Research: Subcultures

Subcultures are little groups who are united through common values systems and tastes (clothes, music, politics etc). They are also seen as groups who are positioned outside of mainstream culture. For example, 'punks' are seen as a subculture due to the way they dress in leather clothing, have mohawks and spikey hair, piercings and tattoos, they listen to rock music and tend to be old white males usually. Whilst subcultures like 'queers' are young (18-30), have rivalry with religious groups, are activists who believe in freedom and equal rights and are likely to listen to pop songs.

Generally, subcultures do not like conformity and rebel against common values and systems. They do not follow capitalism and have their own set of rules and beliefs in the way they should live their lives. They tend to not be consumerists as they consume a good and relevant lifestyle. Subcultures generally do not like mixing and they have stereotypes where they do not like certain groups of people or races. People within subcultures tend to respond to cultural dominant values and hegemony negatively, meaning that they will oppose it. Subcultures do not like having to follow one set of values and believe they should be allowed to listen to whatever music they like and not just the main stream popular culture.

Subcultures are evident in the music industry because they all take a different route in music genres. Punks tend to listen to Rock

Queers tend to listen to Pop

Skinheads tend to listen to Reggae 

Bikers tend to listen to Rock

Hipsters tend to listen to Indie 

McCracken:

McCracken argued that the postmodern world is full of diversity, dynamism and creativity. He argued that if we look at the array of values and ideologies then we can't say all subcultures come from one culture. This suggests that the different subcultures cannot be identified as just stemming from one culture. 

Contrasting McCracken's view is Hebdige...

Hebdige:

Hebdige argued that although some people think subcultures appear to be different, deep down they are the same. Subcultures are 'little' cultures as they are all doing the same thing of assistance and consumption is an active process in which different audiences read into the same cultural product. Many groups are involved in protest and resistance against the mainstream making them the same. He argued that people can resist the mainstream culture and become a subculture. 

In relation to Dyer's views:
The theory of subcultures oppose Dyer's theory on 'star image' as Dyer suggest their are four key ways in identifying a star. This ignores subcultures who are niche artists as Dyer argues that stars are social constructions. Therefore, Hebdige argues that stars do not have to look a certain way to be classified as a star as artists within subcultures are also able to be a star even though they do not follow the mainstream. For example, "Oasis" and "Foo Fighters" are seen to be stars despite the fact that they are in subcultures and sing a different genre of music rather than the mainstream. These artists are still extremely successful. Bands like "Oasis" and "Foo fighters", further support Dyers idea on stars because Dyer states how stars become a commodity and the audience engage with their ideologies and values. This is clearly seen if we look at the images below where the fans are imitating their favourite stars.

Oasis:

Oasis fans:

Subcultures and the music associated with them came out post-war where there was social cohesion. (50s/60s). In these times, consuming music became an active process as it was famously known as the 'swinging 60s'. This shows that everyone reads into songs differently due to cultural backgrounds and people cannot assume that the 'mass culture' is the same.

 

The industry in the modern times now target audiences through shows such as 'X-Factor' in order to find the gaps in the market. These shows allows audiences to see an artist evolve and state their own opinions by voting on the show. When there is a gap in the market e.g. a new boy band, these shows are able to find ordinary people and construct them into stars. For example, One Direction is now one of the biggest boy bands in the world and came into the industry when there was a gap in the market for a boy band. Shows like X-Factor are now able to appeal to subcultures as they have different themes for different nights. For example, one of the nights in the competition it might be 'rock week' suggesting that artists have to sing from the rock genre, which engages the subculture into the show.

In relation to Hebdige...

He stated that consuming music is a process that differs from person to person which is clearly evident in today's society. He believed that social backgrounds can lead to different readings of the same song meaning that people are not part of one 'mass culture' which all like one thing but for different reasons.

In relation to Dyer's theory...

He stated that stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes and will promote a certain ideology. Fans who agree with that set of values will support the star and also will imitate stars in an aspirational effort to get 'closer' to the glamorous, fantasy lifestyle they appear to have. This may take the form of 'dressing up', imitating performances, adopting behaviour etc.

Overall, from researching into subcultures I have found that there are many different target audiences to choose from. My music video will be targeted towards the younger audience ages between 16-25 as they will most likely be interested in the RnB and Hip-Hop genres. These are not part of a subculture as it could apply to anyone who listens to these genres. I would prefer not to aim it at one subculture as this will limit my target audience so I will try choose a wider section in society to target at.