[This is an excerpt from my Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) Honours Thesis, submitted to the University of Wollongong Arts Faculty in 2013. I am publishing excerpts from this thesis in multiple posts. The thesis aimed to explore the youth subculture of skate punk, how its expression perpetuated authenticity through the aesthetic form of the music video, and how this was reflexive of society at a deeper social level].
In the early 1980s the subculture of skate punk became visually mediated in the new popular aesthetic form of music television (MTV). The music video, “Institutionalized” (Suicidal Tendencies,1984) was positioned between songs of David Bowie, Culture Club and the Rolling Stones but when this video played, people stopped to watch and listen – it made a statement as a representation of sociopolitical youth rebellion. It featured young skateboarders taking risks in a derelict, vandalised warehouse; it showed a loud, punk band with its protagonist leader, the singer, breaking free from parental authority and escaping the societal institutions that dominated him; it showed teenagers slam dancing; and the passion of the music and lyrics reflected the mood and energy of the clip. The embodiment of skate punk had arrived through the music and visual representation of the band Suicidal Tendencies.
Skate punk is considered a subculture. The study of subcultures rose predominantly from the early twentieth century with the focus initially being on groups of “deviants”, until it morphed into the study of culture that is a subset of a major culture, hence the name subculture. It is also understood as
a group of people who are united through their shared interests, values, beliefs and traditions that are generally considered opposed to or different from the mainstream. In music subcultures it may be the type of music played, the lyrical content and the sociopolitical beliefs expressed that determines the
subculture to which one belongs. Dick Hebdige, from the Birmingham School of Communication and Cultural Studies’ groundbreaking analysis in the late 1970s implored the importance of style in
informing how subcultures are represented and create meaning. Ken Gelder’s work (2007) on the six ways in which subcultures may be understood is essential in reference to the way in which Suicidal Tendencies displayed these elements of subcultural behaviour.
A vexing matter in relation to subcultures is the issue of authenticity. This becomes problematised within a commericalised postmodern world. This thesis will determine how authenticity is used and perpetuated through the subculture of skate punk and in particular, the band Suicidal Tendencies.
This thesis critiques different ways in which authenticity is understood in regards to sociological and cultural studies. Grossberg and Frith, both musicologists who are highly influenced by the work of Frankfurt scholar, Adorno, contend that authenticity in cultural realms is maintained away from
commericalisation and the power of hegemonic norms as perpetuated by modern society. The work of Giddens (1991) purports the theory of the reflexive self as a force of authenticity in which reflexive self awareness provides the opportunity for the individual to construct their own identity, free from societal constraints and cultural traditions, is the best understanding of how authenticity is promulgated by the band Suicidal Tendencies. The lead singer, Mike Muir, focuses upon the importance of being
yourself and channels much of his lyrical content into issues that affect youth and their problems in dealing with mainstream society. This notion that authenticity is maintained through self awareness and reflexivity is further discussed using recent theory espoused by Emily Chivers Yochim (2010). The
thesis will illustrate how Chivers Yochim’s notion of corresponding cultures displays how skate punk authenticity is maintained in correspondence with dominant conceptions of mainstream discourses, which correspond and mediate with elements of subcultural ideology.
The Context of the thesis is established in Chapter 3 and conveys understanding of the background on certain relevant issues that the thesis is discussing. There is also an expose on the history of punk and skateboarding, which creates deeper comprehension of how the two subcultures amalgamated to form skate punk. It is also imperative to establish the context of authenticity in relation to how it is focused and defined within the course of the analysis and discussion.
Methodology is outlined as a qualitative case study mediated through the music video in Chapter 4. The two music videos are described at length with references to the time at which certain events occur that are representative of the main themes and issues that are to be discussed in the Analysis. The use of
the case study analysis (Chapter 5) to illustrate the representation of skate punk culture as mediated through the music video involves comprehensive examination of two Suicidal Tendencies videos, “Institutionalized” (1984) and “Possessed to Skate” (1986), with the latter being considered as the anthem of the skate punk subculture. The representations in these videos are indicative of the skate punk subculture, and the use of parody, satire and humour to caricature those elements of mainstream society that the protagonist and the youth represented are rebelling against further enhances the meaning.
To display how the subculture of skate punk originated, proliferated and was maintained, the Discussion section is split into different themes and ideas, including:
• Suicidal Tendencies and the music video;
• Rebellion Signified – skate punk as a subculture;
• What were they rebelling against? – Suicidal Tendencies, Reaganomics
and socio-political conservatism of the 1980s;
• Suicidal Tendencies and Southern California in the 1980s – boredom
with white middle class suburbia?;
• Representations of ethnicity – a statement against the dominance and
conservatism of white middle class America;
• The propagation of authenticity in the Suicidal Tendencies music
videos;
• 1980s to the present – is skate punk still relevant?
Using these themes as the framework from which to create an epistemological perspective, the thesis will attempt to provide an insight into how skate punk was authenticated and proliferated. Further exploration into these themes give insight into the belief systems and representations that are generated by skate punk subculture, the considerations for wider society and also for the future of skate punk as a strong subcultural entity.
This thesis aims to portray to the reader the complexities of authenticity within a music subculture and they way in which subculture is signified and represented to create meaning. The use of the music video as a form of mediation to society offers great insight into the understanding and comprehension of the subculture of skate punk, its ability to inform further ideological discourses within society, and it’s impact on sociological and cultural understanding.
References
Chivers Yochim, E. A. (2009) Skate Life- Reimagining white masculinity,
University of Michigan Press: Michigan
Gelder, K. (2007) Subcultures: Cultural Histories and Social Practice,
Routledge: New York
Giddens, A (1991) Modernity and Self-identity: Self and Society in the Late
Modern Age, Stanford University Press: California
Hebdige, D (1979) Subculture – The meaning of style, Routledge: New York
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