Subculture and the meaning of Style

Mainstream culture is the hierarch of society, it is shaped by prominent political, media, social and corporate interests - its the parent culture or dominant culture. Mainstream culture reflects the interests of powerful social groups. It can only operate through a consensus. 

Subculture is a minority group that stands apart from mainstream culture. It occurs when there is a refusal to participate in mainstream culture, or to subvert, parody or disrupt elements of mainstream culture. Breakdown of consensus?

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Case Study 1 - The Beats - 1950s America. 
Subculture elites; Mostly white, young educate middle class etc
Frame of reference: 1950s America, post world war two. 
Beat as in 'beaten' - symbolising alienation from mainstream media. 

Beat literature themes;
- Anti mainstream, 1950's culture, materialism and consumerism.
- Opposition to cold war politics.
- Anti censorship, moral ambiguity, liberal attitudes towards sex, gender and relationships. 
- Underlying spirituality. 

Beat literature form and process; 
- Iconoclastic 
- Freeform and experimental prose.
- Expressionistic. 
- Links to abstract paintings, jazz music etc. 

Cycle of subculture 
-Self promotion by the Beats writers
-- Popular with young college audiences - disenfranchised by Eisenhower's America
--- Attracted audiences outside the USA > Europe, French new wave
---- Absorbed in mainstream media
-----Evolving into other cultures - The Beatnik, The Beat-Chick

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Case Study 2 - Punk - 1970s Britain
- Influence of subculture elite
- Punk dress code and rituals 
- Cultural capital - DIY designs 
- Detournement of mainstream texts

Punk dress code 
- Anti taste - reflecting social dislocation 
- Use of collage and bi-collage - use of safety pins
- Provocative 
- Subversion of cultural signs
- Cross gender dress

Cultural capital - DIY design and demystification 
- Participation and creation
- Amateurism, signals authenticity 
- DIY culture (music, design, etc)
- Anti corporate / anti elitism 

The Punk visual lexicon / semiotic code 
- Energetic / urgent 
- Crudely produced but often well composed 
- Cheaply printed, restricted colour
- Lettering, the stencils etc. 

Themes class; consumerism, urban decay, sexuality, criminality, anti mainstream.
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Detournement - 'aping' the mainstream culture, appropriation and altercation of mainstream media.

Absorption - subculture being absorbed into mainstream media, villainised, parodied etc.