Bros, Einstein and Punk Rock

So I lied. I’m not going to talk about style in this post. Instead I’m looking at the way subcultures represent more than an ideological construct. There is more to a culture than the ideas and clothing of its members. Instead, it provides somewhat specific guidelines regarding particular aspects of life. It defines space, marks territory and suggests activities. It defines what [not] to do and how [not] to do it. The rituals prescribed by subcultures also include a specific vernacular used by members. The current ‘Bro’ culture (prep+jock+idiot=bro) comes to mind with such words as “wheels” and “chirpin” in their vocabulary. There are even typical intonations and mannerisms associated with certain cultures.

There’s a article by John Clarke, Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson and Brian Roberts called Subcultures, Cultures and Class published in 1975 where the authors suggest that despite the numerous codes, there are few solutions for real problems like “youth unemployment, educational disadvantage, compulsory miseducation, dead end jobs, … low pay or loss of skills” (104). There is no subcultural career. At first I disagreed with this. The jocks that went to my high school all intended to be professional athletes. Is this not a subcultural career? I feel as though the authors would have responded by stating that jock culture formed around those dedicated to athletics, instead of the other way around. Athletics led to jocks. There was never a point where a jock said: “Hey bro, let’s try gym class, it might be fun.” So while there may not be a specific career path designated for a subculture, the similar interests of the members lead to similar lifestyle choices.

Subcultures have at least some influence on a future career, but they have a far greater effect on an individual’s leisure time. A subculture predominantly involves the domain of leisure. Therefore an individual largely defines themselves through leisure. If a worker only feels like himself outside of work, their labour is only a means to an end. It is important to note the distinction between how an individual is defined by society and how they define themselves.  Some individuals are defined by their work (Einstein, Shaq, etc.) but they might have defined themselves entirely differently…