Countercultures After today You should be able to
& Countercultures
After today… • You should be able to tell the difference between subcultures & countercultures • You should be able to identify the purpose of subcultures within dominant society • You should be able to identify the qualities of sub/countercultures
What is a subculture? • Any group that exists within dominant, mainstream culture…a world within a world – Shared ideology…values, norms, beliefs – Shared aesthetic…dress, pastimes, music, zines/blogs, etc – Shared vernacular…specialized language
Types of Subcultures • Vocational subcultures • Recreational subcultures • Ethnic subcultures
Job Jargon: Truck Driving • • • "Reefer". . . refrigerated trailer "Big Road". . Highway "Flip Flop". . . return trip "Chicken Coup". . . truck scales "Bear". . . Police
Youth Subcultures • In your groups make a list of 5 youth subcultures we have here at the high school: – Identify what shared values/ideology the group embraces – Identify what shared aesthetic the group embraces (music, dress, hairstyles, body modifications, pastimes, etc. ) – Identify what shared vernacular the group uses (slang terms or specialized language)
Purpose of both sub and countercultures • Gives people a place where they are empowered • Connects likeminded people • Makes invisible people visible • Allows people to escape the identity they are born into • Gives people a place to construct identity
Otherkin • Subculture of people, primarily Internetbased, who identify in some way as other than human • Believe themselves to be mythological or legendary creatures, explaining their beliefs through reincarnation, having a nonhuman soul – Angels, demons, dragons, elves, extraterrestrials, fairies, kitsune, lycanthropes, and vampires
Steampunk • Based on science fiction literature blended with Victorian Era culture… – Think H. G. Wells and Jules Verne – Clothing: gowns, corsets, petticoats and bustles; suits with vests, coats and spats; or militaryinspired garments. • Example: Panic at the Disco’s “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” • Music – industrial dance/synthpunk
Hipsters
LARPers • Participants physically act out their characters' actions as decided by the gamemaster – May last hours or days – May be in public or private – Most characters dress up and have alternative personas – Horror, zombie, fantasy, post apocalyptic, assassin, etc.
What is a counterculture? • A group who’s values and norms deviate from or are at odds with those of dominant culture: – Usually viewed as negative/dangerous, but not always (e. g. women’s lib groups in the 70 s or the Civil Rights movement of the 60 s) – Hippies, KKK, early punk, Satanists, Hells Angels/Pagans, Anarchists, Cults
Why do people join countercultures? • Members of countercultural groups are… – Usually outsiders – Alienated – Freaks, geeks, nerds and losers – Marginalized people with little power over their status in the world – Don’t fit the mold of what American cultures says is “normal”
Hippies
60’s Counterculture • Developed first in the US and UK in the early 1960 s The movement gained momentum during the U. S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam. • Values: Anti-authority, Personal freedom: emphasized change and experimentation, Anti-war, Anti-authority, sexual freedom • Politics: Supported Civil Rights movement, Anti-war movement, Feminism, Environmentalism, Gay Liberation movement • Music: The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Beach Boys, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan
Punk Counterculture • Emerges in London and NYC in the 1970 s – Max’s Kansas City & CBGBs • Backlash against the hippie counterculture • Values: nihilistic, rejected materialism, anti-establishment • Politics: Anarchism • Music: Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, Patti Smith
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