Marxist approach

what do marxists believe

youth subcultures are a reaction to economic conditions

CCCS says control over the working class is weakest over youth - they provide inarticulate response to years of oppression

reasons = high unemployment, inner city decay and strikes

what term did Marxists make to describe some subcultures

spectacular subcultures

what are spectacular subcultures characterised by

• highly visible (in style)

• capturing attention of media and public

• a working class response (except hippies) to social change

what do marxists say youth have

relative autonomy - freedom to make decisions without adult supervision/responsibilities

have a chance to fight against bourgeois hegemony

what sociologists are Marxists

• CCCS

• Phil Cohen

• Hall and Jefferson

• Hebdige

• Clarke

• Brake

Phil Cohen

social space important in developing subcultures

• literal space

• symbolic space

literal space example

the ‘urban renewal’ of the 1970s in working class areas created a violent reaction amongst mods

symbolic space

subcultures emerge as a way of developing a ‘sense of identity’ in a rapidly changing world. Cohen argues that the skinheads were doing this to retain a sense of British identity

Hall and Jefferson

resistance and rebellion

reacting to crisis of capitalism but can’t articulate in formal way so do so through subcultural styles

Hebdige

used semiotics to explain how symbols - like safety pins through the nose for punks

form resistance against mainstream culture

can express freedom and experiment - bricolage as they give new meanings to accepted concepts

Clarke

youth exaggerate parts of their identity that they feel they’re losing

• skinheads shave heads exaggerating sense of masculinity and working class background

Brake

subcultures are magical

being a part of a group made them feel they can make a change - although he argues this is an illusion

as each generation faced the same problems but did not change their circumstances

who criticises Marxist approaches

• Thornton

• Stahl

• Muggleton

ignores ethnicity and gender

Thornton

believes they ignore the importance of the media in construction of subcultures

Stahl

says the oppositional nature of subcultures that is argued by marxists could instead be constructed by the media

Muggleton

said it would be odd for the media and advertisers to ignore the middle class youth