Post blog

On Thursday’s class we analyzed the recuperation of the sub-culture according to theorist Dick Hebdige from “Subculture: The Meaning of Style”. We talked about the quote:

“As soon as the original innovations which signify ‘subculture’ are translated into commodities and made generally available, they become ‘frozen’.”(156) In relation to this quote we talked about the example of graffiti and tagging in the hip-hop subculture. It used to be illegal and frowned upon because when people did it, they were defacing public property. However, it could also be seen as a form of communication or cry for help. People started recognizing the skill set that came with it and soon it became commoditized. Whereas graffiti was once illegal it is now considered art and mainstream. Graffiti is not only sold as art, but also in the form of clothes and video games. We see it produced on a mass scale and made into profitable merchandise. It becomes difficult to separate commercial exploitation and creativity/originality. I feel like at a certain point, everything will become mainstream. Hebdige points out that as subcultures establish new trends, looks, and sounds get fed back directly into high fashion and mainstream fashion. What about the artists? Do they not see a problem in sturing their art into a commodity? This too is an interesting point to critically look at.

With our capitalistic society, it becomes impossible not to commoditize everything. Will we ever be able to simply appreciate these subcultures without trying to turn them into something that can be sold? Another quote we discussed was “Deviant” behavior redefined (155). The example of indie music was brought up. Indie music meant that you didn’t have enough money to produce music in a large studio therefore you recorded your own music. Now, people are creating indie music by going into large studios to re-create the same “indie” sound. Which one is authentic? Are they both authentic? Again, we are producing something on a mass scale and making it profitable merchandise.