The End

Well folks that about sums it up for my subcultures blog. Its been a wild ride and I hope everyone has learned as much as I have about different subcultures formed within our mainstream society. I have discovered through my postings that even though the people involved in the various subcultures I have been discussing vary greatly, there is a common feature between all of them. In my research I have discovered that subculture groups are composed of a group of people coming together with a common cause and interest in mind. Relating this back to my first post on the defining features of a subculture, the people deeply involved in their subculture make the subculture a part of their identity by committing many aspects of their life to their cause. I think this is a wonderful aspect of subcultures, by uniting together for a cause the people involved may be outside mainstream society, but they will always be included with people inside their own group. Thank you for reading my blog.

Graffiti and Hip Hop Culture

Graffiti is a layer or multiple layers of spray paint applied to a public surface. The content of a graffiti piece will differ with every artist, but graffiti artists strive to tag their own unique symbol on the wall. A graffiti artist is sometimes referred to as a tagger, Most tags are chosen for how the word sounds when spoken aloud, these tags can contain subtle or cryptic messages within the text. The art form peaked in popularity and style between 1975 and 1977, with a large majority of the surge in New York City. Graffiti writing is a form of expression for the unheard voices of the socially oppressed. Graffiti has been used to spread social and political messages, and also as a form of advertising. It is now considered a modern art form, and can be seen in galleries around the world, and on exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. Although some consider this art style to be a form of vandalism and rebellion against authority. While graffiti advocates perceive graffiti as a method of reclaiming public space, there have been strict laws imposed in most cities around the world that makes graffiti writing against the law. Graffiti is the last link that creates hip hop culture as we know it today, along with breakdancing, beat boxing, and street fashion. These combined elements form the hip hop subculture and insiders participate in one or more of these unique elements.

Check out my slide show on different graffiti styles!

Art Cars

An art car is a vehicle that has its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic expression. Art car subculture differs from other car subcultures which tend to focus on makes, models, or the year the car was created. Instead, art car subculture is based on the exterior creative expression of an artists mobile vehicle. Most cars are considered by their owners to be mobile sculptures. These art car artists have coined the term cartists to refer to themselves. It is not uncommon for cartists to dress in a uniform matching the theme of their decorated car. It is thought that the invention of the art car grew from the 1960s. Ken Kesey’s creation the schoolbus known as Furthur is considered to be the official first art car. Art cars have been created by well known artists from the pop art period, such as Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. After the unrest of the 1960s the creation of art cars didn’t gain momentum again until the 1990s with help from filmmaker Harrod Blank. Blank has made 3 full-length documentary films on art cars and founded the second largest Art Car festival which takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cartists go to the festival to display their creations and gain inspiration from other cartist‘s work. The Burning Man festival is another display venue for art cars. Cars from the 1920s that have been restored as artistic expressions are called flivvers. One common type of art car is called a gluey because various objects are glued onto the car's surface. Glueys can display items as small as pennies to entire sculptures which are several feet tall. Christmas sting lights and neon lights enhance an art car’s effect at night. Other creative vehicles of transportation include art bikes.

Moving on to Art

In the interest of time I am going to have to move on from fan subcultures and onto my next topic of discussion, which is street art. In my next couple of posts I am going to address the individuals who turn their cars into a piece of art, and also talk about the artists who create graffiti. You can look forward to a power point presentation on the various graffiti I found around Eugene and the significance of the different text styles.

Pottermania

The Harry Potter fandom is a community subculture drawn together by J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Pottermania is a term describing the craze Potter fans have over the series. Potter fans maintain a wide variety of media outlets to express their enthusiasm, including web sites, fan fiction, podcasts, fan art, and a distinct genre of music. Fan conventions and parties are held for the release of each book and film. The conferences feature fun activities, such as wizard chess, water Quidditch, the showing of Harry Potter films, and keynote speakers. Fan websites contain updates on Harry Potter books, films, forums, fan art and videos. Romance in the books is a prominent source of debate among the online fandom. Podcasts have become a regular insight to the latest issues and discussions among Potter Fans. MuggleCast and PotterCast have both won awards in their respective categories in the 2006 Podcast Awards. In recent years, Potter fan fiction has become very popular. Topics include past and future events in the Harry Potter world, and romance between the character in the books. On FanFiction.Net, there are approximately 280,000 Harry Potter stories written by insiders in the Potter subculture. A unique creation from insiders in this particular subculture is the invention of Wizard rock, which is a musical movement of young musicians who play songs about the Harry Potter series. These wizard rock bands, such as Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, and The Whomping Willows usually write songs with humorous lyrics from the point of view of a particular character. Their inspiration for the music comes from the Harry Potter universe. These unique bands like to perform in libraries, bookstores and schools to promote reading the Harry Potter books.

Listen to a song by Draco and the Malfoys

Lord of the Rings Fandom

Tolkien fandom is an international community of fans who admire the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Organized Tolkien fandom was established in the 1960s with the publication of the second hardcover edition. The Tolkien Society (U.K.) is one of the most notable social groups. The society has two regular publications, and hosts several annual events, including Tolkien conferences. The Mythopoeic Society is the most prominent in the United States. A Ringer is a term used to refer to a fan of The Lord of the Rings in general, and of Peter Jackson's trilogy in particular. A Tolkienist is someone who studies the work of J. R. R. Tolkien with an intense scholarly and academic interest. A subcategory of fans called Tolkienian Linguists use Tolkien's languages, mainly Elvish, to write letters, poetry, and songs. These fans study the evolution, grammar, vocabulary and alphabets of the created languages. Tolkien's languages have limited vocabularies, so people attempting to use the languages for practical uses have created a new vocabulary in order to express themselves; the result was the creation of many new dialects which all stem from Tolkien’s original work as a philologist. Fan art is widespread on the internet. Both fan art and fan fiction have increased due to the films. Tolkien-related games, especially computer and video games have also increased in number and in popularity among fans. There are numerous pop culture references to Middle-earth, as well as satires and parodies of it. One of the most prominent fansites is TheOneRing.net, This site is the most well-known and partly responsible for popularizing the term Ringers.

Star Wars

The individuals who make up fan culture surrounding the Star Wars series, created by George Lucas, are often referred to as Warsies. The culture of the Warsie group is one of extreme fanaticism. The fans of this subculture devote much of their time to exploring the Star Wars universe. Collecting memorabilia, reenacting Star Wars scenes from the films, reading novels, or playing video games, are some of the best opportunities for Warsies to share their collective love of Star Wars. Another way of celebrating fanaticism is through the “Star Wars Insider,” which is the official Star Wars magazine. The magazing contains stories, articles from the Star Wars universe, fan newsletters, and more. Dedicated Warsies also participate in Star Wars conventions, know as the Star Wars Celebration. The first Celebration was in May 1999 in conjunction with the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The annual Celebration brings actor panels, costume contests, and props for display for eager fans to view. One commitment to the Star Wars film that sets Star Wars fans apart from other fans is the Jedi census phenomenon, which was a movement in 2001 for citizens to record their religion as Jedi on the national census. Although more than 70,000 people declared themselves members of the Jedi religion in the 2001 census in Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics still refused to acknowledge The Jedi religion as an official religious organization. Fans of the Star Wars subculture show imense dedication and commitment to their cause of fandom.