Essays on Subculture

The life of all the contemporary guitarists that started playing after 1980s was closely connected with the creation of grunge music and the “Nirvana”, in particular, as every guitarist had been learning the “Smells like Teen Spirit” as his first song on guitar during that time. The main goal of this paper is to discuss the genre of the band itself, the other characteristics of the genre that were used by different musicians of the time and after this period; the roots of the genre will be discussed there.
The musical style of Nirvana was best described by its Continue reading...

In Kimberly Pierce’s 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, the true-life story of Brandon Teena (played by Oscar winner Hilary Swank), a transgendered man who attempts to pass for a biological man in rural Nebraska, is told. Over the course of the film, Brandon (born Teena Brandon) tries to fit in with a group of male friends he encounters, and continues to pose as a man in order to woo her friend Lana (played by Chloe Sevigny). However, by the end of the film, his friends find out about his anatomical femaleness and is raped and murdered by them. Continue reading...

I. INTRODUCTION TO SUBCULTURES: CONSUMPTION OF IDENTITY
Subcultures are, at their core, a way for people to differentiate themselves from the culture that they are surrounded by. These subcultures can take a variety of different forms, from the relatively innocuous to the highly deviant-- however, one thing that they all share is the drive to differentiate themselves from the larger society to which they belong. Commonly, the majority culture has been considered to be the culture that accepts widely-held norms and beliefs and consumes the related products, while subcultures have been seen by sociologists and businesspeople alike as members Continue reading...

In the advent of technology, human beings have changed the way they interact. Today, the world is virtually connected using different technological flat forms like computers, mobile phones, television networks among others. The use of the internet has made the interaction real-time and has overcome the barrier of distance in communication. There are those who are avid computer users. This category of computer users tends to use the computer for much longer periods of time than the average person. Can these computer users be categorized as a subculture? Based on what defines a subculture i.e. a social group of Continue reading...

Personal Statement

I am an enthusiastic international student from Taiwan, who is studying in Seattle Central Community College. My major is computer science, and I am applying to transfer to the University of South California (USC). Throughout the course on Computer Science and Physics, my grades were superior in the class, and I left a strong impression to my instructors. As a result, I accepted an offer to do a project on computer science, since many times I find myself thinking of new exciting ventures that are not the mainstream. I am a future engineer, who is aware of new challenges Continue reading...

Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet (1993) and Wong Kar-Wai’s Happy Together (1997) are two examples of “New Queer Cinema”, a genre defined in the early 1990’s by academic and film critic B. Ruby Rich. New Queer Cinema defined and described an already existing movement of filmmakers that were examining gay identity and existence from a queer perspective tand rejected heterosexual norms and values (Rich 14). Initially focused on the sociocultural elements of specific films by auteurs like Haynes and Araki, the term was soon broadened to include any films with gay and lesbian content (Berry 214). Continue reading...

The documentary Erasing Hate offers an interesting perspective on the social reasons behind gang affiliation. Bryon Widner grew up in Albuquerque New Mexico and describes himself as a “street kid.” He was raised by an alcoholic grandmother who told him he was worthless. He was a chronic runaway. skinhead gangs provided the sense of belonging and family support he needed. He started in the White Power Movement when he was 14, and his evolution as a skinhead continued when he moved from New Mexico to Indiana. He was white and poor and was looking for answers in life. He Continue reading...

Between 1945 and 1985, the musical genre of rock and roll underwent many changes, and evolved quickly, from a stylistic perspective. It is significant to understand the genre, as it has reflected social changes, and has also influenced social changes. During these four decades, America -- the genre's forefront -- also transformed enormously, and the cultural revolution catalyzed by rock and roll led most of the way.
In the 1940s, rock and roll was just beginning to blossom. A mixture of rhythm and blues, country, and big band jazz, rock and roll was mostly typified by an early prototype Continue reading...

Origins of the sport

Skydiving began in the year 1797 when Andre Garnerin successfully sky-dived using hot air balloon. The technique was later adopted by the military as meant of saving aircrews and delivering troops to the field. Skydiving began as a sport around 1930s, before being internationally accepted in 1951.Evolution of the gear
Skydiving sport has evolved over time. Around 1950s, skilled divers would meet at the airport (drop zone) then compete for a fee. Cessna aircrafts such as C-182 were used then before Caravan C208 was adopted. Skydiving gear has evolved from the umbrella-shaped gear, the Da Vinci parachute. The gear Continue reading...

For many dictionaries, word “Geek” simply means a person with an obsessive interest in a particular subject or topic. It is a slang term used to denote an uninteresting person. The person is hence, considered as unconventional or non-mainstream having only one interest or hobby. It contains a negative connotation as a “geek” is necessarily an unwanted or dislikable individual particularly, one identified as excessively intellectual. However, there are many other meanings and definitions to this word, which have evolved out with the passage of time. For instance, it also means a human being who is considered as an Continue reading...

In the exploration of homosexuality and heterosexuality, certain binaries are often presented – if you have sex with a man, you can in no way be heterosexual. Despite this, there is a vibrant, substantial and highly prevalent subculture of men who identify as heterosexual, but nonetheless still have sex with men. To that end, questions abound regarding their real sexual orientation, the motivations behind labeling themselves heterosexual, and whether or not that really applies to them. The answer to this question lies in a complex plethora of factors, ranging from the construction of homosexuality and heterosexuality, issues of whiteness and Continue reading...

The ear-splitting noises produced by two-wheelers like motorcycles have been a cause for concern for the public in Toronto. The noise pollution created by the loud motorcycles prevents the people from enjoying a peaceful and calm life. Most times, these noises are much beyond the permissible levels that they cause a wide range of problems from sleep disturbances to impaired hearing. The editorial article in The Star.com raises this issue and strongly supports the idea of cracking down on loud motorcycles with municipal licensing and standard staff to report back on ways to achieve the aforesaid goal.
The article Continue reading...

Introduction

The idea of social groups acting, in the same way, in terms of behavior, actions, attitudes and beliefs lays the foundation for what is called police subculture. People tend to behave in ways that mimic or emulate those of the people they associate with on a daily basis. For instance, the family is the basic unit of society; for that matter, it provides the basis upon which an individual develops and nurtures their belief systems and values. People tend to copy or want to behave like the people they admire or look up to in the society. The law Continue reading...

In the exploration of homosexuality and heterosexuality, certain binaries are often presented – if you have sex with a man, you can in no way be heterosexual. Despite this, there is a vibrant, substantial and highly prevalent subculture of men who identify as heterosexual, but nonetheless still have sex with men. To that end, questions abound regarding their real sexual orientation, the motivations behind labeling themselves heterosexual, and whether or not that really applies to them. The answer to this question lies in a complex plethora of factors, ranging from the construction of homosexuality and heterosexuality, issues of whiteness and Continue reading...

The sexual culture has been a topic of great concern following critics that have faced members of the sexual minority. This is because according to the past, socials and religious beliefs, there only exists one sexual culture of which its heterosexuality. This is due to the way people have been brought up to view the sexual minorities. The society at large beliefs that heteronormativity is the only sexual orientation where man and woman have natural roles. Despite this belief there is the existence of the sexual minority, the queer people who recognize homosexuality as a sexual culture. This has Continue reading...

Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines

Few things can be as frightening to a civil and innocent society as a corrupt police task force. There are many examples from around the world, and throughout history, of police forces and military forces behaving with an “us against them” mentality. While sometimes it is the law enforcement against the criminals, this way of thinking often gets misconstrued; the officers begin to think it is “us,” the officers, against “them,” everybody else. Much like in the case study concerning Officer Barton, he found that officers were secretive, and had an official subculture that had its own taboos. It Continue reading...

English

1. What is your chosen topic, and how did you come across it? Why is it interesting to you? What do you personally hope to gain or accomplish by writing about this topic? In this section, define your topic and explain where you first heard about it (i.e. local newspaper, website, etc.). Reflect on how or why your background, motivations, needs, or interest sparked your interest on this topic and relate to your overall goals for writing
The topic, Breakdown on Hipster, explains the context of the emergence of Hipsters as a subculture that breaks away from the mainstream Continue reading...

Question 1

Music is famous of its exclusive influence to the society. Various forms of music are helpful in identifying with different groups of people in the world. The world would be extremely boring without the sweetness of music. People connect with different forms of music that make their social life extremely bearable and enjoyable. However, music as a major element in the social world is bringing exclusive influence in the world where all people are wishing for a certain class of music. As a result, different forms of music are creating subcultures within themselves to let different people identify with Continue reading...

Culture can be defined as the set of characteristics that give a group a sense of identity. It can be defined by the language spoken by a group of people, their religion, customs, music, arts and various forms of social interaction. There can be a variety of cultures within a society.
Subculture can be found within a dominant culture, it may have its own beliefs and norms but it would still be part of a mainstream culture. People belonging to a particular subculture may stand out in terms of their mannerisms but they are not at odds with the Continue reading...

(School/University)

Goths: Subcultures and Criminal activities

Oftentimes, adults view youths as problems that need to be managed, combing efforts and policies designed to limit drinking, curbing teenage pregnancies, and low self worth and medications to address depression and eating binges. It is a given that subcultures such as the Goths are usually attributed to youths, the sense of wariness and fear of not knowing, or not wanting to know, is ever present, and the fear that drives to ridicule or disparage is also ever present (Haenfler, 2013, p. 27).
The Goth subculture can be understood as the interplay of the music, model and the Continue reading...

Hipsters are a subculture of women and men typically between the ages of 16 to 30 years (Hiebert 2). This subculture values same qualities, which include individuality, progressiveness, counter-culture, and appreciation of art and indie-rock. Hipsters began in the 1940’s, and like most things hipster, the name of the subculture draws much from some other cultural movement, hipsters of the 1940s (Faulkner 1). This group was connected with calling each other hepcats, spending most their time smoking pot, and the modern jazz music.
Hipsters reject mainstream societal norms that apply to dating preferences and traditional “rules” of physical Continue reading...

The modern Gothic subculture has emerged in the time period between the late seventies and the early eighties as a new medium for self-expression through the new genre of music, art, fashion and literature. The term “gothic” was initially used to describe the mysterious and dark literature that used the medieval gothic setting for the horror story-telling (Online Etymology Dictionary). Today the gothic subculture does not have a particular set of prerequisites for their members to be considered Goths. As “gothic” can be referred to the style of music, art, literature and fashion, high chances are that the members Continue reading...

Counterculture of mid sixties shaped a youth movement in United States of America that is popularly known as hippie movement. Hippie movement reached into several other countries of the world just after its emergence in United States of America. Hippies fashioned their own separate world by creating their communities where they used to listen rock music. Hippies had their own reasons for using marijuana that was one of important things of their life along with sex. This paper intends to discuss Hippies and examines how hippie movement influenced the time period of sixties.
It is inevitable to see towards Continue reading...

Gothic horror literature is a very specific type of fiction that started in the late 18th century as an offshoot of Romantic literature. Gothic literature often deals with the macabre and the terrifying – its subject matter is uniquely dark and brooding, with deeply entrenched subtexts about the changing nature of the world, and mankind’s fear of the unknown. According to Fincher, the "Gothic novel reflects a deep anxiety in eighteenth-century culture about the changing status of masculinity and femininity in a period of political and social change" (Fincher, 2001). A great deal of Gothic horror fiction deals with Continue reading...

Article Review: Another Country: queer anti-urbanism

The article,’ Another Country: queer anti-urbanism’ by Scott herring talks about the queer culture of gays and lesbianism in most urban centers and cities of the united states with a case study of new York city. He argues that the practice shoots back to the twentieth century with the emergence of urbanized lesbian and gay group identities (Herring, 4). The writer starts by saying he hates New York. His hatred however is not related to its weather condition, lack of water or its high cost of living and house affordability, but based on the easiness and calmness that the Continue reading...

11-12-2013

In the sociological study of the poor, two theories have emerged as to the nature and causes of poverty: The Culture of Poverty and the Situational View of Poverty. (Kerbo, 2003) These two theories have developed in response to the theory of Social Darwinism, which argues that the poor are in that condition because they lack the knowledge or skills to better their situation. (Kerbo, 2003) This theory, tied in with “Blaming the Poor” theories was challenged by two more sympathetic theories of poverty. (Kerbo, 2003)
The Culture of Poverty theory was developed by anthropologist Oscar Lewis. (Kerbo, 2003) Continue reading...

Abstract

The society is continually experiencing emergence and development of new cultures and subcultures. New cultures mostly develop from the popular culture as some individuals embrace new perspectives regarding common beliefs and values. Cultural elements present means of expression and influential habits that individuals of a particular group or belief identify with. Various cultures and subcultures are presently identifiable in the present day social media. One of such subcultures common in the contemporary social media includes the American hipster culture. The paper focuses on this culture by evaluating it from diverse perspectives. This includes providing a background of the development Continue reading...

A subculture is an association of people belonging to an organization with a common purpose. It is this common purpose that binds them together to create and identify characteristics that differentiates them from others. In reality, a subculture belongs to a bigger culture and yet, because of certain symbolisms, language, actions, behaviors, and beliefs, a subculture creates its own identity separate from the rest. For this paper, the focus of discussion is on computer gamers and what attributes they have that makes them a subculture of their own. Computer gamers are a remarkable group to study because of the Continue reading...

Law and order – have always preserved the world from total chaos. From the dawn of the civilization special rules, which were later developed into laws were created to regulate the relations between different individuals within the state. This is the only way to keep things in the society under the control. Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine the world without jurisdiction, modern criminalistics and forensic science and other essential bodies that control order and justice within the country.
As a result specific correctional institutions were created. There are two main types – jails and prisons. The only difference between them Continue reading...

Day 1 - Cell Culture: At First an LB/amp plate was labeled with initials, the date, the name of the bacterial strain to be used (BL21) and the plasmid (pDHFR). Then 10 uL of reconstituted BL21-pDHFR was pipetted onto an LB/amp plate using sterile tip.The bacteria was streaked into four quadrants of the plate and after this it was covered immediately to avoid contamination. The plate was placed upside down inside the incubator overnight at 37°C and once colonies have grown to ~1 mm in diameter, they may be stored in a sealed bag upside down at 4º Continue reading...

- INTRODUCTION
The legend that queer history takes place in year 1969 sees a diversity of practices. The ridiculous, traditional form is that queer societies didn't occur back beforehand the '60s ruined our morals. This is certainly a precise manifestation of a more general theory lodged in the historic mind of several North Americans that the misrepresentation in our ethos of the 1950s denotes a picture of an established and enduring ways of existing that were criticized by the decadent '60s, and that there is an unavoidable cultural gap between those with reliability to nostalgia for the previous and Continue reading...

Arguably, Gothic culture is one of the subcultures that is found in the contemporary society. As a matter of fact, these subcultures are practiced and found in various countries in the world. In the contemporary society, Gothic subculture has come to mean various things, especially in the current age and time. Just like any other form of culture, Gothic subculture has various characteristics and styles that make them unique and distinguishable among other cultures. Gothic culture is a form of art that has various characteristics ranging from language, clothing, architecture, painting, religion, novels, as well as music. In general Continue reading...

Introduction

While the laugh track of the live studio audience will irritate anyone watching this show to no end, the portrayal of women in its first season would have women rights activist suing all the life out of the show, the mistaken pop culture references every now and then and the feeling that Hollywood has once again taken a shallow look at a long and evolving culture can make people rethink that The Big Bang Theory is really not a show that portrays nerd culture properly, it also cannot be denied that it has gotten a lot of things right Continue reading...

When people have to work in a cohesive group or as a team, there is a lot of pressure to conform to the beliefs, attitude and culture of the group. The theory of groupthink best explains what happened in the officer Robert Barton Case. The constant and frequent interaction between Officer Barton and his fellow group members created a lot of opportunities which were significantly influential in determining his loyalty and commitment. It is obvious that with time there will be a conflict between personal values and convictions and that of the group. Groupthink theory argues that a person Continue reading...

Film Studies

The Big Bang Theory is the best sitcom based on nerd culture. Based on the plot of the story, the four characters in the sitcom named Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali. All of the main characters are certified geeks and work a Caltech as they engage in their science-related jobs. This is opposed to the other fifth character, Penny who is an aspiring actress and a waitress by profession and quite known for her common sense. The main theme of the show is physics and the dialogue of the four geek characters is mostly focused Continue reading...

Why were Hippies portrayed as enemies when their views were based on love, peace, and America’s most fundamental principle: Freedom?
Hippie movement was born in the USA. From 1964 to 1972, America was at war in Vietnam. This was the first war in American history, hated by Americans. This is the heyday of the pacifist sentiments in the world and the birth of the hippie movement. Hippies grew not because of fashion, but because of the strong personal belief in the injustice of the rules of the society: materialism, boredom, wealth and satiety, lack of spirituality. All this Continue reading...

According to Schein (1993, p. 40) dialogue is necessary because it is a vehicle for understanding cultures and subcultures and because organisational learning will develop to a stage where it will depend on a cultural understanding made possible by dialogue. However, Schein (1993) does not explain the role of non-verbal communication in dialogues. As a general rule, communication is simultaneously non-verbal and verbal. Both aspects are equally important because when non-verbal and verbal communications are incoherent, people may receive mixed messages and fail to understand each others’ motivations, viewpoints, values, and aims.
I find it impossible to agree with Continue reading...

In William Beckford's 1786 novel Vathek, the titular character, an Arabic caliph with endless sexual passion and thirst for knowledge, delves slowly but inexorably toward damnation with the help of his astrologist mother, Carathis, and a Jinn known as Giaour. This book, along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, demonstrate early examples of Gothic fiction. In particular, however, Vathek can be cited as an example of queer Gothic fiction; as Gothic literature deals greatly with the unknown, Vathek's journeys and the characters he meets along the way can be interpreted as homosexual (or at Continue reading...

Hawthorn studies were done to find out the effects of changing the working environment on the productivity of the workers. Specifically, the lighting system was improved and the results were that the productivity of the employees improved in return. The managers apply this in various ways. It all involves improvement of the working environment. The employees working in a risky environment are given insurance covers so that in case of any injuries, compensation can be received. This motivates the employees to continue working in such an environment. Some employees are provided with food in the working place. Some are Continue reading...

1. The essay film is a particularly post-modern kind of documentary, as it focuses on a theme and concept, instead of following a strict plot or depicting a series of events. Unlike a Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, for example, Bowling for Columbine employs a vast number of techniques to depict the state of the gun culture in America in the wake of the Columbine shootings. Bowling does not follow a strict progression, or a particular person or event, but spans the entirety of the debate in America - it moves from Columbine itself to the Michigan Continue reading...