StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature " discusses that tt=he creation of subcultures in literature probably arises out of an urge to do this. A desire to mold one’s destiny is reflected in the desire to represent one’s community and the future and the way in which one envisions oneself. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.1% of users find it useful
Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature"

? Culture and Sub-Genres in Literature number Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature The practice of culture denoting sub genres is a prevalent practice in literature. This happens for a variety of reasons that may be historical, economic, social, political, and so on and so forth. One may even see in the practice of culture denoting subgenres and the presence of subcultures in literature a humanistic aspect that enables the person or the community to feel that they are in control of their own destiny. This paper shall seek to analyse the causes that are mentioned above and also the very practice of culture denoting subgenres as well as the existence of subcultures in a field that is sometimes considered to be, by people of certain ideological bents of mind, divorced from politics. There are others that seek to completely refute this argument, saying that art and politics are intrinsically linked and that the artist has to be a socially responsible person, an aspect that would shine through his art. Then again, it is this diversity of viewpoints that enables the existence of genres and subgenres. The existence of a literary politics is also evident in the presence of subcultures, which more often than not are the creations of specific communities that have certain vested interests in promoting certain subcultures. Being in certain senses a mirror of the society, art cannot be completely divorced from the material realities of the world that influence the very production of literature and the reception of it at the level of the consumer, who himself or herself has certain expectations of a political literariness that may be present in a writer that he may choose to read the works of. For instance, a person who picks a book of Chinua Achebe would be ready for a postcolonial politics that informs the writing of Achebe (Achebe). There are, of course issues that overlap and are present in the works of authors who may not overtly profess ideologies relating to those issues, but these analyses occur when one seeks to read a work along the faultlines of the narrative that the writer seeks to provide the reader. The culture of a certain society decides the stereotypes that exist within that society. It is the society that seeks to impose certain identities on certain communities that then enter into the public consciousness and that of that particular community as well. This then leads to that community fashioning itself according to the identities and stereotypes that the society imposes on it. This leads to the literature that is produced by that community being typecast, to a certain extent, not just by other communities but also by the community that produces it, under pressure to conform to the identities that are imposed by the discourse that are a part of everyday societal life. The subgenres that these communities create along with the society that also lead to the creation of subcultures finally are sustained by the discourses that sustain the identities, which are essentially constructs of the society. They then become structures that support and sustain each other. There then seems to be no exit from this vicious cycle that is created by both parties. The effect of the society in the creation of subgenres in literature is thus evident. The society that communities are a part of and help constitute themselves is a reflection of the literature that the society produces. Apart from this, like the earlier mentioned cycle, society and literature too, form a cycle whereby the two mirror each other and help in the modification of each other. From the above discussion, one can also understand the historical aspect of the problem that is in front of us. Communities produce subgenres that reflect their triumphs and defeats that have become a part of their culture. Thus literature becomes a means and a platform for these cultures that have been shaped by historical forces to manifest themselves. The historical aspect thus, is as important as any other aspect of this discussion. It is the historical forces that combine to create cultures that are distinct from each other. This has led to the separation of communities from each other through histories that have been filled with oppression and suffering. Thus, in a work like The Moths by Helena Maria Viramontes, the protagonist and the other characters talk about the sufferings that they have to face as a result of the fact that they belong to a community that has been historically oppressed and marginalized by what one may call the mainstream society, if there be one. In a story like the one by Viramontes, one sees the urge to make known to the world the oppression that certain communities have been subjected to subjugation and displacement from their homelands (Viramontes, 27). Culture is formed of such historical factors and contributes to the creation of subgenres that talk of the events and periods in history that the mainstream society has always tried to suppress and erase since they show the mainstream communities in a bad light. These cultures denote the subgenres that have just been referred to. These subgenres are by definition not the entire thing but a part of a greater body of literature that has other subgenre. There are dominant cultures within society that may have subgenres that represent their ways of thinking and their ideologies. The subgenres are thus, not necessarily the refuge of the subaltern communities like the one that Viramontes represents in her stories but can also be used by the mainstream communities to consolidate their positions of power. The political aspect of the subgenre is so significant that it may be obvious even to the layman who does not understand much about the politics of literature. This may also be because of the fact that much of the political propaganda that subgenres denoted by dominant cultures in a certain society indulges in, happens through popular fiction as opposed to literature that is a part of the contemporary canon. The communities that seek to make their culture appear superior through such propaganda and thus acquire a superior position for the subcultures in literature that they represent need not necessarily be a community that comes together on the basis of ethnicity or race. This community can be one that comes together for explicitly political processes like an election. Such a community may just be a political party that has members who have formed alliances for the purpose of achieving victory in an election, democratic or otherwise, despite being from different backgrounds as far as their racial and ethnic origins are concerned. The economic implications of culture denoting subgenres in literature and the presence of subcultures in literature are evident. A community that has a certain amount of hegemony in a certain society shall always try its best to maintain its supremacy over other communities that are a part of that society, even though they exist at the periphery, as Antonio Gramsci argues (Gramsci 57). These communities that exist at the periphery, likewise, shall always attempt to usurp the position of the dominant sections of the society. Dominance in a society largely proceeds from the economic dominance that a community possesses. As discussed earlier, this community might refer to a political party or a group of businessmen who may then create subgenres that are denoted by the cultures that their communities represent. Over a period of time, then, subcultures are created in literatures that seek to create and modify existing notions according to the power struggles between the oppressed communities and the oppressors. The interpretations that are given to these works arise partially out of a desire to dominate, economically, and a desire to do so through the subgenres that are denoted by the dominant or the marginalized cultures. Subgenres in literature and the subcultures that they give rise to are thus methods of maintaining and also challenging the status quo of hierarchies that exist in the society. They are the sites of resistance that are available to subaltern cultures and also means of oppression for the dominant culture. The main idea that propelled the humanistic movement of the Renaissance was that of a man’s ability to shape his own destiny. In later ages as well, a man or a woman with a humanistic bent of mind would believe in their ability to create a future for themselves that would depend on their talents and interests. The creation of subcultures in literature probably arises out of an urge to do this. A desire to mould one’s destiny is reflected in the desire to represent one’s community and the future and the way in which one envisions oneself. An appraisal of one’s culture through the subgenre that it denotes is usually for the purpose of bringing about change. This arises out of a humanistic impulse that is reflected also in the urge to create spaces in subcultures for one’s community and its culture. Culture thus, as is evident from the above arguments, denotes subgenres. This phenomenon arises out of multiple reasons and it may be used for various purposes. It is up to a writer and the society to use them for the betterment of the society. Works Cited Viramontes, Helena Maria. “The Moths”. The Moths and other stories. Texas: Arte Publico Press, 1992. Print. P 27 Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Harare: Heinemann, 1999. Print. Gramsci, Antonio. “The Formation of the Intellectuals”. Marxism. Ed. Anand Prakash. New Delhi: Worldview, 2006. Print. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Culture and Sub-Genres in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words”, n.d.)
Culture and Sub-Genres in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1434975-culture-and-sub-genres
(Culture and Sub-Genres in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words)
Culture and Sub-Genres in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words. https://studentshare.org/english/1434975-culture-and-sub-genres.
“Culture and Sub-Genres in Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1434975-culture-and-sub-genres.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Subcultures and Subgenres in Literature

Racist Skinhead Subculture

literature review Historical perspective of the racial Skinhead The start of the skinhead head movement can be traced in the UK back in the 1950s and the 1960s.... Within America, the rise of the skinhead subculture in the late eighties has majorly been racial from the very start....
16 Pages (4000 words) Essay

Subcultural Media Practices: Punk Culture

Topic: Subcultural Media Practices: Punk Culture Dick Hebdige wrote one of the first and most influential studies into the nature of identity and communication in punk culture with the publication of “Sub-Culture: The Meaning of Style” in 1978 during the time when the first punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Ramones, and others were forming in urban centers in the UK and America....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Live Electronic Music An analysis and documentry of the last century

This essay question explores the development of Electronic Music over the past many decades and how the post modern era has moulded it to its styles and tastes based upon aesthetic and political motivation, as well as focus upon particular composers.... ... ... ... The paper has addressed the new technologies and music and how the use of new instruments, such as new varieties of electric guitars and violas; new means of manipulating and controlling sound through microphones, reverberation units, mixing consoles etc....
19 Pages (4750 words) Essay

The Art in Freerunning and Parkour

From the paper "The Art in Freerunning and Parkour" it is clear that Madonna's dancers cannot have performed the art exactly as created by David Belle because in the context of a music concert one cannot work outside the set boundaries of the stage area.... ... ... ... Sebastien Foucan, credited as Parkour's co-creator, has been heard to defend the sport from critics who believe it is too dangerous and costly to human life....
16 Pages (4000 words) Coursework

Formation of Youth Subcultures

Many scholars consider music as a major contributor in developing and creating youth subcultures.... The theorising about subcultures itself has a habit of strongly anchoring itself in music and youth.... Resistance against the dominant culture, resistance against parental dominance, resistance against hegemony, wish for homology, and wish to win back the community which was dislocated by urbanisation are cited as the reasons, to name a few, behind formation of youth subcultures. ...
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Development of Electronic Music in the age of Post Modernism

This essay question explores the development of Electronic Music over the past many decades and how the post modern era has moulded it to its styles and tastes based upon aesthetic and political motivation, as well as focus upon particular composers.... ... ... ... However the focus will inevitably be upon how the past two decades have changed the face of music and this will entail a discussion how the younger crowd of musicians is bringing innovative styles....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Music Culture and Marketing Principles

The aim of this paper 'Music Culture and Marketing Principles' is to analyze the influence of mass media on the development of modern music.... Music is public art, designed for a wide audience and using marketing and PR techniques to promote celebrities through the media.... .... ... ... Different kinds of art - painting, dance, music - are reflections of life, using an arsenal of graphics means....
18 Pages (4500 words) Essay

Religious Subcultures: Christian and Non-Christian

This research paper "Religious subcultures: Christian and Non-Christian" discusses the Religious Subcultural characteristic based on a comparison between the American resident Christian and Non-Christian subcultures based on Lifestyle, Values, and Morals.... The discussion will be structured in three subsections such as discussing two similarities noted in the subcultures.... n religious subcultures, religion is a key tool in determining the behavioral activities with respect to moral acts and values amongst American....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us