Reappropriation of Subcultural Style

I was really interested in the idea of how the Indian-American Youth subculture had a few different circles within it. As with most sub-cultures, there is not just a normalized group, but instead there are often many sub-sets of the sub-culture. The incorporation of the “hip-hop-inspired urban street fashion” (Maira 32) draws from the African American culture, and by adopting another culture’s symbols, the Indian-American culture tried to gain “respect…because they think the style is cool…[even though some are] kinda scared of them but…want to look…cool” (45.)

The interesting thing about this is that, while they appropriated some of the looks of the African American subculture, the Indian-Americans didn’t have a standard code of clothing, just a standard of images that were “the embodiment of a particular machismo” (45) and showing off the symbols was all that was needed. The lower-class members were not looking for authentic items, just the images they gave off; however, there were also many upper-middle-class members of this subculture who could afford real Hilfiger or Gucci and had a secret knowledge of the divide. This adoption of the look, but not of the struggle of the African American culture shows how the Black look of cool was now the standard of ethnic cool as it transcended “boundaries of class and race” (39.) While this may have given the Indian-Americans the appearance of cool, by reappropriating the look of resistance of the system, but actually wanting to be a part of the system, the Indian-Americans gained a cool factor while the original meaning of the resistant look seems to be lost somewhere in between. How can a look be reappropriated without a significant loss to the original intent of the look? Can that even happen?

Ethnography Project Proposal

For three years I’ve been visiting essentially the same places on College Hill and surrounding neighborhoods. The names have changed slightly, but the essence of the places has stayed the same. I’ve seen the same faces from freshman year, with new additions joining the multiple circles within this subculture each year. I’ve heard the same artists, their new songs hits of course, but their old songs have sustained popularity and request frequency. I’ve done similar rituals with the many of the same people before arriving at our destination on the same nights (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday.) One would think that me and my group members would all be incredibly bored of these rituals by now, our senior year; however, we’re not. The truth is, we’re just a small subset of what we’re a part of, and many of us newly being 21 can now explore it even further. It, of course, is the club/dive bar culture that a sub-set of Brown students has been frequenting for years and shows no signs of stopping.

It is true that the different circles overlap somewhat, casual “hello”s, but little understanding of the other groups and their rituals comes into this overlap. The convergence in this Venn diagram is slight. By taking an ethnographic look at this club/dive bar culture I hope to further understand this interplay and answer the questions that I am not able to answer by myself. By bringing in outside sources, outside interviewees and by studying the music that ties all of the circles together, I will attempt to be able to gain a complete understanding of which sub-groups make up this sub-culture. I will ask questions such as: How do the groups converge? What are the central values that the groups revolve around? Are the values always about music? How does the music differ week-to-week? Month-to-month? Year-to-year? Are there people who dislike the music but like the culture that is based off it/How does that dynamic work/can it be applied vice-versa? How do those outside the subculture entirely view it? How do the people within it self-reflect? By delving into the answers and stories brought up by these questions I hope that this will help both those within and outside of the sub-culture be able to gain an understanding of the how/what/where/when/why of jouissance sans innocence.

Us vs. Them vs. Them

I have always been interested in the convergence of cultures. Living in major cities all of my life I have seen that very seldom, only one culture exists in a place. Even in the most normative places, the culture of other groups passes through the boundaries. It is for that reason that I found Mina Yang's chapter so interesting because it talks about the importance of place and boundaries, along with the different subcultures within those borders.

First there are the physical boundaries of USA/Mexico and West/East Los Angeles. By painting the "Mexicans as unhygienic, primitive, and violent" (100,) those from West L.A. were creating a very defined us vs. them mentality. By portraying this image to others, the inhabitants of Mexican descent had to use music to subvert the powers that be. By using multiple genres of music, the Mexican Americans illustrated solidarity within their subculture; however, by showing that they had a strong subculture, they were lumped into the category of the ethnic other.

They weren't the only ones in this category however, as they were also associated with the other "others" in the L.A. area, such as Asian Americans and African Americans. I found it very interesting when Yang pointed out that, since the different hyphenated subcultures were "competing for the same limited economic opportunities and resources...[the] Mexican Americans' love for black music did not...translate into...amity or respect for African Americans outside of the dance hall" (113.) This quote illustrates that while music can break the boundaries between subcultures (especially when there is an "absor[ption of]...each other's rhythms and patterns" [116,]) these boundaries will be resolidified after the music stops. Do the subcultures not realize that there is power in numbers? Do they want their own identities even if that means their own struggles? Or do they believe that once the music stops the us vs. them identity resumes since everyone else is an "other", even those of other Latin descent?