COP Essay Research - Subculture

A section of my essay will be about subcultural theory, this is definitely an important part of considering graphic design in relation to music; subcultures have distinct visual styles, these become associated with the identities of followers of these subcultures. 

The two books dealing with subcultural theory that were on my initial reading list  were ‘Subculture: The Meaning of Style’ by Dick Hebidge and ‘Inside Subculture: The Postmodern Meaning of Style’ by David Muggleton. During the summer, I did my best to read through them, however struggled slightly, especially with the Dick Hebidge book, because the writing is so intellectual and kind of hard to understand and follow at some points. Nevertheless, I did read through them both. I found definitions of a ‘subculture’ as well as very applicable quotes which talk about identity within subcultures as well as thinks like flyers, album covers and fanzines which directly correlate to my essay. 

When defining the meaning of subculture, Hebdige says - ‘The meaning of subculture is, then, always in dispute, and style is the area in which the opposing definitions clash with most drastic force.’ 

Hebdige Quotes

• ‘This is what distinguishes the visual ensembles of spectacular subcultures from those favoured in the surrounding culture(s). They are obviously fabricated.’
• ‘The fanzines (Sniffin Glue, Ripped and Torn, etc.) were journals edited by an individual or a group, consisting of reviews, editorials and interviews with prominent punks, produced on a small scale as cheaply as possible, stapled together and distributed through a small number of sympathetic retail outlets.’
• ‘Even the graphics and typography used on record covers and fanzines were homologous with punks subterranean and anarchic style. The two typographic models were graffiti which was translated into a flowing ‘spray can’ script, and the ransom note in which individual letters cut up from a variety of sources (newspapers, etc.) in different type faces were pasted together to form an anonymous message.
• “The Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save the Queen’ sleeve (later turned into t-shirts, posters, etc.) for instance incorporated both styles: the roughly assembled legend was pasted across the Queen’s eyes and mouth which were further disfigured by this black bars used in pulp detective magazines to conceal identity (i.e. they connote crime or scandal).’
• ‘For instance, Sniffing Glue, the first fanzine and the one which achieved the highest circulation, contained perhaps the single most inspired item of propaganda produced by the subculture - the definitive statement of punk’s do-it-yourself philosophy - a diagram showing three finger positions on the neck of a guitar over the caption: ‘Here’s one chord, here’s two more, now form your own band’.’
• ‘ a struggle for possession of the sign which extends to even the most mundane areas of life… safety pins… These ‘humble objects’ can be magically appropriated; ‘stolen’ by subordinate groups and made to carry ‘secret’ meanings…’

Muggleton Quotes

• ‘this is a definition of punk that places emphasis not on the style or image, but on attitude and values that underlie the purely visual.’
• ‘allegiance to a group suggests conformity to its image, values and practises, while individual freedom implies a refusal to comply to group dictates. 
• ‘micro-media such as fanzines, listings, posters and flyers, are also integral to the networking process of assembling individuals as a crowd for a specific purpose and imbuing them with a particular identity’
• ‘micro-media such as fanzines as an authentic, grass roots means of communication, this confirming an earlier finding, by Lull, that flyers and fanzines were ‘trusted sources of information’ for the punks in his study.’

With these quotes, the next thing I need to do is possibly find another source for quotes and information about subculture and identity so that I can successfully triangulate 3 different sources within the essay.