SUBCULTURE and URBAN TRIBES - COMMUNICATION 8TH –CLASS WORK-GROUP

ACTIVITY.

Understanding the concepts

A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it
belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values
regarding cultural, political, and sexual matters. Subcultures are part of society while keeping their specific
characteristics intact. Examples of subcultures include BDSM, hippies, goths, bikers, skinheads, and hip-hopers.
The concept of subcultures was developed in sociology and cultural studies.[1] Subcultures differ
from countercultures.
URBAN TRIBES
In 1985, French sociologist Michel Maffesoli coined the term urban tribe. It gained widespread use after the
publication of his The Time of the Tribes (1988).[20] In 1996, this book was published in English.[21]
According to Maffesoli, urban tribes are microgroups of people who share common interests in urban areas. The
members of these relatively small groups tend to have similar worldviews, dress styles and behavioral patterns.
[22]
 Their social interactions are largely informal and emotionally laden, different from late
capitalism's corporate-bourgeoisie cultures, based on dispassionate logic. Maffesoli claims that punks are a
typical example of an "urban tribe".[23]
Read more
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subculture
check cintia for more information on subculture

TASKS –groups of 2-3 sts

PART 1

Listening –speaking-writing
Watch the video Most BIZARRE Subcultures

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPQ5-8ryiK0
Discuss and together elaborate on the topic by writing 2 or 3 paragrahs in which you describe the subcultures
that called your attention the most, what positve and negative aspects do you seen in them, what kind of people
are more likely to join such practices
PARAGRAPH 1
After watching the video, we realized that there is a great variety of interesting subcultures, some of which are
little known and others that have spread noticeably around the world. Among the subcultures that most caught
our attention are the Bronies, who are mostly men, but there are also women and gays who are fans of the
animated series "My little pony". The positive side of this culture is that women can realize that not all men are
rude, rebellious or sexist. On the contrary, there are many with the heart and mind of a child, which shows that
they are tender as a child. As for the negative aspect, this varies depending on how passionate they are about the
series, since if they are very obsessed with my little pony they can end up spending large amounts of money on
costumes and toys of that type. Then, there is a strange fashion that was born in Japan. This fashion is about
people who inject salt water into the forehead so that it swells and then be able to shape it into a bagel. Japanese
youth are the most likely to carry out this kind of practice as a kind of fashion. A negative aspect is that these
people can suffer health risks such as infections, but the good thing is that the bagel on their foreheads is not
permanent. It usually disappears after 24 hours without leaving a trace of that occurrence.
PARAGRAPH 2
We seriously think that some subcultures tend to exaggerate in their practices, and we believe (not claim) that
their exaggerations are to capture more people's attention and not go unnoticed through the crowd. As an
example, we have the fashion in Mexico of wearing "Pointed shoes". For us, the tip of these shoes are quite
exaggerated, although we do not mean it in the way of offending or not respecting their customs, it is just that
this type of fashion surprises us. These shoes are for men and are worn by people whose favorite musical genre
is "Tribal guarachero". The positive side of this trend is that men use it at music festivals and claim that they are
quite comfortable and the best thing is that they hold competitions where those with the longest shoe tip are
awarded. The bad thing about wearing these shoes is that they are not allowed at all kinds of parties or
celebrations, much less at nightclubs, so they can only be worn at music festivals. Another quite extreme
subculture is the one followed by those people who believe that they are not human, these people are called
"Otherkins". It is difficult for us to believe that there are people who believe that they are not human, even
though it is a reality that they are. These people have a very concrete belief that they were born in the wrong
body and do their best to appear to be what they think they are. This leads them to undergo countless surgeries,
deforming their bodies in search of their true self, which for us is quite negative since they are destroying their
human appearance and spending millions of dollars on surgeries. The most seen cases are people who claim to
be animals instead of humans and even act like dogs or cats, leaving their human essence aside.

PART 2 –reading and vocab

URBAN TRIBES AND CULTURE
Read and expand your knowledge

Urban culture is the culture of towns and cities. The defining theme is the presence of a great number of very
different people in a very limited space - most of them are strangers to each other.
‘Urban tribes are young city people that gather in relatively small, fluid groups. These groups share common
interests that are, in general, different from the interests of mainstream culture’
– Michel Maffesoli
Bears:
They are integrated by large,hairy men who openly resist or refuse to obey some standars related to Adony´s
beauty trying to show the way they look, they are recognized by the accesories they wear like lumberjack
garments,paws , leather accesories and the icon that identifies them, bear, you can met them in gay bear bars

Chaps:
This tribe is exclusively found in United Kingdom(UK), they traditionally wear clothes and accesories of the
40’s like fedoras,trench coats, high waisted trousers and tweed outfit.they like racing competitions a lot.

MERMEIDS:
They like to spend their time underwater believing or thinking they are a mermeid of the fairy tales names like
ariel. They always organise workshops and meeting to show their abilities or skills because they are good at
swimming and holding their breath under water. There are some good at doing these activities specially apnea.

OTAKUS
A tribe Japanese, it is a name given to people who show a lot of or obsessive interest to anime and manga fans
(Japanese comics and cartoons). otakus tend to wear clothes decorated with their favourite characters, especially
when they assist conventions. It doesn’t matter if they’re new or old franchises as otakus tend to celebrate both.

Floggers
The floggers are an urban tribe that was closely related to Fotolog.com, a website where photos were uploaded
and where their users could comment on them. The flogger culture originated in Argentina and then expanded
to other countries. It was very massive also in Uruguay.

heavies
The heavies (also called metalheads or sheikhs) are an urban tribe with a lot of history and that has adapted to
the times during the last decades. Here is its story: Origin: It originated in England, in the early seventies, as a
radicalization of the hippie ideology and conjunction between its aesthetics and hard rock music. Hence its full
name, Heavy metal, that is, heavy metal, reference to the intense metallic (electrical) sounds produced by the
musical groups.

Skinheads
Skinheads emerged in England in the late 1960s. They are "descendants" of the mod movement, which emerged
in the same country in 1958, the rude boy, born in Britain in the early 1960s, and the bootboy, young
Englishmen who liked football. The fashions were young English (later the subculture spread to other countries
but mainly among minority adults) middle class who liked elegant clothing, musical genres such as blues, soul
and jazz and were prone to street fighting. On the other hand, the rude boys were young Jamaicans (this
subculture also spread internationally but also in small numbers) working class with tastes similar to those of
the mods in terms of clothes.

Emos
Emo is a subculture or "urban tribe" that had its origins in the mid-1980s in the United States, more precisely in
Washington D. C., as a subculture created around the musical genre emo, subgenre of hardcore punk style and a
particular aesthetic and social.

Skaters
Skateboard Culture has influenced fashion, music and even the way we talk. ... The culture surrounding
skateboarding is filled with independent and sometimes very opinionated skaters. The attitude of
the skater often reflects the era when they started skateboarding. The young ones are so good and have such a
great energy.
Rappers
Rappers are young people who like the musical genre of rap and hip-hop. Its origin goes back to the 1970s,
when rap broke out in the slums of New York. At the beginning, rappers were mostly black youth. Rappers are
young people who like the music genre of rap and hip-hop. Its origin goes back to the 1970s, when rap broke
out in the slums of New York. At the beginning, rappers were mostly black youth. The most important thing
about this culture is that along with their music, they spread a message against the injustices of the system,
turning rap/hip-hop into a way of life that, from its origins to the present day, has been attracting more and more
followers.

Punks
Punk, also called punk rock, is a musical genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. This genre is characterized in the
music industry by its independent and countercultural attitude. Wikipedia Cultural origins: Mid 1970’s in the
United States and United Kingdom Common instruments: electric guitar, electric bass, drums and vocals
Musical origins: Rock and roll, rockabilly, surf rock, garage rock, pub rock, proto-punk, glam rock, hard rock,
ska Derivates: Post-punk, new wave, alternative rock, grunge, emo, noise rock, NWOBHM, gothic rock, thrash
metal

Now Complete the information. Label the pictures

Floggers -- jumping ramp ---- -wrist guards - knee pads-- heavies--- emos - elbow pads-helmet--Ankle
pads---skateboard--performing tricks -- punks -- rappers - - skinheads-- skaters

helmet performing tricks helmet knee pads Skaters

elbow pads wrist guards Skateboard Ankle pads heavies

Floggers Skinheads Rappers Jumping ramp

 Emos Punks

Commets on the reading? Feel free to add your opinion or experience while reading
To live in a diverse society in which the pluriculturality of thoughts is to be part of a human group with multiple
purposes. Urban culture is a current theme that has generated an impact on the way of life of people and the
different environments in which they are found, as well as beauty, art, culture, singing, artistic expressions such
as dialectics are real manifestations of what is considered cultural urbanism. With regard to cultural
manifestations, I can say that each has specific rules and is freely accepted, but we find many very strange
cultures that we find in the document, such as bears, for example. that for many it is a culture that generates
controversy due to appearances related to beauty. While other cultures have been getting more and more
involved in societies that for many young people are cool, the Emos, rappers and currently a great trend which
are the Otakus.
Part III
Research-reading-speaking-writing

Do some research to find about the different sub. cultures around the world, summarize and share your
information here. (add 3-5 subcultures or urban groups)
GEEKS (OTAKUS, GAMERS, AND GEEKS)
It is one of the most recent tribes, and three subcultures can be included within it that share the fact that they all
feel an obsessive fascination for something that separates them from society or that society rejects them just
because they have a particular taste for something that they like. identifies.
First of all, we have the otakus. Consumers of anime and manga, and everything that comes from the Land of
the Rising Sun, Japan. They often attend conventions where they show off their skills in dressing up as their
favorite anime characters in dress-up or cosplay.
In second place we have the gamers, addicted to video games. They are up to date with all the technology
related to electronic entertainment: consoles, digital updates, and specialized keyboards. The Fortnite or free
fire can not miss.
And finally, among the geeks, we have the geeks. Very interested in new technologies, in a more general sense
than gamers. Robotics and computer science are two areas that they dominate and they can spend whole nights
programming, but this activity can bring health problems to these types of people due to the long hours they
spend locked up and glued to computers.
Discuss and answer the following questions
1. Which of the subcultures do you consider more influential, and why?
The subculture that I consider most influential is that of the otakus, because the vast majority of young people
and adults are consuming anime, of all kinds and all tastes, this subculture has infected children, young people,
and adults, to the point that the companies that create this content have run out of ideas to continue creating, this
is remarkable when an anime resembles others, the same chronology, same goals, even they resemble the names
of the characters, these anime that resemble each other can be of the isekai genus. However, there is a difference
between those who consume anime and otakus, and that is that otakus not only watch anime but also dress up as
their favorite characters.
2. Which one is more likely to be adopted by some students at Unicorn?, give reasons
Animes are capturing teenagers every day thanks to their rough and fictitious content, they are like
series style where people can spend free time to entertain themselves, and because of that Unicor
students in general spend their free time watching animes . I believe that students may tend to adopt this
 otaku subculture, so in certain parts of the university you see kids watching this type of series and after a
few years the students will want to imitate the style that is presented in anime.
3. Which subculture is/are causing a big impact on kids or younger generations? Why?
The subculture that is causing the most impact of the three previous ones is that of the otakus, more and
more people join this tribe that has more and more participation in social networks and more and more
young people are interested in anime because it is relaxing and fun.
4. Which subculture(s) would you consider joing if you were to become an active member? Explain

We would consider joining the Otaku subculture because, through the anime and manga they watch daily, they
get closer to Japanese culture, thus allowing a link between cultures in which we can learn a lot about Japan and
its surroundings. Although Animes are videos and series with the purpose of entertainment, the truth is that we
can take that fascination for Animes to learn many things between those learning Japanese. Because we have
heard and seen information about people who are fans of anime and manga who have learned to speak Japanese
just to be able to enjoy their favorite series without subtitles and to be able to focus their attention on everything
that happens in the series, since with the subtitles or without knowledge of the Japanese language they get very
distracted in having to read the subtitles.

5. bulary- Share 2-5 words or expressions learned in this activity-provide definitions and examples in
context.
LADEN: try to avoid discussing emotionally laden subjects
COINED: to invent a new word or phrase that other people then begin to use