Punk rock (or simply punk) is a rock music genre that developed between 1974
and 1976 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in
garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk
rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock.
The punk subculture, which centres on punk rock music, includes a diverse
array of ideologies, fashions and forms of expression, including visual art,
dance, literature and film. The subculture is largely characterized by anti-
establishment views and the promotion of individual freedom.
Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated
with the punk subculture. In its original incarnation, the punk subculture was
primarily concerned with concepts such as anti-establishment, equality,
freedom, anti-authoritarianism,individualism, direct action, free thought and
non-conformity.
In a world where we have been raised to conform, the punk subculture has
tried to do quite the opposite.
This is reflected by the subculture with the use of Fashion, Music and literature
among others.
The punk subculture is a vast one with many microcultures within it, each
with its own set of characteristics that end up giving them an individual
label. Usually these labels are given in parallel to the music listened to.
There are two main Punk scenes that have been very influential to the
overall Punk Subculture.
Street Punk is one of the older punk scenes.
Started by the working class as they did not feel represented in the current
punk era (during the 70s), the street punk scene still is alive to this day.
Hardcore Punk was another influential
genre that provided a very strong punk
fashion among the genres.
Unlike Street Punks, Hardcore punks are
more simplistic in their fashion expression
of nonconformity
This simplicity would probably have something to do with their moshing and
hardcore dancing practices.
Hardcore punks dress in comfort and more simple garments such as the
classic Black T-Shirt, hooded sweatshirts, Jeans, and Sneakers.
The Emo subculture is one
particular group of people
disliked by the punk subculture.
This hatred does not differ much
from the dislike the Street Punks
held towards the punk-scene in
the 70s.
Posers are not a subculture but just individuals who pretend to be one way just
to be liked by others.
These people are frowned upon mainly because it goes against the punk
theme of individual freedom, which is a taboo in a subculture where being
yourself is the basis of it.
Although punks are generally identified by their clothing
and musical taste, at the end of the day my definition of
punk would be more on the lines as:
“An individual that does not conform to the standards
that are expected from him/her by others, but conforms
to the standards held by oneself.”
References
Cooper, R. (2015). The Subgenres of Punk Rock. About.com Entertainment. Retrieved 11 March 2015, from
http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punk101/a/subgenres.htm
Marxists.org,. (2015). Popular Culture and Revolutionary Theory: Understanding Punk Rock. Retrieved 11 March 2015, from
https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-6/punk.htm
Meredith, C. (2013). Hate crimes to now include attacks on emos, punks, goths and metalheads.Express.co.uk. Retrieved 11
March 2015, from http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/389259/Hate-crimes-to-now-include-attacks-on-emos-punks-goths-and-
metalheads
MOORE, R. (2004). Postmodernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction. The Communication
Review, 7(3), 305-327. doi:10.1080/10714420490492238
Punk, H. (2015). How to Be a Punk. wikiHow. Retrieved 11 March 2015, from http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Punk
YouTube,. (2015). Subcultural Theories. Retrieved 11 March 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Gn4ibhRLM&t=69
Hinweis der Redaktion
Hello, as some of you know, my name is Ben, for those who don’t, Hi, my name is Ben and today I will talking about Punk stuff.
According to Albert Cohen’s “Status Frustration,” Middle-Class youths are unable to achieve mainstream goals legitimately to due cultural deprivation. What the hell does this have to do with punk?
Punk rock (or simply punk) is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock.
Well now that I know, and you as well know what punk is given that awesome description I just gave, I decided to look up other definitions, but this time from what it means to be punk, once again starting off from the all-mighty and glorious Wikipedia. This time finding a definition for the subculture that makes me understand the meaning of punk more than the definition of punk
The punk subculture, which centres on punk rock music, includes a diverse array of ideologies, fashions and forms of expression, including visual art, dance, literature and film. The subculture is largely characterized by anti-establishment views and the promotion of individual freedom.
Ok, so punk ideologies, huh? Let us look into one more Wikipedia definition to get it out of the way and not to mention it for the rest of this presentation.
Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture. In its original incarnation, the punk subculture was primarily concerned with concepts such as anti-establishment, equality, freedom, anti-authoritarianism,individualism, direct action, free thought and non-conformity.
Having been involved with the punk scene in the past, many of these words I did hear during my formative years, such as “anti-establishment,” “equality,” “freedom,” “non-conformity,” granted, the last one I heard it from the goths from South Park, but they are not who I’m talking about today so let’s move on.
But specific terms that I just mentioned caught my attention “equality, free thought, individual freedom.”
In a world where we have been raised to conform, the punk subculture has tried to do quite the opposite. Punk individuals want their individualism recognized by the mainstream, they want to prove that they are not another sheep in the cogs of modern and boring society, or at least to stand out in a crowd. They want to show the world how they will not conform to their standards, they reject mainstream media, and its culture. This is reflected by the subculture with the use of Fashion, Music and literature among others.
Given the relative limited knowledge I have about punk as it is such a vast subculture, we can see how even within the subculture, there are other subcultures within it, each with their own individualistic codes, rules and whatnot. An easier way to dissect the division in the Punk culture, is through the genres of music that derive from classic punk bands such as The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and the Clash in the 70s to The Misfits, Bad Religion, and Black Flag in the 80s. Among many of its subgenres, here a few notable ones:
Street Punk
Street Punk is one of the older punk scenes. Many youths of the working class would think that the current state of punk music did not represent them so they decided to take matters in their own hand to create a powerful message to be represented in the music they so loved.
One could say that Street Punk is the Gangsta Rap of the Punk Scene.
Given this point, it almost makes me think that The Exploited are the N.W.A. of Street Punk, maybe?
Something that the Street Punk movement did inspire throughout many others punk genres nevertheless, has been its fashion. It was in the Street Punk scene where we see the “cliché punk look” included but not limited to, Mohawks, Studs and Spikes, Dyed Hair, DIY-altered clothing.
Hardcore Punk was another influential genre that provided a very strong punk fashion among the genres. Unlike the peacocking look the Street Punks fashioned themselves with, Hardcore punks are more simplistic in their expression of nonconformities,
granted, this may be partially in response to safety measure due to the ritualistic chaos hardcore shows inhabit (i.e. Moshing and “Hardcore Dancing”)
Hardcore punks dress in comfort and more simple garments such as the classic Black T-Shirt, hooded sweatshirts, Jeans, and Sneakers. Some alterations to this sort of uniforms can usually happen.
Given the relative limited knowledge I have about punk as it is such a vast subculture, we can see how even within the subculture, there are other subcultures within it, each with their own individualistic codes, rules and whatnot. An easier way to dissect the division in the Punk culture, is through the genres of music that derive from classic punk bands such as The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and the Clash in the 70s to The Misfits, Bad Religion, and Black Flag in the 80s. Among many of its subgenres, here a few notable ones:
Even though a majority of punk scenes are friendly and tolerant towards each other, there are some aspects of the Punk Subculture where differences can lead to some conflict.
Sometimes different scenes will have different rules and may lead to some conflict, one notable scene that I witnessed some years back was the Straight Edge scene. While like most groups of people, a majority of sXe are friendly and tolerant to others. At times, though, there may be cases where sXe individuals will be intolerant of outsiders of their scene who do not abide by their rules.
The Emo subculture is one particular group of people disliked by the punk subculture. This may be due to the decline of the punk-rock genre during the 2000s in favor o the rise of the Emo scene hitting the mainstream. This hate does not seem to differ much from the dislike the Street Punks held towards the punk-scene in the 70s, mainly because t Emo scene, it being a relatively new scene, was constantly mistaken as a punk subculture by the mainstream. A response to this specific issue was addressed in Cheap Sex’s song “Fuck Emo”
Also, One very common, for a lack of better word, “enemy,” of the punks is the poser. Posers are not a subculture but just individuals who pretend to be one way just to be liked by others. These people are frowned upon mainly because it goes against the punk theme of individual freedom, which is a taboo in a subculture where being yourself is the basis of it.
Just be yourself with punks and if you are a likeable person they will accept you. Other than the music, by my understanding while researching for this presentation, the punk subculture is one that values people who just want to be themselves. Nevertheless, these thoughts are mainly based on a social approach where politics are not a factor.