Concepts of Youth Culture and Youth Subculture Redundant - Essay Example

"The Realities of Post-Modern Society Have Made the Concepts of Youth Culture and Youth Subculture Redundant" Introduction Youth culture has always been a driving force for change. From the crystal covered, marijuana sniffing flower children, to Sid Vicious and the sex pistols, and further on to grunge followers of the 90's; youth and youth subcultures have influenced fashion, speech, art, in fact, entire cultures. In this paper, I plan to analyze youth subcultures of the past; their significant characteristics, also seek a definition of 'postmodernism' and how it fits our world and culture, as well as the effect that changes in the post- postmodern world have had on youth cultures. I also hope to justify the theory that globalization, and free media practices have helped form a globally uniform youth culture; or rather, a culture where the youth aren't liable to set themselves apart, but prefer to stick to societal norms. Discourse: What are Youth Subcultures Youth Subcultures refer to the cultural preferences and tendencies exhibited by groups of young people which differ from the practices of the dominant groups. Youth cultures often differentiate themselves from others in respect to their musical tastes, distinctive fashion and shared names, which are names that the sub-groups in the youth culture assign to themselves and each other to differentiate them from the others. These names are like rappers, punks, geeks, and nerds for example (ENCARTA). Frequently, youth subcultures are formed due to differences in social class, gender and ethnicity. The need of youth to express their distinction from (or as a way of rebelling against) the dominant culture by using a different mode of expression, or changing their lifestyle (such as living in communes as a way of rebelling against consumer culture)- which reflect their attempt to solve simplify what they perceive are flaws in a society's make up. Youth cultures are often said to have gained popularity after World War II and the boom in the consumer-based boom in the economy which created a market specifically for the youth. However historic evidences also exist of youth cultural groups differentiating themselves from the other age related groups. However most of these youth cultural groups have been found in western society. However in recent years there has been a change observed in the overall atmosphere as instead of youths being specifically divided into sub-groups of their own youth culture, they often tend to shift from one social group to another in no fixed pattern (Kahn and Kellner). The choice of becoming a member of any group they wish is the contemporary aspect to the postmodern society. And this is what will be analyzed throughout the course of this assignment. History of Youth Subcultures Since the 1950's, distinctive youth subcultures have come to the forefront. They seek to be different through their music, their clothing, and their lifestyles. Similarly, members of subcultures seek to show their individuality by being (ironically) choosing to be part of a clique, and sharing a title. Youth subcultures have become an object of study from the 1950's onwards. It has been theorized that the growth of a consumer-oriented society, and the media and advertisers focus on youth and beauty have made youth the dominant culture of Western societies. Subculture theorists study the symbolism attached to clothing, music, and other distinguishing articles (such as body art, and dialect) by members of the subculture and also the ways in which these same symbols are interpreted by members of the dominant culture. According to wikipedia.com, Subculture theorist Dick Hebdige states that the a young individual shows his willingness to be a part of a subculture by making concrete choices in his clothing styles, hairstyles and footwear. However, abstract elements, such as common interests, dialects and slang, music genres and gathering places can also become deciding factors. Youth subcultures are popular as they provide young people with an identity outside their family, school, locality or other social institution. Post Modernism Post-modernism is a term which came in retaliation to the theory of Modernism after the Second World War. Originally used to describe architecture, it became a catechism for all facets of society that clashed with modernist principles. The disillusionment with mankind and disgust towards the destruction and devastation of the world made sociologists rethink their thoughts about humanity. They proposed a theory discussing Post-modernism. This theory refers to a cultural, intellectual, or artistic state lacking a clear central hierarchy or organizing principle and which embodies the extreme intricacy, ambiguity and diversity. Postmodernist ideas in the philosophy and the analysis of culture and society expanded the importance of critical theory and is a revolt against the literature, architecture, and design, as well as the culture, and philosophy of the early 20th century. When we speak of Post-modern society though, we are not speaking of post modernism, but of post-modernity. Post modernity is a term used to describe the current economic and cultural conditions of a society. Whereas modernity was the Industrial age, post-modernity is the Consumer service age. A Post modern society can be characterized by its progress in science and technology, and its dependence on the consumer goods and benefits provided to people. The youth subculture came to be recognized with the post modern society as consumer goods and brands marketed on the youth's involvement with the products and lifestyles. Redundancy of youth subcultures in the post modern era: As discussed earlier, the post modern era is signified as an era lacking clear central hierarchies and the concept of youth subcultures have now proven redundant in them. In light of much research work by acclaimed youth subcultural theorists we can clearly see the effect of post modernism on the youth subculture. In Ken Gelder's book "The Subculture Reader" he has quoted the example of the Chinese environment which has moved from a capitalist society to a transnational cultural industrialist one. The change in the Chinese culture is a move towards post modernism and the actions and behavior of the youth of China though changing have had less influence in bringing about the change then they are given credit for. The study of the youth subculture is also of less significance than the overall economic development and change in the lifestyle of the people in general. Sub cultural theorists such Cagle studied the problems in the definition of a subculture and especially of a youth subculture as there were too many variables with which they were divided and there was no rigid line identifying each subgroup from the other. So characteristics were overlapping and the differences were too numerous to identify. The youth subculture involves a transition between the various groups members from one group to the other at all times and the "groups" can not be regarded as having any particular permanent or tangible quality. This thought goes to show that youth subcultures are ever evolving and they change too often to have an actual influence in the post modern society. This leads to a concept called the "post modern persona" and was introduced by Shields who called this a style of people who host multiple personality traits and can no longer be simplistically theorized or unified. Youth have high level of leisure time available so initially they were aimed at during the post modern era by industries and organizations as they would be the most susceptible to change. But the subcultures have always faced opposition by parents and grown-ups who recognize this as a stage of the child's development and is often an unstable period in his/her life. Due to its unstable nature the stay in a single youth subculture is for a short time period (Kastenbaum, R. 1993). The small time period spent in a subculture makes the importance of who is entering the subculture and why a negligible question. The members of these subcultures enter and exit the groups due to a number of factors out of which rebelling against restrictions, appealing ideologies and other such aspects are included. In the post modern era instead of light being shed on the youth and its problems the shift has been towards analyzing and studying the behaviors of grown ups and the older population of the world. Problems such as high divorce rates, development of a "global community" and negative stereotypes towards affections and love are discussed and put under the microscope to be scrutinized and resolved. The actions and attitudes of the youth hold less significance to sociologists at present and their study is deemed as redundant. Sarah Thornton wrote a paper discussing the club cultures and youth's involvement in the club "scene". The results she found were that the young dancers were less concerned about class then the proficiency in dancing and comprehending music and dance moves better. This works in opposition to the principles of the post modern society as it places more and more emphasis on class rather than on the socio-economic standing of the individuals. Thornton's work results proved how the youth subculture did not always work in accordance with the societal type all the time and instead often work in the exact opposite way. But that was when youth subcultures were unique and could be differentiated from the post modern society. But now in recent times these values are crumbling and the youth is becoming more oriented towards the popular class and try to fit in with them which is the post modern society's characteristic. Steve Redhead is of the opinion however that globalization has had a major role to play in the disappearance of the socio-legal understanding of the youth and its popular culture. To this effect he was very correct because the culture of youth has become uniform the world over with many subgroups found in all parts of the world with thanks to the media and improved communication channels. The youth subcultures which were first individualized and differentiable from other subcultures across the world now become similar due to increased awareness and more opportunities of interactions. The overall effect of the globalization process has led to uniformity which is the exact antithesis of the creation of subcultures and their principles. Even laws and governing values have faced a disappearance in the light of rapid acceleration, as coined by Jean Baudrillard, and globalization. This has led to the decreased attention towards the influence of subcultures and their monitoring. Conclusion Subcultures have existed in all times. Youth subcultures, religious subcultures, economic subcultures, and many other forms differing from each other based on ideological and creative differences. But the amount of emphasis placed on any of the particular subcultures has always varied as well. After the Second World War and the discarding of the modernistic society, youth subcultures were given a lot of emphasis and the youth movements were carefully observed and their subcultures analyzed. But over time the post modern society has seen a standardization of these subcultures and a stand still as the youth subculture has become rigid and unchanging in its beliefs and opinions. The uniqueness of the groups falling in the subculture have crumbled due to globalization and improved communication channels and the transition of the youth's beliefs towards a classier outlook has shifted it more towards post modernistic society than ever before. More and more emphasis is falling towards the class which is the significant trait of the post modern society and which is making youth subculture less appealing to study. That is why it is making the youth culture and subculture redundant in lieu of the realities of the post modern society. REFERENCES 1. Addison, Paul and Harriet Jones. A Companion to Contemporary Britain: 1939-2000. Wiley-Blackwell, 2005. 2. Bennett, Andy, et al., eds. The Popular Music Studies Reader. Routledge, 2005. 3. Best, Steven and Douglas Kellner. 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