Week 3

Subculture is a hard topic but to tell you if I am I part of a subculture?  “Subcultures represent ‘noise’ (as opposed to sound): interference in the orderly sequence which leads from real events and phenomena to their representation in the media.” (Hebdige, 1979: 357) I would have to say Yes! I do believe that I am part of a subculture. 

 I believe that everyone is in some part apart of a subculture , even the people who dont think they’re. I say this because these days we can choose what to wear, we can choose what music we want to listen to, the kind of people we relate to, and then, in the same way, we can wake up and say “I feel like wearing knee-high black boots and a choker.  I believe that everyone is in some part apart of a subculture. 

To me I consider myself mainstream. (“passively accept commercially provided styles and meanings” (Riesman. David: 1950). This is either because music wise I am into the top number ones and also from my last blog I am into a boyband and they seem to fit into  the definition of mainstream music “A genre in music and other forms of media that is often defined by widely-accepted and currently-popular standards, trends, and hypes that have been established by the media, typically resulting in the promotion of superficial traits.” (Ash G pg 1) 

I like to follow the trends abit that being said some trends that are classed as mainstream I dont always agree to follow. One example is the fashion of band shirts, for example, the heavy rock bands and the bands like Metallica. Recently shops like forever 21 have been putting them on their shelves and whilst its a good idea some people like a YouTuber who is classed as a “big” brought the shirt and said “I love the Metallica writing” not knowing the ‘Metallica’ writing was a band. 

“As soon as the original innovations which signify ‘subculture’ are translated into commodities and made generally available, they become ‘frozen’. Once removed from their private contexts by the small entrepreneurs and big fashion interests who produce them on a mass scale, they become codified, made comprehensible, rendered at once public property and profitable merchandise” (Hebdige 1979: 357).

This shows that sometimes things start in a small minority, but then become bigger and no longer original as it turns mainstream  This could link into how style has become a huge thing.

Overall,  its good to know what you like to wear, or the genre of music you like to listen to, I believe that people should relate to each other because of who they are,personality wise and not because of the clothes they wear.

1. Hebdige, D. 1987. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London and New York: Routledge

2. https://malaysianemcee.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/document.pdf  (mainstream music)

3. Riesman. David (1950) The Lonely Crowd

4. Hebdige. Dick (1979) Subculture in Guins, Raiford and Cruz, Omayra (2005) Popular Culture: A Reader. London: Sage, pp355-371.