Dick Hebdige "Hiding in the Light"

I have previously introduced you to Dick Hebdige. We talked about his 1979 book titled 'Subculture - the Meaning of Style' and I gave you the quotation below as one you should learn:

"Members of  a subculture often subject their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, music and mannerisms" - Hebdige (1979)

Hebdige also wrote a book called 'Hiding in the Light' which was published in 1988. It is here that he discussed the concept of youth being represented as either a threat or a non-threat. 

The first chapter of this book opens as below:

Hebdige's hypothesis here is that society in general (through the media) are only concerned in representing youth when there is something negative to say. He discusses the birth of the concept of the 'teenager' and goes on to assess the effect of consumerism and the move from a one-dimensional representation of youth, to a two-dimensional representation of "youth as trouble, youth as fun". He writes that teenagers are seen as either "troublesome youth" or "fun-loving youth."

Hebdige sees 'youth as trouble' as being a political representation whereas 'youth as fun is commercially driven.

So, when you look at representations of British Youth Culture in the past can you see evidence to support Hebdige's thoughts? You can read 'Hiding in the Light' in full by CLICKING HERE.

Thinking of contemporary media, that is to say the media from 2010 onwards, is there evidence to support Hebdige's assertion that British Youth are portrayed as either:

"Troublesome youth"

or,

"Fun-loving youth"

"What Are Moral Panics" Hayley Burn

•  "The media, wittingly or unwittingly, reproduce the definitions of the powerful." [Eldridge 1997: 65]
• The 'amplification' which takes place through the media's work serves to appeal to the public so that they concur with ready-made opinions about the course of action to be taken, and these opinions have been found from the members of what Cohen refers to as the 'moral barricade', i.e. bishops, politicians and editors. 
•  Cohen defined the concept as a sporadic episode which, as it occurs, subjects society to bouts of moral panic, or in other terms, worry about the values and principles which society upholds which may be in jeopardy. He describes its characteristics as "a condition, episode, person or group of persons [who] become defined as a threat to societal values and interests." [Cohen, 1987: 9] 
• Cohen's study originated from his interest in the youth culture they all become associated with certain types of violence, which in turn also provoke public reaction and emotion, as topics in their own right. Such issues as football hooliganism, drug abuse, vandalism and political demonstrations, all struck a chord in public opinion, but the impact might not have been on such a large scale, were it not for the part the mass media play in the exposition of the facts.
• "In the process and as part of the dramatic element, scapegoats and folk devils are located and are woven into the narrative." [Eldridge 1997: 61] In other terms society cannot accept responsibility for its own failures and so they look to find someone who can be incriminated.
• Cohen's main criticism about the media's coverage of the episode is that it was subject to exaggeration and distortion of the facts. Such phrases as 'orgy', 'riot', 'siege', and 'screaming mob' were incorporated into the text, and exaggeration of the numbers involved all resulted in the perception of the event as a much more violent affair than the facts support.
• Cohen's 'control culture' failed to deal with the problem presented to them, which is why the topic of youth culture has continued to reappear at various points in our society.
• Jock Young's theory centres around a 'consensualist society', building on the idea that the majority of people in society share common values of reality and what is acceptable and not acceptable. Generally topics outside of their shared ideas are deemed wrong or detrimental. In the same way Young believes that the mass media shares this opinion. So it follows that its function is to reinforce the popular consciousness, although this can be regarded as a "sophisticated form of propaganda" [Eldridge 1997: 63] which plays on such emotions as discontent and insecurity without actually manipulating in the true sense of the word.
• "Rather than manipulating in the sense of trying to get people to change their views or politics, by reinforcing what is already present in society it gives the public what it wants." [Eldridge 1997: 63]
• More moral panics will be generated and other, as yet nameless, folk devils will be created. This is not because such developments have an inexorable inner logic, but because our society as present structured will continue to generate problems for some of its members...and then condemn whatever solution these groups find. [Cohen 1987:204]

Past Exam Questions

Here is a collection of past questions from the Collective Identity section of the exam paper. Hopefully, by looking at these you will be reassured that the exam does not hold any great terrors for you.

A good piece of advice to try to make the question more accessible is to replace the term 'group of people' with 'British Youth'. 

For example:

Analyse the ways in which at least one group of people is mediated'

becomes

Analyse the ways in which British Youth are mediated.

Stanley Cohen : Folk Devils and Moral Panics

Stanley Cohen FBA (23 February 1942 – 7 January 2013) was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics.

Cohen was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1942. He grew up in South Africa and was an undergraduate at the University of Witwatersrand, studying Sociology and Social Work. He came to London in 1963, where he worked as a social worker, before completing his Ph.D at LSE. From 1967, he lectured at the University of Durham and in 1972 became Professor of Sociology at theUniversity of Essex. In 1980, he moved with his family to Israel, where he was Director of the Institute of Criminology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also worked with human rights organisations dealing with the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He returned to England in 1996 and was appointed Martin White Professor of Sociology at LSE. In 1998 Cohen was elected a fellow of the British Academy, and received honorary doctorates from University of Essex in 2003 and Middlesex University in 2008. In 2009 he was the first recipient of an Outstanding Achievement Award from the British Society of Criminology.

Deviant Amplification Spiral

Definition : Deviancy Amplification Spiral is a media hype phenomenon defined by media critics as an increasing cycle of reporting on a category of antisocial behaviour or other undesirable events

It all starts with a ‘deviant act’ (often criminal)
The mass media report the newsworthy story, which highlight borderline examples that would not have been if they did not confim a patterm, and ignores any statistics showing that it is less common, harmful or anything that would keep the public more rational. This leads to rare problems looking common and minor problems looking more serious, the public then want to keep informed with events. The publicity can glamourize and make it look more acceptable increasing the ‘deviant’ behavior.

Supporters of the theory; push for more forces against the ‘deviant’ act. Polices, law enforcers, magistrates and judges, politicians deal more harshly and give out stricter sentences. Causing public to believe the fear is justified while the media is only profiting more from the escalation of panic writing stories on specific arrests.

Alternative Viewpoint

Do these articles support or challenge the way in which the collective identity of young people were constructed in contemporary newspaper reports?

These articles challenge the way in which the contemporary identity of young people were constructed, this is shown by how they have actually got an interview with on of the mods who were at Brighton - although this could lead to bias - not just what the reporters or random civilians have said, which were usually twisted by the newspapers to get a better story and to sell more papers. As well as the 'MYTHBUSTERS' article that has a quote from The Daily Mirror editor admitting that the Brighton event was "a little over reported" which would have kept the country remembering the 'horror' of that day.

Is either of these sources likely to be more or less reliable? Why?
Unfortunately the answer is that these sources are likely to be about the same reliability, if so maybe a bit more. This is due to the fact that they are from a scootering magazine aimed at Mods, therefore they would not like to anger their customers so they are more likely to be more bias towards the Mod point of view. Although, the interview article is likely to be less reliable than the 'MYTHBUSTERS' article due to the fact that it is an interview to a Mod who claimed to be there in Brighton at the time of the 'riots', therefore bias is expected.

Mods vs Rockers in the 1960s : Creation of a Moral Panic

One weekend in 1964 residents and holiday-makers in the seaside towns of Brighton, Bournemouth and Margate, were rocked by a sudden influx of young, cool gangs. They were Mods and Rockers, and the culture clash that occurred that weekend, described in the articles below in The Daily Sketch, Daily Mirror and others, has become iconic in the history of youth culture. 

Mods and Rockers were easily identifiable by their distinctive clothing styles: the Mods wore Fred Perry and Ben Sherman designer suits, covered by a Parka jacket; while the Rockers wore leather biker jackets and jeans. Mods also rode European scooters like Lambrettas and Vespas and listened to a mix of Motown, ska and bands such as The Who. 

The Rockers favoured motorbikes and listened to American rock and roll such as Eddie Cochrane and Elvis. Although the movements were short-lived, violent clashes between the two gangs were seized on by the media and used by moralists to exemplify the outrageous liberties enjoyed by Britain’s youths. 

The seafront vandalism and violence described in the newspaper article was later made into the 1979 film Quadrophenia.

The video below shows how the media in the 1960s reported the clashes between mods and rockers and considers whether or not the media coverage exaggerated the scale of events leading to a 'moral panic' in relation to the behaviour of these youth subcultures.

This is evidence of historical creation of collective identity for British youth cultures. 

 

Question

In what ways do the media texts referenced above create a representation of young people as being a danger to society?

The media texts above all create the same representation that British youths were out of control 'wild' creating a fear of the youth cultures, isolating them from the rest of society. The use of words like 'battle', 'invade', 'take cover' and 'battlefield' leave inclinations of a war, one that society is waging against British youths by making it look like they 'attacking' the country and defying its social norms and threatening things middle-aged people+ have worked for.

Also since it hadn't been too long since WW2 words like 'battle', 'invade' and 'battlefield' will have people up in arms to defend their country for these 'wild' youths.

However, some articles even contradict themselves, because they're saying these 'hooligans' attack the towns and were out of control, but if this was so then why was a '50 year old' able to scare 200 away with a mop.

What is Collective Identity?

What is a mod?

(Especially in the early 1960s) a young person of a subculture characterized by a smart 
stylish appearance, the riding of motor scooters, and a liking for soul music.

What is the historical context of a mod?

George Melly wrote that mods were initially a small group of clothes-focused working class young men insisting on clothes and shoes tailored to their style, who emerged during the trad jazz boom. Early mods watched French and Italian art films and read Italian magazines to look for style ideas. According to Dick Hebdige, by around 1963, the mod subculture had gradually accumulated the identifying symbols that later came to be associated with the scene, such as scooters, amphetamine pills and R&B music. While clothes were still important at that time, they could be ready-made. Dick Hebdige wrote the term mod covered a number of styles during the emergence of Swinging London, though it has come to define Melly's working class clothes-conscious teenagers living in London and south England in the early to mid 1960s.


For the mods dressing for show was transformed into a religion as British youth demolished the notion of male clothing as merely a status indicator. Until this time, it had been a com-mon stereotype that only homo-sexuals were interested in fashion. The Mods trampled on this idea as well. Clothing took precedence over all else, as this Mod explains: “We used togo to a lot of extremes. Once I didn’t go out because I put on my suit and my shoes were a little bit dirty so I got the polish out and --- disaster --- I looked in the mirror and I’d splashed my shirt. So I got the hump and I didn’t go out that evening. I stayed in because my shirt wasn’t perfect. And I knew guys who’d get on a bus with a sheet of brown paper so they could put it on the seat so they didn’t get any dirt on their suit. And they’d sit bolt upright so they were not touching the back of the seat. We took it very seriously and you had to be immaculate, very dandyish.” 

What are the "fashions,mannerisms and music" that "signal...membership" of this youth sub-culture?

Mods rejected the "faulty pap" of 1950s pop music and sappy love songs. They aimed at being "cool, neat, sharp, hip, and smart" by embracing "all things sexy and streamlined", especially when they were new, exciting, controversial or modern.

Due to the increasing affluence of post-war Britain, the youths of the early 1960s were one of the first generations that did not have to contribute their money from after-school jobs to the family finances. As mod teens and young adults began using their disposable income to buy stylish clothes, the first youth-targeted boutique clothing stores opened in London in the Carnaby Street and King's Road districts.Two youth subcultures helped pave the way for mod fashion by breaking new ground; the beatniks, with their Bohemian image of berets and black turtlenecks, and the Teddy Boys, from which mod fashion inherited its "narcissistic and fastidious [fashion] tendencies" and the immaculate dandy look. The Teddy Boys paved the way for making male interest in fashion socially acceptable, because prior to the Teddy Boys, male interest in fashion in Britain was mostly associated with the underground homosexual subculture's flamboyant dressing style.

Male mods adopted a smooth, sophisticated look that included tailor-made suits with narrow lapels (sometimes made of mohair), thin ties, button-down collar shirts, wool or cashmere jumpers (crewneck or V-neck), Chelsea or Beatle boots, loafers, Clarks desert boots, bowling shoes, and hairstyles that imitated the look of French Nouvelle Vague film actors. A few male mods went against gender norms by using eye shadow, eye-pencil or even lipstick. Mods chose scooters over motorbikes partly because they were a symbol of Italian style and because their body panels concealed moving parts and made them less likely to stain clothes with oil or road dust. Many mods wore military parkas while driving scooters in order to keep their clothes clean.

Many female mods dressed androgynously, with short haircuts, men's trousers or shirts, flat shoes, and little makeup — often just pale foundation, brown eye shadow, white or pale lipstick and false eyelashes. Miniskirts became progressively shorter between the early and mid-1960s. As female mod fashion became more mainstream, slender models like Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy began to exemplify the mod look.