Part One: Introduction Sociology 

Socialization:

• Socialization is the process of learning cultural characteristics, enabling connection to society.

• Involves communication, acquiring knowledge, and understanding norms, values, and customs.

• The self is socially constructed through interaction and identity work (Goffman: Presentation of Self in Everyday Life).

Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills):

• Links personal experiences to societal history and structures.

• Recognizes intersections of privilege, marginalization, and power.

• Emphasizes that personal issues can also be political and tied to historical legacies.

Culture:

• Defined as shared beliefs, values, customs, and behaviors passed generationally.

• Raymond Williams: Culture reflects a way of life and artistic/critical works.

Part Two: Sociology Concepts and Theories 

Ideology:

• A system of ideas normalized by dominant groups (e.g., corporations, governments).

• Operates through cultural texts (ads, media) that shape perceptions of reality.

• Ideas are subjective 

Hegemony:

• Maintains dominant ideologies as "normal" through consent and coercion.

• Popular culture reinforces norms and expectations, safeguarding the status quo.

21 Structural Functionalist Theory: 

• Views society as a system of interdependent institutions ensuring stability and harmony.

• Social structures (e.g., family, religion, education) maintain societal balance.

Social Conflict Theory:

• Focuses on inequality and conflict in capitalism and social class.

• Capitalism prioritizes profit, leading to inequality in power and decision-making.

• Max Weber's dimensions of inequality:

  • Class: Socio-economic status.

  • Status: Social prestige.

  • Power: Influence in social/political spheres.

Audience and Spectatorship 

Sociology and Popular Culture

• Core sociological concepts applied to popular culture:

  • Social conflict theory, structural functionalism.

  • Introduction to cultural studies and critical theory.

• Popular culture defined through Raymond Williams' four characteristics:

  • Liked by many people.

  • Considered unworthy or inferior.

  • Created to win favor with people.

  • Made by people for themselves.

• Cultural theory challenges the divide between "high" and "low" culture:

  • Example: Jazz as "high" culture; Hip-hop as "low" culture but intertwined.

Cultural Theory

• Draws on sociology, criminology, feminist/queer theory, and critical race theory.

• Key points:

  • Scrutinizes cultural texts and changes over time.

  • Politically engaged, often opposing dominant culture.

  • Links culture with individual subjectivity and social connections.

• Pierre Bourdieu:

  • Taste reflects social class.

  • Consumption of pop culture legitimizes social differences.

Spectatorship Theory

• Spectatorship emphasizes subjectivity:

  • Spectators are individuals interpreting cultural texts.

  • Examines the relationship between audience and text.

  • Focuses on pleasure derived from pop culture.

  • Teens are more open now, like watching legally blond with your girl, or watching fight club with your man and enjoying it  

Subjective 

• Legitimating social differences 

  • Raji in big bang theory, he's an astrophysicist but he gets bullied for being brown, gay  , power and dominance 

• Active vs. Passive Spectatorship:

  • Active: Individual interpretations (e.g., personal take on The Sopranos).

    • No in between, underserivalence all the time, take hours choosing a song to make sure our stories look cool 

  • Passive: Mass consumption of cultural texts without critical engagement.

Encoding/Decoding Model (Stuart Hall, 1980)

• Cultural texts are encoded with the producer's intended meaning but decoded by viewers differently:

  1. Dominant (Preferred) Reading: Viewer agrees with the intended meaning.

  2. Oppositional Reading: Viewer rejects the dominant meaning.

  3. Negotiated Reading: Viewer partially agrees and partially rejects.

Polysemy in Cultural Texts

• Texts have flexible meanings interpreted through personal and social lenses.

 Introducing Youth and the Sociology of Youth Culture 

Youth Culture – An Introduction

• Youth culture is dynamic and constantly evolving, often remixing and reinventing the past.

• Key themes: rebellion, deviance, intertextuality, interdisciplinarity, appropriation, generational change.

• Youth identity is influenced by consumerism, authenticity, and capitalism.

  • What we buy,  

Topics Covered:

• Teen films (1980s–2020s) as reflections of youth culture.

• Youth as a demographic with distinct rules, rituals, and traditions.

• Subcultures as expressions of authenticity, rebellion, and deviance.

Sociological Perspectives:

• Structural Functionalism & Social Conflict Theory help explain youth behavior.

• Motivations for youth rebellion: Capitalism, government control, and paternalism.

• Consumerism & youth identity: Authenticity may be commodified and sold.

  • We consume the meaning in hopes of establishing the value 

    • Like buy pink witney with my friends but if i was on a date i would probably get coke because it conveys a different meaning 

    • Getting artiza for the looks, the status 

• In the (Network/ facebook movie): Mark say that you need to get into the finals club because it lead to a perfect life  

• “reflect a symbolic challenge to dominant culture and challenge mainstream norms”

Youth in Film

• Timothy Shary (1995) highlights two influential teen films:

  • Kids (1995): A raw, realistic look at urban teen life (rebellion, deviance).

  • Clueless (1995): A lighthearted take on high school social structures (class, popularity).

• Both films reflect different aspects of youth identity and social class.

Historical Context of Youth Culture

• Marcel Danesi (2010): Youth as a social category emerged in the 1950s, reinforced by media (music, film, magazines).

• Industrialization and urban migration contributed to youth culture's development.

Cultural Studies & Subcultures

• Angela McRobbie (1994): Youth culture is a site of cultural innovation.

• Defining "youth" is difficult—no clear biological/cultural boundary between childhood and adulthood.

Subcultures & Authenticity

• Barbara Wheaton: Youth culture experiences commercialization through lifestyle branding.

• Authentic subcultures resist corporatization, e.g.:

  • 1970s/80s skateboarding culture: Once rebellious, later commercialized.

  • Shift from "real" deviant experiences to "scripted" performances of rebellion.

Hegemony & Rebellion

• Dick Hebdige (1979): Subcultures challenge dominant ideology.

• Hegemony controls norms; youth subcultures resist, often labeled as "folk devils" in moral panics.

Youth, Branding & Consumerism

• Naomi Klein (2000, No Logo): "Lifestyle branding" shaped youth consumer culture.

• Subcultures create alternative systems that both resist and engage with capitalism.

• Skateboarding as rebellion:

  • Repurposing urban architecture (benches, railings, pools) into skate spaces.

  • Appropriation of middle-class symbols (e.g., backyard pools) for subcultural use.

Key Concept: Habitus (Pierre Bourdieu)

• Cultural field: A system of social positions tied to specific activities (e.g., skateboarding).

• Habitus: Internalized cultural norms and practices that shape identity and lifestyle.

 Youth & Subcultures

Barbara Wheaton - Subcultural Media and the Discourses of Authenticity

• Youth culture experiences commercialization, commodification, and institutionalizationSymbolic consumption of subculture-based brands → establishes socio cultural values.

• Authenticity plays a key role in subcultures.

Defining "Authenticity"

• Romanticized concept: Authentic subcultures resist corporate influence.

• Example: 1970s/80s Skateboarding Culture

  • Originally, a class-based rebellion (working-class origins).

  • Became corporatized & mainstream, leading to pseudo-rebellion:

    • A shift from real deviance to performed deviance (scripted, theatrical).

Habitus (Bourdieu)

• Culture consists of learned characteristics (understanding, perception, appreciation).

• These characteristics govern practices & meaning-making.

• Immersion in a cultural field → culture becomes a lifestyle → individuals protect their lifestyle.

Branding & Youth (Naomi Klein - No Logo)

• The 1990s/2000s were the "age of lifestyle branding".

• Consumer brands targeted alternative sports communities & subcultures.

• Dick Hebdige (1979):

  • Subcultures "win space" by repurposing urban environments:

    • Example: Skateboarders transforming public & private spaces into skate terrain.

    • Example: Los Angeles 1980s swimming pools became sites of rebellion.

  • This repurposing was a subversion of middle-class ideals.

Branding, Marketing & Authenticity

Step 1: Deviance Marketability

• Youth fascination → recognition of youth as marketable.

• Youth cultures are framed as both rebellious & marketable.

• Result: The meaning of style & identity becomes as important as identity itself.

Step 2: False Need (Roland Barthes)

• "False need" = When a want is perceived as a need.

  • My ipad, i don't need but i wanted it so bad i convinced myself i need it

• The symbolic meaning of an object replaces its literal function.

• Example: Brand logos & status symbols become necessities.

Step 3: Commodity Fetishism

• Youth consumers develop brand loyalty based on symbolic meaning.

• Symbolic meaning > Practical application of a product.

• Example: Wearing a brand for status, not function.

Step 4: Taste (Thorstein Veblen)

• Consumer choices define what is considered "good taste".

• Social power is produced & maintained through these choices.

• Despite this, brand loyalty can be financially unstable.

Step 5: Recuperation (Hebdige)

• Youth culture is at risk of being co-opted by dominant culture:

  1. Converted into a mass-produced product.

  2. Redefined by mainstream culture to appear less threatening & more marketable.

  3. Aesthetics > Politics (rebellion is downplayed in favor of style).

Example: Supreme - Rebellion or Recuperation?

• The brand parodies rebellion while still being highly commercial.

• Power, status, identity are marketed rather than true subversion.