Youth Culture in Britain

      Первый лист отсчитывается с титульника. Не смещай то что ниже сюда из за нумерации. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

      CONTENTS 
 

Introduction                                                                                                               3

1 Youth culture and it's peculiarities                                                                        3

     1.1 A brief history and major events of British youth culture                                  6

2 British youth subcultures                                                                                      10

2.1 Teddy Boys                                                                                                        10

2.2 Punks                                                                                                                 12

2.3 Mods                                                                                                                  13

2.4 Skinheads                                                                                                           13

2.5 Rockers                                                                                                              14

3 The music of the youth                                                                                         16

3.1 Punk-Rock                                                                                                         16

3.2 Britpop                                                                                                               17

3.3 Glam Rock                                                                                                         18

3.4 Gothic Rock                                                                                                       18

3.5 Dance Music                                                                                                      19

4 Modern tendencies in youth culture in Britain                                                     21

4.1 Hippies                                                                                                               21

4.2 Goth                                                                                                                   22

4.3 Emo                                                                                                                    23

4.4 The problem of youth music and culture commercialization                            23

5 The youth and the art                                                                                            25

5.1 Graffiti                                                                                                               25

5.2 Northern soul                                                                                                     26

5.3 Tattoo                                                                                                                 27

5.4 Piercing                                                                                                              28

Conclusion                                                                                                               30

Bibliography                                                                                                            31 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

      INTRODUCTION 
 

      Everyone is individually a part of the society in smaller groups called subcultures. When I had to come up with different subcultures I wasn't a part of them, I only had family, friends, and extracurricular activities. Then, I branched out to different groups of friends, ethnicity, race, language, religion, and many more that would characterize me specifically. Although there were many other people involved in the same cultures as me, I realized that others and myself were very unique individually because there was no one else around me who matched my description and cultures all combined together.

      However for me it's still difficult to know what's it's like to be a part of the group I am not in.  When at school I was first listening to other classmates' subcultures, I, once again, experienced feeling different and deviant from others especially because many of my friends were involved and attached to the punk or emo subcultures whereas I was not. I wasn't able to understand and accept how they could enjoy getting involved in such groups and their activities. But today I have a good chance to feel connected with their and many other subcultures through this coursework.

      Britain was the motherland for almost all modern youth subcultures: Punks, Goths, Skinheads. British musicians played biggest role in establishing the music of the youth: Rock, Punk, Heavy Metal, Pop and Ska. And in general Britain has been defining the trends of youth culture since the beginning of the 20th century and continues to play very important role in young people's fashion, music and culture.

      The culture of the youth is based on 3 major cores: inside culture (or subcultures), music and arts. That's why my course work is divided into these three units plus additional unit describing youth culture and it's history in general.

      Writing this coursework I hope to learn new about most popular youth subcultures, their history, music, traditions and find out more about those subcultures which became the sings of the past. 
 

      1 YOUTH CULTURE AND IT'S PECULIARITIES 
 

     Culture is among the most complicated words in the English language. It refers to the processes by which the symbolic systems (e.g., common sense, "usual way of doing things"; traditions and rituals, frameworks for understanding experience, etc.) characteristically shared by a group of people are maintained and transformed across time. Despite the appearance of stability, culture is a dynamic, historical process. Youth culture refers to those processes and symbolic systems that young people share that are, to some degree, distinctive from those of their parents and the other adults in their community.

     Youth cultures have not been part of all societies throughout history. They appear most frequently where significant realms of social autonomy for young people become regularized and expected features of the socialization process. Most scholars would agree that the conditions necessary for the mass youth cultures recognizable today appeared after the formation of modern nation-states and the routinization of the human life course in the industrializing nations of the nineteenth century. The mass institutions of the nation-state, which separate young people from adults and gather them in large numbers for education, religious instruction, training, work, or punishment have been consistent locations in which youth cultures have developed. There is some evidence suggesting that youth cultures may have existed in certain circumstances during the medieval period [2, p. 14].

     Research into youth cultures has been most prolific in the disciplines of sociology, psychology, and anthropology; it is readily apparent in criminology of juveniles, demographic analyses, studies of the family and adolescent social development, and the study of ritual. The analytic frameworks and debates about youth cultures that have emerged from the three major disciplines have been taken up in other areas of study, including history. Like most fields in the humanities and social sciences, youth studies is marked less by the certainty of its knowledge than by a series of long-running debates.

     As a specific phenomenon youth culture arose in connection with the fact that the physiological acceleration young people accompanied by a sharp increase in the duration of their term socialization (sometimes up to 30 years), which is caused by the need to increase the time education and training, meeting the requirements era. Today the young man soon cease to be a child (at their psycho-physiological development), but on the social status for a long time not belongs to the world of adults. Adolescence - a time when economic activity and independence is not achieved in full. Psychologically, the youth belongs to the world of adults, and sociologically - the world adolescence [2, p. 38]. If the sense of saturation of knowledge man matures much earlier, then in the sense of status in society, opportunities to have their say - the maturity of its is removed. "Youth" as a phenomenon and a sociological category born of an industrial society, characterized by the psychological maturity in the absence of significant participation in the institutions of adults.

     Appearance youth culture associated with the uncertainty of the social roles of young people, uncertainty in their own social status. In the ontogenetic aspect subculture is represented as a developmental phase through which to pass each. Its essence - the search for social status. Through her youth "practices" in the performance of roles, which in future will have play in the adult world. The most accessible social platform for specific cases youth - leisure, where you can show your own self: the ability to decide and lead, organize and organize. Relax - it not only communication but also a kind of social game, the lack of skills such games in youth leads to a person and as an adult feels free from obligations. In dynamic societies, the family partially or completely loses its function as a court of socialization, since the rate changes in social life generate historical discrepancy senior changing challenges of the new generation of time. With the entry into junior age of the young man turns away from family, looking for those social ties which should protect it from yet another alien society. Between lost family and society not yet gained the young man seeks to join their fellows. Thus forming informal groups provide young man a certain social status. Pay for it, often in favor of denial identity and the complete subjugation of the norms, values and interests of the group. These informal groups produce their subculture that is different from the culture adults. She characterized the internal consistency and external protest conventional institutions. With its own culture, these groups marginal to society, and therefore always contain elements social disruption, potentially tend to be deviant from generally accepted norms of behavior [2, p. 201].

     Enough often still confined to eccentric behavior and violation of conventional morality, the interests of around sex, "hangouts", music and drugs. However, this same environment generates counterculture's value orientation, the supreme principle which declares the principle of pleasure, pleasure, he motive and purpose of all behavior. All grid of values of youth counterculture associated with irrationalism, that dictated by the recognition of his own human nature only, in other words disassociation "human" from the "social", which arose because of the "monopoly of the head." Consistent implementation irrationalism defines hedonism as a leading value orientation of youth counterculture. Hence, moral permissiveness, which is essential and organic element of the counterculture. Since the existence of the counterculture focused on "Today," "now", the hedonistic aspiration is the direct consequence of this.

     Modern youth, however, consists not only of non-formals. The third category consists so-called "yuppies" and "non-yuppies". It came from medium and low-income families, characterized by dedication, seriousness, pragmatism, independence judgments, assessments and activities. They aimed at ensuring the material well in the future and advancement social and corporate ladder. Their interests are concentrated in the area education as a necessary springboard for successful progress in life. In their style of dress distinguishes business classic style and underline neatness. "Yuppie", as a rule, have no bad habits, take care their health, a prestigious sports. They are characterized by desire to make money and successful career as a businessman, Bankers, lawyers.  

1. A brief history and major events of British youth culture

 
 

      British youth culture over the past 60 years has experienced rebellion and self-expression. Here is brief chronology of different events which played huge role in modern formation of youth culture.

      Back in 1946 one significant school reform was undertaken: the school leaving age was raised from 14 years to 16. From that year and until Education Reform Act of 1988 the average age for all school leavers in Britain was 16.

      In 1951 the first term for the children of the age of 13 was introduced. Formed from -teen as a separate word age the derived noun was teenager (the earlier word for this was teener).

      In 1953 Rock and Roll comes to Britain via American soldiers, it is copied wholesale. Britain develops own look to go with the culture (Teddy Boys). Radio creates a new market playing a fusion of “dance hall” rhythm and blues and county music for young people.

      The 1960's. At the beginning of the 60's Britain got it's first original youth cult, the Mods, a fashion based culture with a continental style mixed with a love of soul and R'n'B. Look developed from continental films.

      In the mid 1960's Britain faced with major problem among youth - recreational drug use became widespread. It was popular especially among uppers e.g. amphetamine sulphate and dexedrine.

      In the 60's The Vietnam War led to the spreading of Hippie culture. The hippies didn't follow the teachings of its elders, but rejected them for an alternative culture which was their very own. The Hippie movement started in San Fransisco, California and spread across the United States, through Canada and parts of Europe. They were all young listeners of rock music and nonconformists. A move happens from the use of uppers to Hallucinogenic drugs [15, p. 276].

      These years also represented us probably the most famous and significant rock band in the world - The Beatles. Initially a five-piece line-up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe (bass) and Pete Best (drums), built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg from 1960-1963. Few years later, they gained popularity in the UK and in 70's they became popular allover the world. They have been awarded 6 Diamond albums, as well as 24 Multi-Platinum albums, 39 Platinum albums and 45 Gold albums in the United States, while in the UK they have 4 Multi-Platinum albums, 4 Platinum albums, 8 Gold albums and 1 Silver album. The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

      1970's. In the 70's pop takes over as 'Big Business' come to youth culture for the first time.

      In 1971 another famous rock band Led Zeppelin creates Heavy Metal. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the band developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo [1, p. 22].

      Since 1969 and till 80's The Skinhead cult (the combination of those Mods whose love was violence and Jamaican influences) takes its rise and anger on football grounds.

      The arrival of Punk as well as the rise of skinhead culture was very important for the 70's. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels [17, p. 37].

      Another musical genre, Glam Rock, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter was developed in the UK in the early 1970s. This genre was characterized by simple drum patterns played with precision, guitar laden melodies often relying on riffs, a catchy or gimmicky chorus that was written to be memorable and lyrics that can be interpreted many ways - most often sexually.