Persepolis and the Subterranean World of Play



All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. But why work so much? For cash? Why do we need more cash all of the time? To buy the things we want to make us happy. The worlds of work and leisure have tightly entwined themselves to be the functioning purpose of society and the duty of the individual in order to set long term goals and give us reasons to want to work. Jock Young explains in his article, "The Subterranean World of Play" that every society has a series of subterranean values that involve the search for new fun and excitement all of the time no matter when or where. Subterranean values hold a strong place in society where specific cultural values are celebrated in the form of holidays, carnivals, and festivals in which these values are expressed and prioritized over the normal work day. When no fun or excitement is prevalent in a strict society,

"The juvenile delinquent then, is seen as not an alien in the body of society but representing instead a disturbing reflection or caricature. He takes up the subterranean values of society: hedonism (play being the only intrinsic good), disdain for work, aggressive and violent notions of masculinity, and accentuates them to the exclusion of the formal or official values. Moreover, he is encouraged in this process by the fictional portrayals of mass media of heroes who epitomize these values." (Young, 149)

Young's theory of the need to fulfill the subterranean values in any society are especially predominant in Vincent Paronnaud's 2007 film "Persepolis" which focuses on the upbringing of a young Iranian girl during the Islamic Revolution. In the film, the main character Marjane tells of her rebellious life growing up and buying smuggled Western music which was highly illegal for fear of spreading Western influence and culture. Yet, Marjane told of her parents deviating away from the social norm in order to celebrate the subterranean values and holding parties that often required breaking the law to have fun.

Young suggests that the subterranean values of leisure are reinforced through Westernized media, which in turn fuels the drive for more of a need for free time and procrastinating on work which in turn provides a negative look at people who spend large amount of time having fun. At the same time, Young also suggests that the true man find his identity through play and leisure, where a utopia of his own imagination is created free of mental anguish or conflict.

If we were to look back at Cohen's original theory of the development of one's character through past experiences which create their identity and where they fit in, does this also mean that mainstream media plays a major role in the influences and ideologies put in place from such a young age. Everything that people subconsciously worry about in a social setting is often due to the fact that mainstream media has put in place a set line of rules and codes of conduct that effect how people act in public settings. This can be from anything we wear, talk about, listen to, do, or don't do. Without a media based generalization of things we little about, society would not have much to run on but the basic values and morals developed within their own home or community with individuals like themselves. Like Marjane in Persepolis, Marjane looks to deviant means of absorbing Westernized media because she feels that the media in her time and place is inadequate, wrong, or shows general disinterest. When leisure and fun are hard to come by, it can be expected that devious ways of celebrating subterranean values will emerge out of a reflection of an oppressive society.

England '83

When is something officially classified as a subculture? What really defines the difference between a culture and a subculture and how does one know where to draw the line? Since there is a substantial difference between cultures and subcultures there also remains particular ties to the "parenting" culture that take form of certain activities, values, and uses for certain material objects that may be used differently or changed in such a way to make them distinctive and either loosely or tightly bound with the parenting culture. (Clarke at al. 94)

Skinhead England, as portrayed in "This Is England" by Shane Meadows takes a dramatic look at Skinhead culture in the early 1980's England. The film follows the life of Shaun, a 12 year old school boy who is picked on at school and growing up in a single parent household without any real role-models or money. Shaun is quickly accepted into the Skinhead world upon his encounter with Woody and his small gang of friends where he finds acceptance, fun, and a mentor whom he'd been missing his whole life since his father's death at war. It is learned in the movie that original skinhead culture had emerged out of the reggae music scene in the early 1970's and quickly accustomed itself to many rag-tag groups of displaced and misguided youth.

Some groups had taken to the extremes by adopting the skinhead image to be used in a more racist connotation with a darker intention. The more notorious nationalist skinheads were a subculture of the skinhead culture which was the subculture of hegemonic urban English culture of the 1980's. Hall's findings in the fact that subcultures co-exist and exist within the dominating culture they originated from can be applied to Meadow's film by taking a look at the rough separation of the group when the introduction of Combo arrives. Since Combo had shared a more nationalistic demeanour, Woody, a more warm-hearted and level-headed character of the same subculture of skinheads, decided to leave with half of the group who decided that they did not agree with the nationalist agenda, while young Shaun chose to stay behind.

 This is a perfect example of the established differences between the subcultures of skinheads. It is most likely that from a hegemonic perspective the skin heads are viewed as racists because of the many stereotypical views against them. Hall and company suggests that the values supported by a subculture have the potential to be rejected or frowned upon by the dominating culture, leading to a struggle of "repertoire and responses - ways of coping as well as resisting." (Clarke et al. 96) This view is portrayed in the film as the nationalists waged their "war" on the immigrants of England which consisted of minor illicit activity counter productive to their actual goal of being achieved.

Hall, Clark, and company also argued that subculture did not only involve a mentality and a way of living, but also physically "earned" or "won" social spaces through means of being part of a sub cultural construct. For example, in This Is England we found that Shaun, after joining the group of skinheads found himself socializing with individuals of his sub cultural group under the bridge, in the restaurant, Combo's apartment, the abandoned houses, etc. All of these spaces represent the physical space won over by Shaun as a result of joining the skinheads.

As we can see, the Hall's shared theory is can be seen prevalent in many subcultures from then and now. It can be applied to any basis of conflict within groups sharing the same broad identity and it is what is exploited as the strongest value is fought to be heard and submitted to. This Is England tells the sad story of a young boy caught up in a game he didn't belong to. It takes an in-depth look at the skinhead subculture and viewed it's two opposing sides and elaborates on the social, political, and influential effects of sub-groups within subculture. Based on what is evident here and in everyday life, we can generate a better understanding at sub cultural groups and make distinctions between them.

Kids: A Concept of Subculture and its Application

The 1995 film "Kids" by Larry Clark poses itself as a drama in which an in-depth look into the urban life of street youth is taken to the extremes as substance abuse, physical violence, and sex creep their way into the lives of a group of adolescent teenagers. Is this image of really all these kids are up to these days or are we just exaggerating? Youth cultures of the 1990's are not so different than the youth cultures of today. The awkward stages of growing up, rough childhoods, outcasted, and disposed of all count a factors toward youth taking to the streets where they find themselves together, where they form a unique bond functioning something like a family that accepts them and looks after them.

Milton Gordon's article: "The Concept of the Subculture and its Application," takes a look at the factors within the subculture that effect different individuals within the same grouping. Gordon's theory on sub-culture and its application suggests that individuals that are part of a culture can be studied more accurately by categorizing "small units of subject matter" that are attributed to the way a person acts and thinks. These units can be factorized by variables such as ethnic background, religion, social class, economic status, and region. These individuals then bend the way they act and think based on a combination of these external factors before presenting themselves to a subculture with a set way of living and behaving. These are what Gordon calls a "unit" which generates a distinction between separate subcultures and separate units in the same subculture.

Maybe, with the help of Gordon's theory, I can try to understand the reason behind what gave these kids the idea that they're invincible and that anything they do won't have negative effects at some point in the future. Well, like Telly said in the end, there isn't much to live for and when you're a kid, nothing else really matters. I'd like to ask why this is so. Is growing up as a middle class white kid in a small Canadian suburb not the same as growing up as a lower class black kid in New York City? I doubt it, but is that any reason for them to possibly enjoy the same activities, same values, and deal with similar problems? It is quite possible that the separate variables of region, social class, and ethnic background have interwoven to become something that is portrayed only through one's character. Whether this character emerges as being good or bad, moral or immoral, it all comes down to the small units of subject matter that depends on the environmental variables that surround an individual during their young life.

In a movie like Kids it is easy to suggest that the immoral standards and the everyday activity of sex and drug abuse among dozens of young children is due to the fact that none of these children has grown up with proper values put in place by positive family influence, role models, or some other form of positive reinforcement to make these kids feel like they don't want to do these sort of things at such a young age. At the same time, it is difficult to tell exactly how every character in the movie turned out the way they did. When you think of fifteen year old kids; dope fiend, sex addict, and date-rapist aren't the first things that come to mind. Times sure are changing.

An Introduction to Subcultures

Since there have been people, there have been cultures; within cultures there are subcultures. But what factors play a role in the creation of subculture? In 1955, a man by the name of Albert Cohen suggested that within these subcultures exists individuals who share common beliefs, judgements, and conflicts; that these individuals choose to cope with these problems with solutions derived from their moral standard (which varies heavily upon social upbringing). When external elements challenge individuals on a daily basis, they are often countered with a solution or an action in which differs than that of individuals located elsewhere; that elsewhere, different problems arise require different action, therefore shaping different individuals.

In Cohen's article, "A General Theory of Subcultures," Cohen explains that upon the assumption of this theory that the self interests and moral standings of another will distress and aggravate the solution/coping strategy/action used to deal with the situation in the first place. Thus the social implications of this nature, in an attempt to avoid this, generates a community of individuals sharing the same ideologies, conflicts, worries, and pleasures where one is not challenged by peers or challenged with a conflict alone. The need for affiliation and pressure toward conformity lead individuals to one another in a new age of digital and social media connection. Even still, within these communities remain individuals who may challenge the greater ordeals or matters in which the larger body of people find important or prioritize. The dissent within these groups often leads to the alienation of individuals which is the catalyst for deviating subcultures comprised of outcasted individuals who pride themselves on their identity different than the majority and practice routines outside the social norm.

Cohen's theory is backed up in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film "Breathless." Godard portrayed the story of a criminal deviant named Michel Poiccard, a cop killing car thief, attempting to convince an American woman to leave France with him to hide in Italy. These two outstanding individuals struggle to live in a normal society, where their hardships, aspirations, motivations, morals and standards differ greatly than that of the general public in the movie especially within the decade that it had been made in post-war Europe. The contrast of the film relative to Cohen's theory made only five years before the film, poses a strong truth. Bewteen the two characters, Michel's strong atrraction to Patricia seems to be loosely based around his facination with her foreign identity. Her strong sense of Western culture and his egotisical view of women in comparison had audiences a little surprises that Patricia had considered leaving with him, however this is not the point. Michel is coming from a social background life of a deviant criminal mind. He is met with daily challenges of a criminal in which he struggles to find solutions for throughout the movie. The everyday challenges of a criminal may not correlate with the daily challenges of a small boy picked on in school or a rich man who goes home to women and champagne. Michel's life is comprised of hiding, theft, and money laundering while at the same time trying to hold onto his sense of humanity through Patricia, an American journalist working abroad in France. Michel's need to have the woman he likes with him in Italy had ultimately costed him in life when Patrricia's moral concious, working on a different levels of morals similar to the population of the majority, had called the police to report him.

There is no arguing that had Patricia's moral upbringing as an independant young American woman had differed greatly from that of Michel's, a mind who's only morals are worrying about criminal intention and getting caught. Going back to Cohen's theory of social uprbringing from different experiences and values, these types of deviant individuals such a Michel emerge out of steps taken to try and solve a challenge or problem that they are encountered with, like Patricia when she was torn between leaving with Michel or reporting him to police. Ultimately, her desicion to have him arrested prevailed out of a moral implication prevailant in the dominant culture of the majority.