Youth Subculture and Modern Society

Home , Cultural practice, Cultural system, Sociology of culture, Youth culture, Youth subculture

Journal of Critical Reviews

ISSN- 2394-5125 Vol 7, Issue 13, 2020

Nina Aleksandrovna Oparina1, Irina Sergeevna Kazakova2, Yury Viktorovich Abramov3, Nikolai Ivanovich Shapovalov3, Viktor Anatolievich Ilyin4

1Institute of Culture and Arts, Maria Ulyanova Street, 21, Moscow, 119331, Russia 2Russian State Social University, Wilhelm Pieck Street, 4/5, Moscow, 129226, Russia 3K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (The First Cossack University), Zemlyanoi Val Street, 73, Moscow, 109004, Russia 4College of the Russian State Social University, Losinostrovskaya Street, 40, Moscow, 107150, Russia *E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 11.04.2020 Revised: 12.05.2020 Accepted: 08.06.2020

Abstract For 50 years, youth culture has been a symbol of rebellion and expression of the spirit of youth and change. It is characterized by the diversity of forms, genres, and behavioral rules, transforming into a complex symbolic system, which complicates the study of this sociocultural phenomenon. The goal of the work is to assess youth subcultures of the 2000s in terms of their significance for modern Russian society and its current state. Conclusions: Subcultures based on rock music accumulate countercultural features as a reaction of youth to the general crisis of the Russian culture, in particular, the dominance of the entertaining component as an element distracting from reality.

Keywords: youth, subculture, society, reaction, crisis, rock music.

INTRODUCTION certain social practices and their choice of lifestyle. This scientific In the sociological study of the phenomenon of youth culture, the approach allows considering the formation of each person’s interchangeable concepts of subculture and lifestyle are often needs, interests, goals, and value orientations directly dependent used [1]. The British sociologist M. Brake defines youth culture as on their conscious involvement in the context of a subculture. “a special form of the organization of the activities of the youth, a relatively autonomous and comprehensive formation within a The cultural-analytical sociological approach to youth cultural tradition dominant in the society, different in its norms, subcultures suggests that for the study of social reality, it is values, institutes, lifestyle, and thinking” [2, p. 204]. According to necessary to consider the cognitive structures of the everyday Brake, most youth subcultures are collective deviations but the interaction between individuals and their verbal behavior, nature of these deviations from social norm ranges from political expressing meaningful aspects of the typical behavior of the protest to artistic circles. There is no value unity in youth culture. participants to the interaction. According to this thesis, the Demonstrating a certain style of behavior, clothing, slang, and formation of youth subcultures can be interpreted using the music preference, young people express their adherence to a analysis of representations, based on which they model their subculture [3]. E.G. Slutskiy defines lifestyle as a type of behavior behavior. Sociologists studying contemporary youth culture note and consciousness of a person, which is determined not by that the commonality of individual preferences further historical, constant types of activity but by situational, in encourages the formation of group lifestyles. Unlike subcultures, temporal terms, conditions of being and their reflection in they are situational and depend not on reemerging original people’s consciousness [4]. group values and behavioral stereotypes but the qualitative component of the real conditions of the cultural system’s In terms of the substance of the contemporary culture of Russian functioning. society, it comprises several mutually exclusive and, at the same time, coexisting cultural strata. E.L. Omelchenko describes them The sociocultural environment, in which modern Russian youth as four subcultural subsystems: the high intellectual subculture perform their creative activity, is characterized by highly of the elite; traditions of the Soviet culture of the older contradictory value spectrum. This makes young people aim generation; the subculture of liberal values, including some of the their innovative potential not at the creation of new subcultural youth, entrepreneurs, and intelligentsia; a complex of marginal models but at the adaptation to the already existing ones. “The subcultures of the lower class with “trench” psychology [5, p. phenomena of the non-academic music culture comprise a 106]. Based on V.A. Lukov’s classification, the following youth special field: film score and jazz, musical and rock music. Their formations are active: 1) associated with criminal subcultures, 2) introduction to the variety of the 20th-century musical influenced by Western trends, 3) romanticized compensators of phenomena seems important for the new Russia” [8, p. 101]. everyday life, and 4) recreating certain features of the Soviet past Young people seek a cultural niche, identification with which [6, p. 80]. allows them to occupy a stable social position. Thus, the image of modern youth culture is quite diverse. Choosing a subculture, young people rely on personal knowledge while noticing the differences in subjective meanings, which In foreign literature, youth subcultures are considered primarily hinder the achievement of their common practical goal. Here, the in terms of adherence to certain groups, including criminal principle of the reciprocity of perspectives is observed, or “the circles [9]. Thus, H. Shin investigates the key concept of interchangeability of points of view and the coincidence of subculture and concludes that “the pure energy engendered by systems of relevance, the assumption that another also considers the subculture and the ironic relation between subculture and and sees objects with the same typicality” [7, p. 131]. A. Schütz urban transformation in both local and translocal scales” [10]. studied the cognitive mechanism of introduction of a person to Among recent works, of particular interest is the study by L.

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Fatsis who seeks to “reintroduce Black urban musical rest, as defined by T. Adorno, experience the stultifying effect. subcultures as valuable forms of creativity and public expression Pop music, despite apparent diversity, forms their musical in an attempt to resist, criticize and expose their criminalization horizons, imposing musical cliches. by the London Metropolitan Police” [11, p. 447]. As evidenced by the presented data, the modern musical METHODS environment becomes a factor in the consolidation of the youth To describe subcultures, emerging under the influence of music but due to its discreteness, it causes varying adaptive reactions in preferences of the youth, in 2018-2019, we conducted a survey creative self-realization. Thus, pop rockers promote the (interview) of young men and women, living in different parts of postmodernist mixing of genres, techno fans find a new Moscow and the Moscow region – both at the locations of psychedelic world in computer music, and rappers demonstrate educational institutions of various levels and activity of teenage teenage nonconformity. The lost meaningful core is considered music fan groups. The age of the surveyed was 13-17 years. Most by the majority of rock communities. The disconnection between of the respondents were high school students (83.7%), others – youth subcultures is caused by the desire to defend one’s cultural college and vocational school freshmen (16.3%). The average age values against the endless appropriation by the pop industry. of the surveyed was 15.7 years. According to earlier research Thus, in the nearest future, one should not expect the emergence data [5, 6, 13], the most numerous among teenagers were fans of of new youth music subcultures; the process of their pop music, rock, techno, rap, and other music genres [13, pp. conservation is taking place. 102–104]. In 2019, we conducted and processed 107 interviews. In accordance with socialization, youth culture directly reflects All answers of the respondents were considered. the values, worldview orientations, and behavioral stereotypes of The topic of the survey was determined by the respondents’ society. Due to the psychophysical reasons associated with youth, experiences of attending discotheques, popular among the youth. the new generation strives for self-realization and innovation 43% of the surveyed attended them every week. Apart from search, which often leads to the rejection of traditional norms clubs (attended by 32.6%), the main organizers of discotheques and values. This is the field of countercultural practice, which are schools (51.2%). Their repertoire, according to the takes various forms in the youth environment: from football fans respondents, reflects the following proportion: disco (58.1%), to fans of aggressive music genres. According to the specialist in techno (51%), rock (32.6%), pop (25.6%), rap (20.9%). This youth culture E.L. Omelchenko, “in the Russian context, pop reflects the meaningful component of the repertoire of music becomes the junction of the youth mainstream and discotheques in Moscow and the Moscow region, based on a list dominating political and cultural discourse. Pop music, along of Russian and foreign musicians, named by the teenagers: 1st with philistine ideology, aggressively invades subcultural place – Western (95%) and Russian (85%) pop artists, 2nd place contexts. However, the process of transformation of subculture – Western pop rock (70%), 3rd place – Russian (45%) and into mass culture radically changes the meaning of subcultural Western (10%) rock, 4th place – Western (25%) and Russian elements” [5, p. 89]. (15%) techno, 5th place – American (20%) and Russian (15%) rap, and, finally, – folk and bards (less than 1%). DISCUSSION For 50 years, the rebellious nature of youth culture has been Thus, the 1st place is consistently occupied by pop music, associated with rock musicians, including famous British bands overshadowing all other popular music genres. The penetration of the late 60-70s and the Russian rock of Perestroika. Despite of pop music into various music genres created the illusion of the entertaining and recreational nature of the youth music stylistic diversity in the minds of the younger generation. As leisure activities, today rock music remains a symbol of noted in earlier research, a “mutation” of rock music has individuality and expression of personal ideals. Rock singers occurred in Russia. The new hybrid genre of pop rock has capture the hearts of their young listeners for a long time. Their become leading for many modern rock bands and the only one image and shocking behavior, as well as the aggressive sound of able to compete with pop music in Russia. This “duel” was soon electronic instruments, turn the frontperson into an idol. They noticed by the show business, which intensified the distribution are trusted, adored, and imitated. Dynamic, aggressive, and of such products on radio, television, and audio market. expressive rock music is associated with powerful emotional stimulation, corresponding to the biological characteristics of Answering the question “What music genres do you prefer?”, the youth and reflecting the energy of unspent lifeforce. respondents chose rock (37.2%) and disco (36%) in equal measure. The 3rd place was occupied by techno (30.2%), As a musical phenomenon, rock music includes numerous genres followed by pop (18.6%), classical (15.1%), and rap (14%) and styles – from rock’n’roll to avant-garde. It is characterized by music. Of interest is the respondents’ choice of Russian bards certain features of musical language and text, which makes it as (9.3%). It can be noted that they were no longer interested in diverse, as youth culture itself [14]. Its democratic, mass, and jazz (1.7%) and only 3 out of 107 respondents expressed their inclusive character turns rock music into cultural practice with interest in folk music. characteristic behavior, fashion, and plasticity. The young, searching for answers to their questions, are attracted to it. Rock Music preference as a factor of group identification actively music consumes them and becomes the lifestyle of a new separates these youth subcultures. Most techno fans experience generation. This is evidenced by the stability, in temporal terms, the influence of computer music trends. Representatives of the of rock music: genres change and bands are created but the techno subculture are condescending to rock music and hostile phenomenon itself is preserved in the youth environment as a to rap. Rap (hip hop) fans contrast their own music preferences communication channel not occupied by adults. to those of other music groups. Rappers have a well-developed sense of solidarity. Moreover, rappers do not differentiate Various youth rock communities continue to fight for cultural members of their community based on gender; unisex is a dominance. As opposed to counterculture political protest, characteristic feature of this subculture. associated with 80s rock bands, today, the fight takes place at the cultural front. As fairly note by E.L. Omelchenko, “The substance RESULTS of modern youth protest is related not to political but cultural The results of the survey allow us to distinguish the power. Even for the most shocking extremist youth groups, a key characteristic youth music subcultures of rock, rap, and techno moment in maintaining the group identity is the esthetic, artistic, fans, in which the search for the personal musical world, filled and creative aspects of the image” [5, pp. 165–166]. with meaning and not just reflex movement to the music, continues. However, they are few in numbers. In the survey, the To determine the substance of youth groups, formed under the share of members of music subcultures amounted to 20.9%. The influenced of rock music, we interviewed 40 members of various

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subcultures under the age of 22. The processing of the results technical means. Experimental, electroacoustic, and computer confirmed our assumption about the stable influence of rock music has lost its elitist status, attracting wide audiences. music on the formation of modern youth subcultures, the Subcultures based on rock music accumulate countercultural majority of which are countercultural. We will support our features as a reaction of the youth to the general crisis of the position with sociological data. Russian culture, in particular, the dominance of the entertaining component. This leaves the youth unsatisfied. However, rockers The share of members of different rock communities was cannot turn their protest into a single organized movement due significantly higher than that of other youth music subcultures to stylistic differences and sublimate it in the form of (67.5% of the respondents). As they themselves say, “Rock is my subcultures. worldview” (metalhead), “This music reflects my lifestyle” (punk rocker), “To cool rock, one can have fun at the discotheque or REFERENCES drive at breakneck speed” (power metal fan). All representatives 1. Weber M. Osnovnye sotsiologicheskie ponyatiya [The of alternative music groups enjoy listening to hard rock bands, Fundamental Concepts of Sociology]. Izbrannye such as Megadeath, Lacrimosa, and Kreator. proizvedeniya [Selected works]. Moscow: Progress, 1990, Rock community is diverse and characterized by stylistic variety pp. 602–643. and a wide range of individual preferences: from fans of a band 2. Brake M. The sociology of youth culture and youth (Satyricon, Rammstein, Aria, Chizh & Co, Kolovrat, Kharizma) or subculture: Sex and drugs and rock'n'roll? London, Rutledge singer (N. Borzov, V. Butusov, A. Knyazev) to experts in specific and Kegan Paul, 1980. rock genres (black metal, power metal, hard rock, trash metal). 3. Ionin L.G. Sotsiologiya kultury: put v novoe tysyacheletie Among teenagers, the following three groups are the most [Sociology of culture: path to the new millennium]. Moscow, numerous: metalheads (17.5%), Russian rock fans (15%), and Logos, 2000. punk rockers (9%). 4. Slutskiy E.G. Molodyozhnaya politika na rubezhe vekov: voprosy teorii i praktiki [Youth policy at the turn of the The separation is also determined by the conscious orientation of century: issues of theory and practice]. Saint Petersburg, young listeners to lyrics or music. Obscene language in lyrics, IRE RAN NAYU, 2001. according to the respondents, makes the music rougher, which is 5. Omelchenko E.L. Molodyozhnye kultury i subkultury [Youth a sign of overcoming boundaries. The lyrics of Russian bands cultures and subcultures]. Moscow, Institut sotsiologii RAN, make one think about the present. In the songs of Russian bands, 2000. fans find meaning, as well as the depiction of both real and dream 6. Lukov V.A. Osobennosti molodyozhnykh subkultur v Rossii life. In hard rock, the youth are attracted by the “musical search”: [Features of youth subcultures in Russia]. Sotsiologicheskie heavy rhythms, drum beat, and electric guitar solo. Of interest for issledovaniya 2002; 10: 79–87. them are music compositions by Apocalyptica, combining hard 7. Schütz A. Izbrannoe: Mir, svetyashchiysya smyslom rock and classical stringed instruments. [Selected works: A world, illuminated with meaning]. Moscow, ROSSPEN, 2004. The basis for all rock fans is unique energy, expressed in rock 8. Naumenko T.I. Sovremennaya muzyka i pedagogicheskiy musicians’ live image and sound: “There is something mysterious protsess: razmyshleniya muzykoveda [Modern music and and wild in this music, which excites me” (33%), “Rock musicians pedagogical process: a musicologist’s reflections]. have an unspoken agreement to always perform live, which I Gumanitarnye issledovaniya v Vostochnoy Sibiri i na respect; despite the enormous load, experienced by musicians at Dalnem Vostoke 2012; 2: 98–101. concerts, they never break this rule; this is a manifestation of 9. Tapia M. Modern Chicano Street Gangs: Ethnic Pride Versus professionalism and creative desire to convey one’s thoughts and “Gangsta” Subculture. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral feelings to the audience” (27%), “A song must express emotions, Sciences 2019; 41 (3): 312–330. otherwise, it’s not a song; I experience extraordinary emotions 10. Shin H. The punk and the post-developing city: Subculture- when listening to a good CD; rock musicians are original, they use led urban regeneration in Seoul? City, Culture and Society special slang and are different from ordinary people, which is 2019; 19: 100295. exciting” (40%). 11. Fatsis L. Grime: Criminal subculture or public

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20th-century music expresses the fundamental features and symbols of the new culture. Scientific and technical progress has created a favorable environment for the formation of new spheres of expression of ideas, expanded the subject field of art, and blurred its boundaries, which is associated with the rapid development and wide spread of new forms of media and

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