Subcultural Organization

The organization of subcultures begins with the division between culture and subculture. According to Milton M. Gordon in his article “The Concept of the Sub-culture and its Application”, we look at culture in too broad a context: “we have been content to stop the concept of culture at national boundaries, and engage in our intra-national analyses in terms of the discrete units of ethnic background, social class, regional residence, religious affiliation, and so on” (46). Gordon argues that the study of subculture helps us to create a greater sense of distinction between groups. We must narrow our focus in order to truly understand one another.

The study of subculture goes beyond the obvious categorization of nationality and class. Of course, these are both factors in defining some groups, but subcultures can be classified under a number of different forms. Dick Hebdige outlines two forms of classification in his essay “Subculture: The Meaning of Style”: the commodity form and the ideological form (122-125).

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Within the commodity form, “such a subculture is concerned first and foremost with consumption” (Hebdige 123). Subcultures that adhere to the commodity form are heavily defined by aesthetics and taste. Though some of these subcultures are against mainstream consumerism, they still adopt the ideology of “conspicuous consumption” (Hebdige 125), where they rely on consumption of goods to define who they are in society. An example of conspicuous consumption can be seen in the punk subculture of the seventies. Although punks have rebelled against mainstream fashion by wearing unconventional items like safety pins, garbage bags and duct tape, these items remain commodities, despite their new uses and meanings.

The ideological form primarily deals with the “deviant behaviour” (Hebdige 123) of subcultures. Hebdige looks at how subcultures are defined by the dominant culture. These subcultures “are seen to contain both dangerous aliens and boisterous kids, wild animals and wayward pets” (Hebdige 123). In Larry Clark’s Kids, a film about New York’s HIV epidemic in the mid-nineties, the youth street culture represents a highly ideological form. Although the subculture depicted in the film is closely associated with the intake of indulgent commodities like drugs and alcohol, the rebellious association is seen as more of a behavioural issue. These youths come together, not because they all have Mohawks and listen to the Sex Pistols, but because they all exhibit similar behaviours and motivations.

By classifying subcultures in this way, we can see that many groups may cross over between the commodity form and the ideological form at times. Regardless of the form in question, belonging to a subculture “can be used as a means of escape, of total detachment from the surrounding terrain, or as a way of fitting back in to it and settling down after a week-end or evening spent letting off steam” (Hebdige 131).

Gordon suggests that we can break down the organization of subcultures even further by looking at how individuals are divided within subcultures. He writes: “a distinction must, of course, be made between separate sub-cultures and separate units of the same sub-culture” (48). Both Gordon and Hebdige seem to agree that there is more organization that is needed to understand the structure and function of subcultures. Of course, members of a subculture could be divided in categories of leaders and followers, or the proactive and the passive.

          Hebdige observes that there is also a “[significant] distinction between originals and hangers-on” (131). He also notes that “different youths bring different degrees of commitment to a subculture” (131), meaning we can organize members based on differing levels of engagement. For example, in the film Kids, there are some members of the group who are more concerned in the sexual aspect of the street subculture, where others are further involved in the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

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At this rate, it seems impossible to be able to classify every aspect of every subculture. However, this attempt at organization just goes to show the importance of the role each individual plays within a subculture and importance of the role each subculture plays in society.

References:

Gordon, Milton M. “The Concept of the Sub-Culture and Its Application.” The 

     Subcultures Reader. 2nd ed. Ken Gelder. London: Routledge, 2005. 46-49.

     Print.

Hebdige, Dick. “Subcultures: The Meaning of Style.” The Subcultures Reader. 

     2nd ed. Ken Gelder. London: Routledge, 2005. 121-131. Print.