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@Ssense

The Remains of the Heyday: Are Subcultures Still Possible?

By KH

October 16^th, 2020

The Remains of the Heyday: Are Subcultures Still Possible? by Kevin Hatt

Despite being so close to the bustling cultural center that was New York City in the 1970’s, my life in the suburbs didn’t expose me to any subcultures. I think that was how my parents and others who were used to suburban life liked it. Boring, simple, and safe from the tumultuous city. Playing sports, watching tv and attending family gatherings were the most exciting things to happen within our little suburban bubble. The summer of 1976, I was channel surfing (though all of 7 channels available then) when I came across a film on PBS called The Naked Civil Servant, John Hurt’s portrayal of Quentin Crisps autobiography. I hadn’t met or seen anyone gay before, at least to my knowledge, and watched the film in fascination. Quentin Crisps flamboyant dressing and wonderfully witty personality captivated me, and I was overwhelmed with empathy as I watched his struggle for acceptance as a gay man play out on the screen.

At that age, I wasn’t yet taking photographs or finding interest in fashion, but Quentin Crisps story left a lasting impression. I credit that film for introducing me to gay culture, which was at that time still considered a subculture, especially to me as a young, suburban-raised boy growing up surrounded by heteronormativity.

I was fortunate to meet and chat with Quentin a number of times in the 80’s when he would be out in the city. Sometimes I’d see him sitting alone at a party looking on, watching the young people enjoy themselves without any hint of self-consciousness. I couldn’t help but think about how his life story had helped pave the way for so many young people like him, allowing them to feel comfortable in their identities, to express themselves, and not hide within a subculture that would eventually go on to being recognized as its own, unique culture.

My family moved to Vancouver in 1979, where I first discovered my passion for photography in high school. I was drawn to fashion, and through a friend who happened to be a photographer, I was introduced to others with similarly oriented interests. The fashion scene was highly influenced by music at the time, and New Wave/New Romantic had just begun. There was only one small club in the area that played New Wave music, and we would all go together to dance. The music was all coming from London, as was the fashion. Guys and girls wearing dramatic makeup and dressing like romantic pirates dancing to Bowie, new bands popping up like U2 and Human League. It was a small fashion music scene that most people were completely unaware of, until MTV came along, and with that our subculture was popularized and overrun.

Sadly, I don’t feel connected to any subculture today.

When I came to NYC in the early 80’s there was a downtown subculture, heavily surrounding art, music and fashion. Even if you weren’t a musician, artist or fashion designer, you were still part of the scene. Parties brought everyone together, whether it was the creative minds who kept the scene going, or those who weren’t interested whatsoever. It wasn’t about money back then, because you could survive on so little, it was more about interacting with others and sharing your creativity with whoever cared to listen. When you have the ability to find and interact with a small community that all share a common, less popular interest, a subculture is created. I think subcultures are still alive and thriving to this day, but are very different now in comparison to the pre-internet years. It was much more difficult to find your interest if it was a subculture before the internet became mainstream. You had to be adventurous, to go out with the intention of finding people who shared your interests. Today, a simple internet search can take you directly to a community of people interested in the same thing as you, mainstream culture or not. It’s all out there, just at your fingertips.

I think the internet and social media is where all subcultures are flourishing. On almost every platform, you can locate communities of people discussing a common interest, and the even smaller communities that branch off of that. Whether it’s music, film, art, gaming, or anything else, no matter how niche, there will always be a group of people who share a specific interest with you. Before the internet and social media came to be, if you were looking to join a subculture, you’d have to find people who were located relatively close to you, while nowadays you could have a conversation about, for example, your favorite music artist, with someone who lives all the way across the world.

The internet has definitely allowed subcultures to thrive in a way they never could before, but this also poses new issues. Now, anyone has access to any subculture they seek out, and small communities will inevitably grow and change whether they want to or not. I don’t see this to mean that subcultures will die out, rather that the internet is one of the things managing to keep them alive. The people and concepts that make up subcultures will continue evolving to properly suit the platforms on which they occur, causing communities becoming less intimate and niche, but whether or not that change is for the better or worse is one’s personal preference. The future is now, and subcultures are more accessible than ever, but they will never be the same as they once were.