Contemporary Subculture Research Articles

The Evolution and Mainstreaming of Subcultures:Challenges and the Pursuit of Harmonious Coexistence

With the rise of consumer culture, the diversification of personal identity needs, and the strong influence of social media, niche subcultures are gradually developing towards mass popularization. This article delineates the definitions of subculture articulated by scholars across different eras, exploring subculture’s true essence and its gradual evolution into a “cultural mosaic” and penetration into mainstream culture. Combined with the statistics on the number of views of subculture content on social media, this paper reveals the widespread popularity of contemporary subculture. However, further investigation reveals various challenges and issues subcultures face, both internal and external, in mainstreaming, including social stereotypes, legal restrictions, conflicts with mainstream ideologies, and the inherent exclusivity of subcultures. Moreover, mainstreaming subcultures has introduced a series of negative effects, such as cultural alienation, the loss of original spirit and values due to commercialization, and the dilution and erosion of cultural essence. These phenomena pose a potential threat to the uniqueness of subcultures.

Speculative photography. an attempt (essay) of making visible (manifesto)

This essay and manifesto define speculative photography from a historical perspective and through practical poetics, as photography that integrates fantastic and experimental elements in both its subjects and processes. Such photography is even more urgent at a time when generative artificial intelligence (AI) and computational photography are driving photography to an impasse of fabricated yet all-pervasive realism. The text defines speculative photography in its semiotic and information-theory aspects, outlines a taxonomy of speculative qualities in photography alongside examples of photographers and photographic communities practicing them, and pays particular attention to contemporary subcultures of early-2000s digital camera (digicam) reuse and internet pop-cultural redefinitions of “aesthetics”. While theories and definitions of speculative photography have existed since the 1970s, they are scattered and cover only select aspects of the broader concept proposed here. This paper argues that speculative photography rejects empiricism and notions of truth while practicing an art of the “medium” in its most literal – physical, artistic and spiritual – meanings.

Young People's Sang Culture Providing New Ideas for the Development of Education in Contemporary China

In recent years, after China has made significant achievements in the economic and political fields, it has started to strengthen the role of "self-confidence" in the cultural field. At the social level, the "Four Confidences" have been proposed, and in the field of education, the "New Youth of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" are required to be cultivated. Under the initiative and construction of this sunny and positive energy, more and more subcultural youth groups have emerged. In this paper, the author has observed and summarized many papers and participated in many discussions with subcultural groups, and explored and summarized the various manifestations of contemporary subculture - Sang culture. This "poor quality" culture is partly a reflection of the contemporary youth's sense of resistance, but it is not a fundamental solution to the plight of contemporary youth. Therefore, the author proposes feasible measures at four levels: government, school, media, and individual, which are expected to have a positive impact in the future.

Pin Up! The Interactive Documentary

Pin Up! The Movie: An Interactive Documentary uses oral history to explore an international subculture. In it, women and men adopt vintage style and advocate for social and political change. Specifically, they use the subculture to advocate for anti-racist practices, call for body positivity, and lobby for full equity and acceptance of LGBTQI subcultural members. These advocates do this with acknowledgement of historical racism and sexism, which is sometimes echoed in the contemporary subculture. This i-doc intentionally uses non-professional storytelling tactics (vertical video, online video recordings, strait to camera interviews) to transform notions of a proper “aesthetic” within the documentary genre. It also invites subcultural members to take over its social media feeds. This paper argues that actively approaching the i-doc as a shared authority demonstrates how emerging formats, gamification of storytelling, and non-narrative structures can result in a sense of subcultural authenticity: a way to use the documentary format to provide agency to both members of the subculture featured in the project, as well as to audience members.

From Deep Culture to Peak Culture

Although in many cases scientific terminology used in Modern Japan was originally coined in the West and then imported and translated, there are certain original terms. Among them this paper focuses on two humanistic and sociological terms, shinso-bunka and choten-bunka. The former indicates the initial condition of culture, the latter its achievements. As they are not imported terms, we need to translate them into Japanese. The deep culture and the peak culture are their respective translations, both proposed by the author. We may observe and discuss the forms of deep culture and peak culture everywhere in the world. Concerning Japan, there are many contemporary sub-cultures with high reputation such as anime, but here, five classic forms of culture shall be mentioned as peak cultures, that is, No-drama, Sado-tea-ceremony, Bushido-warrior’s-way, Shinto-religion and Waka-poetry. After analyzing deep culture roughly, its peaks shall be depicted rather ideally

개혁 개방 이래 "너자 (나타)" 캐릭터로 분석한 이미지 생산 메카니즘 연구

나타(哪吒)는 중국문화 예술 역사상 전형적인 이미지중 하나로 "살을 깎아 어머니에게 돌려주고 뼈를 발라 아버지에게 돌려주다" (“割肉还母、剔骨还父”)등 문구가 탄생할 정도로 중요한 표징이 되었다. 그렇기 때문에 광범위한 팬층을 가지고 있었고 그후 중요한 IP자원으로 선정 되었다. 문학계뿐만 아니라 영화계에서도 나타를 중요한 IP 자원으로 광범위 하게 사용하고 있지만 나타 영화에 대한 예술적 평가와 시장반응이 불균일한 상황을 보여주고 있었다. 나타라는 IP 를 어떻게 합리적으로 잘 활용 하는가는 영화인들에게 주어진 중요한 문제이다. 본 연구자는 <나타노해>(哪吒闹海, 1979), <소녀나타> (少女哪吒, 2014）, <나타마동지강세>(哪吒之魔童降世, 2019) 세 작품의 텍스트를 기반으로 영화에서 나타의 이미지 변화 규칙을 분석하고자 한다. 1979년 개혁개방 이후 나타는 영화에서의 이미지가 세번 바뀌었다고 주장했다. 즉, 개혁개방을 시작으로 국민영웅이라는 모습에서 2014년 죽을지언정 굽히지 않는 불굴의 의지를 가진 청순한 소녀를 거쳐 현대 교화 대상인 아류문화 청년의 모습까지 거쳐 왔다, 나타 이미지에서 생산된 내재적 논리는 국가, 창작자, 관객 중심으로 발언권의 변화과정을 거쳐 왔다. 즉 캐릭터가 발언권을 만드는 것은 국가에서 창작자 그리고 시청자에까지 이르는 추체로 변화되고 있다는 것을 알 수 있다. 본 연구는 일정한 이론적 가치와 실제 응용 가치를 가지고 있다. 첫째, 나타가 영화에 나타나는 이미지 발전의 변화 규칙을 탐색하는 것은 나타 영화의 이론을 풍부하게 하는 연구이다. 둘째, 앞으로 제작될 나타 영화에서 나타의 이미지 구축에 유익한 참고가 될 것이다. 텍스트는 시대마다 다른 문화적 증상을 나타내지만 마찬가지로 시대의 첨단에서 시대의 발전을 이끌 수 있다. 우리가 어떻게 시대와 생산 체계의 한계를 벗어나 "인간의 건전한 구성" 을 원칙으로 시대의 발전을 이끌고 건전한 사람의 구성을 디자인하여 모범을 보이는 나타를 디자인할 수 있을까 하는 것은 우리 모든 영화인들이 사고해야할 문제라고 본다. Nezha is one of the classic images in the history of Chinese literature and art. "returning parents"s flesh and bones to parents" is an important representation of Nezha. Nezha has become an important IP（intellectual property）because of solid audience base. Nezha is widely used as an important IP not only in the literary circle but also in the film industry. However, the artistic evaluation and market response of films about Nezha are uneven. Therefore, it is very important to develop and utilize IP of Nezha reasonably. Taking Prince Nezha"s Triumph Against Dragon King (哪吒闹海) (1979), Ne Zha (少女哪吒) (2014) and Ne Zha(哪吒之魔童降世)(2019) as texts, this paper analyzes the image and production mechanism of Nezha in films, and explores the evolution law of Nezha"s image in films. It is believed that since the reform and opening up , Nezha"s image in films has changed three times, that is, from a little national hero at the beginning of the reform and opening up to the pure girl who would rather die than surrender in 2014, and then to the contemporary subculture youth to be cultivated. The internal logic of Nezha"s image production shifted from the discourse of state power to the discourse of creators and then to the discourse of market. This research has certain theoretical value and practical application value. for one thing, it explores the law of the development and evolution of Nezha in films, enriches the theoretical research of image of Nezha. for another thing, it provides beneficial reference for the construction of Nezha"s image in future films. The text symbolizes the different cultural symptoms of each era, but it can also be at the forefront of the era and lead the development of the era. In the future, how can we get rid of the limitations of the times and the production system and design the image of Nezha that will lead the development of the times and set an example for the construction of the sound people based on the principle of "the sound construction of the people". It is worth thinking for each of us filmmakers. 哪吒是中国文艺史上的经典形象之一，“割肉还母、剔骨还父”是其重要表征，因其具有广泛的受众基础，而成为重要的IP资源。不仅文学界，电影界也将哪吒作为重要的IP资源广泛使用，但哪吒电影取得的艺术评价和市场反映却参差不齐，如何合理开发运用哪吒这一IP资源，显得十分重要。 本文以《哪吒闹海》（1979）、《少女哪吒》（2014）、《哪吒之魔童降世》（2019）为文本，分析电影中的哪吒形象以及其生产机制，探索电影中哪吒形象演变规律。认为1979年改革开放以来，哪吒在电影中的的形象发生三次转变，即从改革开放伊始的国民小英雄到2014年宁死不屈的清纯少女再到当代有待教化的亚文化青年；哪吒形象生产的内在逻辑由以国家权力话语为中心转为以创作者话语为中心再到以市场话语为中心，角色生产话语权呈现由国家到创作者再到观众的下移趋势。 本研究具有一定理论价值与实际运用价值，一来探索电影哪吒形象发展演变规律，丰富哪吒电影的理论研究，二来为今后电影中哪吒形象的建构提供有益的参考。文本表征各个时代不同的文化症候，但同样也可以走在时代的前沿，引领时代的发展。今后我们如何跳出时代与生产体系的局限，以“人的健全建构”为原则，设计出引领时代发展与为健全人的建构做出榜样的哪吒形象，值得的我们每一位电影人思考。

The Modern Tourhead: Conflicted Kindness in the Mobile Community of Grateful Dead, USA

This paper examines the contemporary subculture which has developed out of and emerged from the nomadic fans of the 1960s psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead (the deadheads) following the death of the band’s frontman and the subculture’s unofficial emissary Jerry Garcia in 1995. The community of modern tourheads – people that repeatedly attend performances of, and “tour” along with improvisational jazz-rock “jam bands” – and the ethos and values which unite them, aided by the Internet’s ability to broaden and mainstreamize disparate subcultures, has fragmented and expanded in the several decades since Garcia’s passing. For several months during 2006, the author conducted ethnographic research with a devoted group of tourheads, traveling with and immersing himself in their daily rituals and customs. Tourheads are united by a shared sense of alternative spirituality, political beliefs and emotional sincerity. The author observes and analyzes the tourhead lifestyle, from its penchant for illicit drug experimentation and other self-proclaimed prolongers of youth to its seemingly omnipresent contradictory dialectic. Finally, the paper contains an anthropological and ethnomusicological assessment of the commonalities and differences between the “scene” and “vibe” of the respective deadhead and tourhead subcultures.

Cannabis culture: A stable subculture in a changing world

In criminological and sociological studies of illegal drugs, the thesis of normalization suggests that when a drug goes from being a marginal to a widespread phenomenon, theoretical and methodological approaches that rely on subculture theory fall short. This article argues that normalization theory fails to recognize the existence of a distinct cannabis culture because it has a traditional understanding of subcultures as ‘groups of people’. The article suggests that a definition of subculture as a collection of rituals, stories and symbols is better for understanding contemporary subcultures and especially the cultural aspects of cannabis use. The conclusion is that although many use cannabis, it still signals opposition and cultural difference. A subcultural theoretical framework is thus crucial to understand illegal drug use. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 100 cannabis users in Norway.

Osaki Midori and the Role of the Girl in Shōwa Modernism

Shōjo [girl] culture in Japan is often treated rather narrowly as a moratorium culture, in which the young are able to choose to prolong their adolescence and delay the onset of adulthood. It is assumed to have appealed to generations of Japanese girls expected to become housewives in the new middle class that began to emerge after the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). However, a closer look at shōjo magazines, illustrations, all-women musical revues and the like reveals a more complex picture, in which girl culture branches out into unique avenues of expression. This goes some way to explaining the prolonged and rich influence shōjo culture continues to exert on contemporary subcultures. It is particularly rewarding to analyse this girl culture from the perspectives of gender, sexuality and class, and to look at the participation of both liminal and border-crossing artists in its expressions. It is also interesting to investigate the expansion, transference and deviations of the concept of shōjo itself in order to contextualise its various cultural manifestations. In the first half of this paper I will discuss the representations of the shōjo in the early Shōwa period (1926-89), since the rise of the “modern girl”. The second half will focus particularly on the writer Osaki Midori (1896-1971) and the figure of the shōjo in some of her texts.

The Supreme Court versus Peyote: Consciousness Alteration, Cultural Psychiatry and the Dilemma of Contemporary Subcultures

The Native American Church is examined as an illustrative example in the political anthropology of consciousness. Specific attention is paid to the Supreme Court's ignoring of accepted research on this tradition and its sacrament, Peyote, in the case of Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith. An anthropological reaction to the Smith decision is constructed, focusing on ethnographic findings regarding Peyote that contradict the Supreme Court's ethnocentric assumptions. This paper argues that Peyote's Schedule I status is not supported by the ethnographic findings. Peyote, as used in the Native American Church, is recognized as safe and therapeutic. It is also argued that the Supreme Court's rationale for denying Peyotist religious freedom is not supported by the ethnographic findings nor by legal precedent. Not only is the Native American's right to use Peyote a matter of freedom of religion, it also involves other rights such as the right to raise one's children in one's own culture and the right to be treated using a culturally relevant therapeutic modality.

Visões Perigosas: Para uma genealogia do cyberpunk

O presente artigo, resumo da tese de doutorado da autora, trata dos conceitos de cyberpunk enquanto um modo de ser estético da cibercultura e o seu impacto na atualidade. Mapeamos alguns dos conceitos e características do estilo cyberpunk, que é tanto um subgênero de ficçãocientífica cuja tradição é herdada das visões distópicas do romantismo gótico (Amaral, 2004) quanto uma subcultura contemporânea (Thornton, 1996). Observa-se que sua estética permanece na comunicação e nas formas sociais através de um legado de atitude em relação à tecnologia (tais como nas tecnologias de mobilidade, nas novas mídias, nas artes eletrônicas em geral) e de reconfiguração corporal (biotecnologias, Inteligência Artificial, etc).