 1951 and 1961. Weekly earnings rose by 34% between 1955 and 1960.
1960's consumption had become less connected with utilitarian needs, and more to do with status and comfort (Maslows Hierarchy of Needs)
The era of the'lifestyle' had began, specialist retailers providing outlets where people could buy into a new indentity based around design or fashion.
Teenagers became a recognised social group as they had become more affluent.
Manufacturers met the demands reflecting interest in fashion and pop music began to be sold.

America's influence

To be young in the 1950's usually meant that you would consume anything that had 'Made in America'
Americal culture was viewed by some, as a symptom of cultural degenertaion
However Hollywood movies, commercial tv, glossy mags and consumer good proves an instant hit with British Consumers.
To the average Briton it offered a rich and desirable future.
Cultural Imperialism - The practice of promoting, distinguishing, seperating or artificially injecting the culture of one society in another (America influence on Britain post war)

Social Mobility

Affluence, social mobility and the advent of the mass media, combined with a government that placed individual freedom at the heart of its agenda, had transformed British society.
There was a feeling of optimism but also a sense of uncertainty. New freedoms and liberties had been gained, but as a result society had become more fragmented and less predictable.