Talk show ‘Youth subcultures’

So many countries, so many cultures

Presenter: The topic of today’s discussion is Youth Subcultures and the life of modern teenagers.

Hippies, punks, ravers, roofers, bikers – there is no end to the number of youth cults and fashions.

What are your associations when you hear the word Subcultures? – 

informal groups, moral values, fashion,   lifestyle,   make-up and hair-do,  music,    interests and  hobbies,   parents and children,   problems, emotions,   conflicts,   responsibility,   protest, generation gap, ideology etc.

Well, so many images, but the question is:

What makes young people decide to join any subculture? To answer this question, we have invited some experts to our Talk Show. Let’s welcome them. The Sociologist (the name) the Psychologist (the name) and the Head of the Students Union (the name). 

Let’s start with you, Anton. (Sociologist)

What does make a person become a Goth or a Skinhead?

  Sociologist: Well, there are a lot of different sorts of reasons, but it seems to me that it’s a great wish to become an adult. The matter is that when young people are in their teens, they start to think over the values and lifestyles of the adult world they see around them. So, parents, other adults or older brothers and sisters often stop being a role model. Instead, young people look for new role models from their peers. And, of course, they are also looking for friendship or acceptance.

Presenter: Well, so you are saying that it’s a reaction against the adult world?

Sociologist: That’s right, although in reality it’s much more complicated.

Psychologist I have to say I can’t agree with it at all. As far as I’m concerned, becoming a Goth or a Hippie has absolutely nothing to do with looking for role models. Frankly, it’s all about money. Every new youth fashion makes millions of dollars for the fashion and music industries.

Presenter: Sorry to interrupt but perhaps at this point we should ask Artemiy for his view.

the Head of the Students Union  Personally, I believe it’s all about music. I’m into heavy-metal and hard rock and my favourite band is… . It’s only natural that you want to spend your time with other people who enjoy and understand this music. And then these people become your close friends – you have fun with them, they help you if you have problems and …

Presenter: Thank you greatly for your points of view, all of them have the right to exist. What are the main information sources about subcultures? We have interviewed students of the 10-th and 11-th forms (all in all 110 students).  Have a look at the box with the results of an essay.

Presenter: But let’s try to give the definition to the word “subculture”. While preparing for our talk show we have asked some senior students to try and give the definition to the word ‘subculture’ or try to explain the meaning of this word.  Their answers:

1.  As far as I know, a youth subculture is a subculture with distinct styles, behaviour, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that described by social institutions such as family, work, home and school.

2.  Personally I think that a subculture is a group of people within a culture that is different from the parent culture to which it belongs and often maintains some founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding to culture, policy etc.

3.  To my mind, any youth subculture is a group of young people that has particular elements of culture such as language, symbols, traditions and values.

4. Well, I have a point here, too. Sam Hunt (an American singer and songwriter) said: I don’t like the idea that in music, clothes, taste or anything else we are limited to a certain style because we need to maintain the identity, maybe between some subculture groups. Hopefully, all those walls break down, and music is just music.

Presenter: So, due to all this, we can divide all youth subcultures into such groups:

Presenter: What are the reasons young people join any subculture?

Presenter: So, new experiences give you new perspectives on life.

What subcultures do exist in reality in Ukraine? Are they wide-spread? Do we often see the representatives of some youth subcultures in the streets of Kyiv? Let’s welcome some boys and girls who’ll try to tell us some interesting and exciting information for you to become aware of the brightest subcultures.

Youth subculture

1-st student: Yuppie (Young Urban Professional Person) is a term originated in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city. Yuppies have a well-paid job, they prefer business style in clothes, follow fashion, and visit fitness centers. The concept of "yuppie" arose in the United States, where Newsweek magazine called 1984 "the yuppie year."

Attributes

• Yuppie wears a formal suit - woolen and very expensive, in addition all clothes are of conservative colors

• Yuppie has a mobile phone (smartphone) of the latest model, the most expensive laptop and other new products of the IT industry.

• fast and, of course, an expensive car.

• The yuppie lives in an expensive apartment (for example, a loft or a penthouse) with exclusive furniture; usually alone, without family.

• High heels and a skirt - the basis for yuppie girls

For yuppies, the family is not in the first place, so they are not against betrayals and casual relationships. Often, “yuppies” advocate cynicism, pragmatism and contempt for less successful people.

Yuppie's favorite theme is lack of time. It is not suitable to discuss your illnesses and generally problems in the circle of yuppies, they should look perfect, healthy and energetic. Yuppies usually have no close friends, because they have lots of work and people of this subculture love themselves very much.

Presenter: The main point for being a yuppie is success in business.

Presenter: The main principle: They love their work and do it with pleasure.

2-nd student: I’d like to tell you about Hippie. This subculture originally started in the USA and the UK in the mid-1960s and then quickly spread to other countries of the world.

In Ukraine Hippie appeared in 1972. Hippie got its name from the word ‘hip’ which means to be aware of the world around them.

They worship Buddhism and other Eastern religions. From the very beginning of their existence they fought against the war in Vietnam. Astrology is popular in their subculture.

Hippies showed their dissatisfaction with the society by their appearance. They prefer to wear print-dyed T-shirts, baggy jeans. Many Hippies go barefoot. Both men and women have long hair. They wear the peace symbol on many things to show that they are against the war and support world peace.

Many hippies wear flowers in their hair to stress their love to nature, they are often called ‘flower children’. An interesting fact is that Hippies enjoy wearing beads, bracelets (so-called phenichky), a lot of tattoos and body piercing and they prefer healthy food.

Both rock and folk music are a great part of hippie culture. Singers such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and groups such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd are closely connected with this movement.

Presenter: What is the main slogan of their life and activity?  - It is non-violence and love. They promote openness and tolerance. Hippies promote anti-war protests, marches and music festivals. They take part in the environmental movement.

So, Hippie fashion and values influenced greatly culture, popular music, television, films, literature and the arts. Since the 1960s many aspects of hippie culture have become the mainstream of the society.

3-rd student: Emo is a slang term which originates from the word “emotional”, but it doesn’t make much sense really. The term is used to describe a subculture which is based on the particular type of music.

Presenter: What is emo culture associated with?  - with emotion, sensitivity, shyness, and angst, as well as depression, self-harm and, to a great pity, suicide.

3-rd student: It is considered that a traditional hairstyle of emo is oblique, torn tuft to the tip of the nose, which closes one eye, and behind short hair, protruding in different directions. Hard straight black hair is preferred. Girls can have children's, funny hairstyles - two small tails, bright hair clips - hearts on the sides, bows. Often emo-kids pierce ears or make tunnels. In addition, a must-have emo-sign is a piercing on the face (for example, in the lips and left nostril, eyebrows, nose). They can be easily identified by the colors in the clothes: pink and black.

Presenter: As any culture, emo has its Pros and Cons. What are these characteristics?

3-rd student: Pros: If you do not consider their emotionality, then they are completely peaceful and quiet people not hostile and do not want to enslave the world.

Cons: The desire to experience bright and pure emotions and express them is the main rule for emo. They are distinguished by the desire for self-expression, confrontation to injustice, and a special, sensitive worldview. Therefore, all this can lead to a nervous breakdown and problems in later life.

Presenter: Another important subculture is obviously skinheads.

4-th student:  The skinheads movement originated in Britain in the late 1960s. At the beginning of the existence the "skins" - natives of the working areas - had patriotic views, were fond of rugby and football, they were not interested in politics. Named for their shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West India rude boys and British mods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle.

In the mid-1970s, the economic crisis in England hit the youth painfully, giving rise to unemployment and lack of prospects. The racist movement of modern "skins" was developed on this social wave. They often united by a passion for violence. Representatives of non-white races became their main enemy.

This subculture appeared in Ukraine in 1995-1996. The first skins did not show much activity. At the end of 1996, they became more active. Recently, they have focused on the persecution of blacks and natives of Asia and the fight against other subcultures. The style of their clothing is tailored to the street fights: black jeans, heavy laced army boots, or Dr. Martens boots, short collarless bombers, shaved or short-cropped heads. Some skinheads get tattoos with images or text related to the skinhead subculture.

Today, this movement is much mixed with the movement of football hooligans in Ukraine. Skinheads can often be seen cheering for their favourite team in a pub or stadium.

Presenter: Ravers: they are fans of modern house music and spend free time at night clubs, at disco parties, denying everyday so-called ‘grey’ routine life. You are welcome to get to know some facts about them.

5-th student: Rave is a night disco, where youngsters have a party. Rave is a slang word, which came into life in London in the 1960s because there were many Caribbean people, who always organized parties. At the end of the 1980s, a subculture was named after this word.

Rave culture included young individuals who liked electronic, techno music. Initially, all their parties took place in warehouses or even in open air fields and nightclubs where thousands of people gathered. The most well-known bands, that are associated with ravers, are 808 Stat and The Shaman. Since the early 1990s the largest festival has been held, called the Kazantip Festival, which was first held on the Crimean Cape Kazantip. Because they are constantly dancing and hanging out, their clothing should be comfortable and bright. Their clothing consists of athletic shorts, comfortable shoes, hats, sunglasses, bandana, hoodie, a T-shirt or a top.

  One of the most popular accessories of raves is their bracelet, called “kandi”. It is not just a simple accessory, it can even be a symbol of relationships and friendship. Collecting kandis is extreme fun and can give you the chance to meet new friends. Also one of the most important attributes is a hydration pack. It is a special bag with water that you can take with you. While you are dancing, your body needs more water. In addition, usually buying water at raves’ parties is expensive, so they take with them hydration packs and can easily enjoy an event.

Presenter: All of us know a popular rap singer Eminem. He is the brightest representative of rap subculture. Listen to an interesting story about it.

6-th student:  Rap in its modern form appeared in the 1970s among African-Americans in the Bronx region. It was "exported" here by Jamaican DJs. The founder of rap is called DJ Kool Herc, who invented the special «rhyme on top of music». To this day rhyming performances just on the streets remain a tradition of ‘black’ quarters. In addition, the so-called “battles” were arranged - verbal fights in which two rappers “quarreled”, preserving the rhymed text on a certain topic and a rhythm.

The Italian rap singer and actor Adriano Celentano is considered to be the father of modern rap for the fact that in the early 1970s Adriano created a musical style in which he recited phrases in a fictitious language,- a mixture of English with Italian.

As for clothes, typical for rappers are T-shirts, sports jackets, baseball caps, hats, and chains. Backpacks are a typical image of a modern rapper. Add to all this tight shirts in combination with jeans, jewelry, and the image will finally take shape. It is believed that clothing of large sizes "came" into the fashion of rappers from the USA, where universal clothes were made for prisoners - just suitable for everyone. It was also common when elders –fathers and brothers- passed their clothes on to younger ones.

Today in the world there are millions of fans of "rap" subculture and hundreds of artists of this genre. The most famous are Eminem, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dog and many others.

7-th student: The Goths are representatives of the Gothic subculture who are supporters of the aesthetic Gothic

novel, the aesthetics of death, Gothic music. Representatives of the movement appeared in 1979 on a wave of post-punk. The Gothic image is connected with passion for vampire aesthetics, and a dark view of the world. Characteristic appearance of a Goth is: black (dark) clothing, black long hair, high laced boots, black corset, fitting black sleeves and black maxi (for girls), antique clothing, sleeveless, leather clothing, studded collar, occult silver jewelry. Also, many different symbols of death are used - decorations with graves, skulls and more. Purely Gothic characters include different images of bats (vampire-related), and can be seen on thousands of Gothic pages on the Internet and in many ornaments.

Presenter: Is this subculture to your liking?

Surely, it has the right to exist. I’m into Gothic music and Gothic literature. Within the subculture a special understanding of femininity and masculinity and specific views on interpersonal relations are developed.

8-th student: The punk subculture includes a diverse number of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of  visual art, dance, literature and film. It is largely characterized by independent views, the promotion of individual freedom, and is centred on a loud, aggressive genre of rock music called punk rock.

Typically, a punk enters the subculture during the first few years of high school. Punks are typically white, male adolescents from working class or middle class backgrounds.

Punk has generated a considerable amount of poetry and prose, and has its own underground press in the form of zines. Many punk-themed films and videos have been made.

The punk fashion consists of over-sized T-shirts, leather jackets, Dr. Martens boots, hairstyles such as brightly coloured, cosmetics, tattoos, jewelry and body modification. Women typically wear masculine clothing.

Presenter: Sorry, you haven’t told anything about the history of this subculture. Can you remind us the years of its appearance on the world culture stage?

In the late 1960's, The Stooges and MC5 began to play a stripped-down, louder and more aggressive form of rock 'n' roll. Bands such as the Ramones, Television, and Talking Heads were heavily influenced by this and took it further. These New York bands started their performing, and the first punk scene was formed.

Presenter: I consider the lifestyle of the Punks isn’t the role model for the youth. Am I right?

 It’s a great pity but several major figures in the punk community have died from drug overdose or suicide. The original punk movement was largely fueled by heroin, methamphetamine, and alcohol. In Ukraine there is a small group of people who adhere to this ideology, but it does not have a serious impact on the cultural situation.

Conclusion

Presenter:  So, we have got acquaintance with a lot of subcultures existing not only in the countries of America, in Europe but in Ukraine as well. On the one hand, there are Positive aspects of functioning and activity of subcultures. They are: (Students’ summary)

• Being a participant in a particular subculture, young people are trained in the fulfillment of social roles, seek to find their status, fight against injustice,
• Some subcultures are actively involved in the restoration of cultural monuments and promoting environmental protection.
• Subcultures help participants to better adjust to life, and perform some functions that school, family, state, etc. cannot provide.
• Subcultures are involved in the socialization of young people who are members of it.

On the other hand, Negative features of subcultures are following:

• Vandalism and debauchery.
• Drug and alcohol abuse.
• Closeness and distance from society.
• Subcultures influence young people, and are in fact closed to external influences.
• The ideology of subcultures educates low-spirited youth who cannot fully exist in society.
•  

Presenter: The Israeli politician and lawyer, and current President of Israel Reuven Rivlin said, “A multicultural society does not reject the culture of the other but is prepared to listen, to see, to dialogue and, in the final analysis, to possibly accept the other's culture without compromising its own”. 

  Have we reached the goal? 

  Dear experts, what are your impressions and your final word?

Sociologist: The emergence of subcultures is quite normal. Various informal groups emerge everywhere, promoting their own principles and values ​​or protesting against existing ones. Subculture does not mean rejection of national culture. Subcultures, existing alongside with national culture, always bring in its own elements, and are improving and "renew" the national culture, do not allow it to become outdated.

The head of the Students Union:   So the question is: "What elements of subcultures should be imbibed and added to national culture?" The answer is quite simple: the beliefs of a particular subculture should not reject existing norms, but simply complement national culture with new elements.

 Psychologist:  Thus, we can conclude that subcultures are an important and integral element in the development of national culture. The subculture should be a tool to promote the development of a dominant culture, and to introduce new elements in the development of a society. The main thing is to conduct state control over the subcultures, to direct their activities for the benefit of national culture.

Presenter:

The life of every person is the most valuable thing and we should try to live a happy, full of great experience, bright emotions and healthy life.

Mother Teresa’s Message reveals the brightest philosophy of the word ‘life’. Listen to it!

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

                                                      Life is a beauty, admire it.

                                                      Life is a bliss, taste it.

                                                      Life is a dream, realize it.

                                                      Life is a challenge, meet it.

                                                      Life is a duty, complete it.

                                                      Life is a game, play it.

                                                     Life is costly, care for it.

                                                     Life is wealth, keep it.

                                                    Life is life, fight for it.

                                                    Life is a mystery, know it.

                                                    Life is luck, make it.

                                                    Life is a promise, fulfill it.

                                                   Life is a sorrow, overcome it.

                                                   Life is a song, sing it.

                                                   Life is a struggle, accept it.

                                                   Life is a tragedy, confront it.

                                                   Life is an adventure, dare it.

                                                   Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

                                                 Life is love, enjoy it.

Presenter:  Thank you HEARTILY for your coming to our Talk Show!