Club Cultures: Music, Media And Subcultural Capital
by Sarah Thornton /
1995 / English / PDF
1.4 MB Download
Focusing on youth cultures that revolve around dance clubs and
raves in Great Britain and the U.S., Sarah Thornton highlights the
values of authenticity and hipness and explores the complex
hierarchies that emerge within the domain of popular culture. She
portrays club cultures as "taste cultures" brought together by
micro-media like flyers and listings, transformed into
self-conscious "subcultures" by such niche media as the music and
style press, and sometimes recast as "movements" with the aid of
such mass media as tabloid newspaper front pages. She also traces
changes in the recording medium from a marginal entertainment in
the 50s to the clubs and raves of the 90s.
Focusing on youth cultures that revolve around dance clubs and
raves in Great Britain and the U.S., Sarah Thornton highlights the
values of authenticity and hipness and explores the complex
hierarchies that emerge within the domain of popular culture. She
portrays club cultures as "taste cultures" brought together by
micro-media like flyers and listings, transformed into
self-conscious "subcultures" by such niche media as the music and
style press, and sometimes recast as "movements" with the aid of
such mass media as tabloid newspaper front pages. She also traces
changes in the recording medium from a marginal entertainment in
the 50s to the clubs and raves of the 90s.
Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Thornton coins the term
"subcultural capital" to make sense of distinctions made by "cool"
youth, noting particularly their disparagement of the "mainstream"
against which they measure their alternative cultural worth. Well
supported with case studies, readable, and innovative, Club
Cultures will become a key text in cultural and media studies and
in the sociology of culture.
Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Thornton coins the term
"subcultural capital" to make sense of distinctions made by "cool"
youth, noting particularly their disparagement of the "mainstream"
against which they measure their alternative cultural worth. Well
supported with case studies, readable, and innovative, Club
Cultures will become a key text in cultural and media studies and
in the sociology of culture.