Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature - Essay Example

? Culture and Sub-Genres in Literature number Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature The practice of culture denoting sub genres is a prevalent practice in literature. This happens for a variety of reasons that may be historical, economic, social, political, and so on and so forth. One may even see in the practice of culture denoting subgenres and the presence of subcultures in literature a humanistic aspect that enables the person or the community to feel that they are in control of their own destiny. This paper shall seek to analyse the causes that are mentioned above and also the very practice of culture denoting subgenres as well as the existence of subcultures in a field that is sometimes considered to be, by people of certain ideological bents of mind, divorced from politics. There are others that seek to completely refute this argument, saying that art and politics are intrinsically linked and that the artist has to be a socially responsible person, an aspect that would shine through his art. Then again, it is this diversity of viewpoints that enables the existence of genres and subgenres. The existence of a literary politics is also evident in the presence of subcultures, which more often than not are the creations of specific communities that have certain vested interests in promoting certain subcultures. Being in certain senses a mirror of the society, art cannot be completely divorced from the material realities of the world that influence the very production of literature and the reception of it at the level of the consumer, who himself or herself has certain expectations of a political literariness that may be present in a writer that he may choose to read the works of. For instance, a person who picks a book of Chinua Achebe would be ready for a postcolonial politics that informs the writing of Achebe (Achebe). There are, of course issues that overlap and are present in the works of authors who may not overtly profess ideologies relating to those issues, but these analyses occur when one seeks to read a work along the faultlines of the narrative that the writer seeks to provide the reader. The culture of a certain society decides the stereotypes that exist within that society. It is the society that seeks to impose certain identities on certain communities that then enter into the public consciousness and that of that particular community as well. This then leads to that community fashioning itself according to the identities and stereotypes that the society imposes on it. This leads to the literature that is produced by that community being typecast, to a certain extent, not just by other communities but also by the community that produces it, under pressure to conform to the identities that are imposed by the discourse that are a part of everyday societal life. The subgenres that these communities create along with the society that also lead to the creation of subcultures finally are sustained by the discourses that sustain the identities, which are essentially constructs of the society. They then become structures that support and sustain each other. There then seems to be no exit from this vicious cycle that is created by both parties. The effect of the society in the creation of subgenres in literature is thus evident. The society that communities are a part of and help constitute themselves is a reflection of the literature that the society produces. Apart from this, like the earlier mentioned cycle, society and literature too, form a cycle whereby the two mirror each other and help in the modification of each other. From the above discussion, one can also understand the historical aspect of the problem that is in front of us. Communities produce subgenres that reflect their triumphs and defeats that have become a part of their culture. Thus literature becomes a means and a platform for these cultures that have been shaped by historical forces to manifest themselves. The historical aspect thus, is as important as any other aspect of this discussion. It is the historical forces that combine to create cultures that are distinct from each other. This has led to the separation of communities from each other through histories that have been filled with oppression and suffering. Thus, in a work like The Moths by Helena Maria Viramontes, the protagonist and the other characters talk about the sufferings that they have to face as a result of the fact that they belong to a community that has been historically oppressed and marginalized by what one may call the mainstream society, if there be one. In a story like the one by Viramontes, one sees the urge to make known to the world the oppression that certain communities have been subjected to subjugation and displacement from their homelands (Viramontes, 27). Culture is formed of such historical factors and contributes to the creation of subgenres that talk of the events and periods in history that the mainstream society has always tried to suppress and erase since they show the mainstream communities in a bad light. These cultures denote the subgenres that have just been referred to. These subgenres are by definition not the entire thing but a part of a greater body of literature that has other subgenre. There are dominant cultures within society that may have subgenres that represent their ways of thinking and their ideologies. The subgenres are thus, not necessarily the refuge of the subaltern communities like the one that Viramontes represents in her stories but can also be used by the mainstream communities to consolidate their positions of power. The political aspect of the subgenre is so significant that it may be obvious even to the layman who does not understand much about the politics of literature. This may also be because of the fact that much of the political propaganda that subgenres denoted by dominant cultures in a certain society indulges in, happens through popular fiction as opposed to literature that is a part of the contemporary canon. The communities that seek to make their culture appear superior through such propaganda and thus acquire a superior position for the subcultures in literature that they represent need not necessarily be a community that comes together on the basis of ethnicity or race. This community can be one that comes together for explicitly political processes like an election. Such a community may just be a political party that has members who have formed alliances for the purpose of achieving victory in an election, democratic or otherwise, despite being from different backgrounds as far as their racial and ethnic origins are concerned. The economic implications of culture denoting subgenres in literature and the presence of subcultures in literature are evident. A community that has a certain amount of hegemony in a certain society shall always try its best to maintain its supremacy over other communities that are a part of that society, even though they exist at the periphery, as Antonio Gramsci argues (Gramsci 57). These communities that exist at the periphery, likewise, shall always attempt to usurp the position of the dominant sections of the society. Dominance in a society largely proceeds from the economic dominance that a community possesses. As discussed earlier, this community might refer to a political party or a group of businessmen who may then create subgenres that are denoted by the cultures that their communities represent. Over a period of time, then, subcultures are created in literatures that seek to create and modify existing notions according to the power struggles between the oppressed communities and the oppressors. The interpretations that are given to these works arise partially out of a desire to dominate, economically, and a desire to do so through the subgenres that are denoted by the dominant or the marginalized cultures. Subgenres in literature and the subcultures that they give rise to are thus methods of maintaining and also challenging the status quo of hierarchies that exist in the society. They are the sites of resistance that are available to subaltern cultures and also means of oppression for the dominant culture. The main idea that propelled the humanistic movement of the Renaissance was that of a man’s ability to shape his own destiny. In later ages as well, a man or a woman with a humanistic bent of mind would believe in their ability to create a future for themselves that would depend on their talents and interests. The creation of subcultures in literature probably arises out of an urge to do this. A desire to mould one’s destiny is reflected in the desire to represent one’s community and the future and the way in which one envisions oneself. An appraisal of one’s culture through the subgenre that it denotes is usually for the purpose of bringing about change. This arises out of a humanistic impulse that is reflected also in the urge to create spaces in subcultures for one’s community and its culture. Culture thus, as is evident from the above arguments, denotes subgenres. This phenomenon arises out of multiple reasons and it may be used for various purposes. It is up to a writer and the society to use them for the betterment of the society. Works Cited Viramontes, Helena Maria. “The Moths”. The Moths and other stories. Texas: Arte Publico Press, 1992. Print. P 27 Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Harare: Heinemann, 1999. Print. Gramsci, Antonio. “The Formation of the Intellectuals”. Marxism. Ed. Anand Prakash. New Delhi: Worldview, 2006. Print. Read More