177 people
’s political-economic schemata, and their divergence from, and congruence with, neoliberal discourses.
6.1 Leisure Time, Cultural Preferences, and Affective Dispositions:
From writing novels, to dancing, to playing in music bands and working on independent films, the
ArtsyIndie
young people can be primarily differentiated from my other two classifications of young people by their proactive engagement
with some form of creative cultural production. This artistic preoccupation, differs from the one expressed by the
CriticalPolitical
young people described in the previous chapter who in addition to artistic endeavours, spent a significant amount
of their leisure time engaged in activist and community oriented activities and informing themselves about political issues. The
ArtsyIndie
group of young people, however, was noticeably more prone to engage, or be mostly interested, in
non-political artistic activities. Rudy:
What do you do on your free time? Jose:
Well that depends, on my free time, either filming, I’m in a couple of music projects so I’m in that, and I also like to write and spend time
with my friends. And well I do consider myself an artist, and as an artist we have to punish ourselves for trying to imitate god by
smoking and drinking. Bresee participant
Rudy: Tell me a little something about yourself and some of the things that
you like to do? Gloria:
I’m Gloria Avila. I’m 18. I went to Santee high school. I like music, reading, I’m attending film school. I like cats a lot. I read a lot, write a
lot. I’m interested in doing something in the fine arts. I also paint and draw. South-Central LA participant
Rudy: Tell me a little about yourself, starting with your name, age, and some
of the things that you like to do. Jesse:
My name is Jesse. I’m 17 years old. I like playing music. I like to learn all sorts of instruments. I’m really interested in guitar and any
kind of related instruments. I’m also interested in animal sciences and
I hope to look into a career with that. Zoo participant Rudy:
Alright, so first questions I’m just going to ask you to tell me a little something about yourself, starting with your age, and some of the
things you like to do in general.
Jocelyn: My name is Jocelyn
, I’m 18, and usually I like to dance [ballet], or read, or watch television maybe.
178 Evyn:
My name is Evyn, I like to draw, I read, I also watch television and play video games. Zoo participants
Rudy: So w
e’ll start. Tell me a little something about yourself, starting with your name, age, and some of the things you like to do.
Diana: My name is Diana.
I’m 16. I like to write short stories. Zoo participant.
Rudy: Tell me a little bit about yourself, so what are some of things that you
like to do. Veronica: I like to run, I run the marathon. This is going to be my third year
running it. I like photography and filming, and I like working with little kids.
56
Bresee participant Additionally, this central preoccupation with artistic pursuits seemed to be
accompanied by a pronounced aesthetic rationale for their preferred media texts, and with their tentative rejection of mainstream media culture. On the first point,
the following extracts highlight how when asked about their favourite types of music, these young people tended to give an immediate response that elaborated
on the affective and subjective responses that music conjures up in them.
Rudy: What types of messages do you get from some of your favourite
songs? Think of one and tell me how you interpret it. Zack:
Ok, like I said Damien Rice [Irish acoustic guitaristssinger]. And there’s a song called
Delicate
. And my friend Austin here in this school, she showed it to me [..]And she gave me her iPod and said,
“here I think you’ll like this song.” After listening to it for the first time, I really liked the music and the melody. I thought it all worked
really well. That’s what first got me to it, but the more and more you listen to something, the more and more you think about it I guess.
Like that song for me, it means more like the beginning of the song
says, “we might kiss when we’re alone’. And the whole song means to me like, things that mean a lot to you are [things you
shouldn’t take lightly]. Zoo participant
Rudy: Name one particular song that you really like?
Gloria: Ocean Breeds Salty by Modest Mouse. I like mellow
music and it’s really mellow the lyrics are put well together.
Rudy: What about the lyrics do you like?
Gloria: I don’t know, it’s nice… I don’t really read a lot into music for some
56
The interview with Veronica started with a short discussion on her choice of high school in which she told me that she decided to transfer to a different school because of its filming and
photography programs.
179 reason, a lot of people get the whole be your own person and do
whatever you want, but I think I mostly listen to it for the sound aspect of it. South-Central LA participant
Rudy: What are some of your favourite types of music?
Tiff: With music, right now I’m really into EDM [electronic dance music].
One of my favourite artists is a house DJ. I got into it like two years ago when I went to my first music event. I don’t know, I feel like it’s
pretty calming music. Rudy:
House music is calming? [laughs]….. Tiff:
I guess because I like to dance. South-Central LA participant
Rudy: Do you have a favourite song?
Diana: I don’t really have a favourite song. I like a lot of songs. For me
music depends on my mood, whether I’m happy or sad or working, or working on writing anything like that. […] I kind of use music to
inspire me. Zoo participant
These extracts also demonstrate the importance to these young people of the aesthetic and affective dimensions of their social worlds. They are automatically
inclined to be attracted to media-cultural texts primarily for their aesthetic andor sound dynamics, and for the emotions
that they stir. For example, Zack’s initial liking of the song
Delicate
was due to its melody, which, after more reflective consideration, led him to a more interpersonal and evaluative interpretation and
liking of the song; while Gloria, Tiff, and Diana forego more interpersonal interpretations of their favourite types of music, in favour of their mood inducing
properties, with Diana adding that listening to music helps her with her creative writing.
On the second point,
ArtsyIndie
young people tended to share a tentative rejection of mainstream media culture as evident from their indifference to brand
clothing and the emphasis they place on a use-value rationale for their consumption preferences. Note for example, Gloria’s rationale for buying Vans
[brand] shoes, Veronica’s opinions on brand tags, and Zack’s thought processes
when buying clothing:
180 Rudy: Do you pursue brand name clothing?
Gloria: Well, I’ll go to the mall if I need something or just to spend time there.
The only brand name thing I’m guilty of buying a lot would be Vans
shoes, cause they’re comfortable. Rudy:
Is it just because they’re comfortable? It has nothing to do with the commercial appeal to it?
Gloria: Not really. They’re just kind of simple and comfortable and that’s
what I like about them. South-Central LA participant Rudy:
Do you ever go the mall or shopping centres? Veronica: Sometimes.
Rudy: How many times do you go?
Veronica: I hardly go. I don’t really like going. I don’t think I’m the type of
person that likes to go the malls and stuff. Rudy:
Why not? Veronica:
First of all, because I’m from a low-income family, and if I like something I can’t afford it, so it’s like, I rather not go. If I do, it’s
partly on Black Friday [the US equivalent of Boxing Day] or back to school.
Rudy: What do you think about brand clothing?
Veronica: I don’t believe in that, I think the only thing that changes are the little
ticket thingy [labels]. I could wear any type of clothes. My uncle works, he makes the cloths, not really makes, he puts the buttons and
stuff, […] and he gives me clothes. […] But I could wear any type of clothes, I don’t really care if it’s a cool brand or not, it doesn’t really
matter. Bresse participant Rudy:
Do you ever go to the mall or shopping centres? Zack
Yeah. Rudy:
How often? Zack:
Maybe like once a month, if I’m hanging out with friends I guess, not too often.
[…] Rudy:
What about brand clothing, does that mean anything to you? Zack:
No I don’t really care for specific brands or anything. [....]
Rudy: What’s going on when you do purchase these items, what do you
think about? Zack:
I just think if I’ll, right before I purchase, I think it’s something I can use often so it’s more worth the money.
57
Zoo participant Congruently, their indifference towards mainstream fashion was also
accompanied by a tentative rejection of mainstream media-culture in favour of an active engagement with alternative media-culture.
57
From my preliminary observations, the young people in this group wore relatively simple and non-flashy clothing, in accordance with their accounts.
181 Rudy:
What are some of your favourite songs, like what’s on your iPod?
Evyn: My iPod
is connected to me, it’s on me right now. But I listen to anything but country and rap.
58
Rudy: Why not rap?
Evyn It’s not singing, it’s people talking, plus the subject matter. People
shooting each other and going to clubs. But I do like techno music. I’m a big techno fan. My favourite band is Owl City [a US
Electronica band]. My favourite songs are Japanese, cause I’m a huge Anime fan.
Rudy: What type of TV shows do you like?
Jocelyn: I like superheroes. I’ve always liked cartoons and I don’t think I’m
ever going to stop. I like them better than regular shows, like I would never watch
Jersey Shore
[An MTV reality TV show featuring a group of Italian-American young people living together in a beach
house New Jersey, also the US equivalent of the UK show the
Geordie Shore
]. Evyn:
Me neither. Jocelyn:
I don’t understand the appeal to that. Evyn:
I don’t understand why people like MTV. Zoo participants
Rudy: What kind of music do you listen to?
Jesse: Mostly rock. I won’t listen to any Disney thing. It’s crap. Zoo
participant Rudy:
What kind of music do you listen to? Jose:
[…] Some people like it because it is mainstream music. I don’t know if I could relate to it like in a whole sentiment the way that other
people can relate to it, but I can relate to it as in it kind of how it makes me feel, it keeps me normal, it keeps me open minded. If you
can’t really be open minded about music than what can you be open minded about?
[…] So you know you hear some Taylor Swift
You Belong With Me
or Mylie Cyrus
The Climb
[US pop singers], and I was listening to those songs, and thinking, these are some nice songs.
[….] But the thing I also hate about mainstream music is that it’s also one of those things that are really fake. You know there’s a level to it
where music producers and music labels want to hear a certain thing, and they control it. That’s why you have seven happy songs about
partying, being happy, and just living life, and then you have two depressing songs, and two kind of political songs, and then back to
happy. You try to show everyone everything, but then you gotta keep
it at a level. [….] Like in radio you never really hear thrash [a subgenre of metal], [….] and you never really listen to the other
options that are out there, and that kind of sucks. Bresse participant
58
Evyn and the other young people who mentioned country are referring to contemporary country Western music from the southern states of the US. It is well known that the overwhelming majority
of urban US young people do not like country music, as it is viewed as music white people from the South listen to.
182 It is tempting to read Evyn and Jocelyn’s emphatic disliking of MTV, and Jesse’s
automatic mentioning of, and strongly dismissive attitude towards Disney music, and argue that what is demonstrated in the above extracts is a form of cultural
resistance to the mainstream. However, as I argued in Chapter 3, the term resistance has a political connotation, and thus I argue that, if not for any other
reason, it should be used appropriately for the sake of conceptual accuracy. Hence, the
ArtsyIndie
young people do not like most mainstream media culture because it clashes with their aesthetic preferences. This is not the same as having a political
and ethical objection to it as expressed by some of the
CriticalPolitical
young people. To put it simply, the
CriticalPolitical
young people tend to resist mainstream media-culture, the
ArtsyIndie
young people tentatively reject it.
Jose’s response is especially exemplary of this more tentative rejection, where he expresses an informed and sophisticated structural understanding of why
mainstream music and radio are so bland and formulaic, but at the same time admitting, and rather surprisingly given his obvious Heavy-Metal look and
identity, that he listens to some very mainstream pop songs, again noting their positive affective properties as his rationale for doing so.
6.2 Apolitical Dispositions
