Week 8: Are Sub-Cultures a Sign of Revolt or an Expression of Style?

To address this question, we must determine the sub-culture; developed to break from the ‘norm,’ sub-cultures are a group of who have different ideas and beliefs that differ from that of the masses which follow popular culture. As a result, their appearance is often different and vivid, often seeming to ‘stick out like a sore thumb’ when compared to the majority of society. Such an example can be noted by observing punks, and how their fashion determines their cultural group. This sub-culture mainly shocks people, enabling them to get noticed within society; using their culture, punks are able to revolt against society in terms of differing themselves from everyone else, expressing their views and beliefs which consequently affected such anarchic bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Ramones and Patti Smith. With this in mind, we can determine how such a sub-culture is that of an expression of style. However, some could argue how it is a way for those cultures to rebel and struggle against the conformities of society, with an example being that of the working class creating the Skin Head culture in order to convey their feelings of inferiority when compared to the middle class.