Punk subculture: introduction to an unusual movement. Subculture Punk, informal punk movement

Regardless of what views a person adheres to, he can in any case demonstrate this through his outfit. The choice today is so diverse that it allows everyone to have their say. But fashion does not stand still. What yesterday was perceived only as belonging to a certain group, today is style. An excellent example is the punk style. Not so long ago, back in the 70s of the last century, punks were a broad movement, a subculture formed in opposition to the popular hippies.

Who are they, punks?

The struggle for peace is, of course, a worthwhile cause, but somehow the youth quickly became bored with it. People wanted something more frank, provocative, something completely different.

It’s just that at some point it became clear that no matter how much you wanted to change something, there would be no result. The musicians of that time were the first to declare the hopelessness of life. They expressed their attitude to reality through obscene behavior on stage.

Style

Soon this obscenity moved from the stage into the real world and became something of a guide to action. On its basis, the punk lifestyle developed as a manifestation of a special subculture. Punks openly promoted sex and violence.

By the way, they don’t have to be in perfect condition. Torn and with arrows - what you need. T-shirts can easily be replaced with corsets that are more reminiscent of lingerie than an everyday item of clothing. If you have jeans, then definitely take them off, or even better, jeggings that show off all the curves of your figure.

The image of a punk man

For men, in this sense, everything is much more modest. Shapeless shirts, leather jackets, skinny jeans - that's all. True, any look can be saved by accessories, and in the case of style this applies even to guys, because it doesn’t sound glamorous at all.

On the contrary, additional details can be, in principle, anything: belts with spikes and massive metal buckles, wristbands and bracelets, chokers resembling collars. All this is certainly made of leather, decorated with skulls and rivets. The punk style also includes massive rings, chains, badges with obscene inscriptions, and even banal ones pinned in the right place.

Shoes

Shoes matter too. These can be regular sneakers, rough boots or shoes with an incredibly high platform. Girls, as a rule, choose boots, always with heels, or so-called striptease shoes.

Such models are equipped with an extremely high rise (20 cm or more). Often these shoes also have a huge platform, not so much for convenience, but to enhance the visual effect.

Punk haircut: what is it like?

Punk haircuts to match your clothes. These are partially or completely shaved heads, and it doesn’t matter at all how long the hair is. Although, of course, mostly punks wear short hair with a shaved temple part. As a rule, long hair remains only in the center of the head; it is convenient to form a mohawk from it. These are men's haircuts in punk style.

In addition to the mohawk, guys can have curly or simply elongated bangs on their heads, laid up. Options with volume in the back of the head are also possible.

There are no general recommendations for girls. The hair can be long, and then it will perfectly complement the overall sexuality of the image. Moreover, in this case, it is not at all necessary to shave the temple part; you can easily create an imitation by braiding several braids on the side. The hairstyle can be short, which will give the appearance even more daring.

In addition to haircuts, hair color is also important. It can be absolutely anything: bleached white, raven black, fiery red or completely unnatural. For example, red, green, blue, or purple.

Makeup

Girls usually complement their look with makeup. It must certainly be provocative and bright. There are no rules or boundaries here. Bright red, brick, dark brown, cherry, even black shades of lipsticks are not just acceptable, but required. The eyes should also stand out.

False eyelashes, plenty of mascara, eyeliner and dark shadows are perfect for these purposes. This is a darker version of the smokey eye technique, which can often be found, for example, on Two accents in makeup are quite acceptable, this is not at all taboo.

Conclusion

Multifaceted and complex. It is dominated by simple fabrics, dark colors, and metal accessories. But something else is much more important. Punks are not just this state and type of behavior.

Such people with all their appearance demonstrate an open conflict with existing orders, views and ideas. Therefore, only truly strong and liberated individuals can wear punk style clothes and feel comfortable doing it. However, for all its gloom, this style cannot be called overly aggressive. When combined correctly, this is a protest, but skillfully constructed, thought out to the smallest detail.

To understand who punks are, it is necessary to study this rather complex cultural phenomenon in all its aspects. First of all, this is a youth subculture, the characteristic feature of which is a pronounced protest against the dominant culture, a mass surrogate. What the concept originally meant, where and when it originated, what kind of life the representatives of this subculture lead - you can find out from the article.

Etymology of the concept

To understand who punks are, you need to understand the meaning of the word “punk”. In dictionaries it has different translations and meanings:

translated in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary as "street wench";
in the old American - “rotten wood”, “rotten wood”;
in modern American - “scum”, “inexperienced youth”, “punk”;
in the modern English-Russian dictionary the word has several meanings (“worthless person”, “nonsense”, “something unnecessary”).

In the middle of the last century, the word “punk” in America was used to describe youth groups that were on the social bottom. For example, tramps and homosexual prisoners.

History of the subculture

The history of the punk subculture began in the 60-70s of the last century. Thus, in Great Britain, the emergence of such a counterculture is associated with massive unemployment among young people. The atmosphere of negativity and hopelessness was complemented by the global energy crisis. All this led to the spread of a state of despair and doom among young people. At the same time, people did not see a way out in the pacifist hippie subculture that existed at that time. They sought to provoke a protest throughout society and politics.

The first wave of development was 1976-1978. Despite popular belief, punks were not just slum dwellers and working class people. Among them were many people from the middle class, as well as teenagers from wealthy families. They were all against society and hippies. The latter were hated by punks for their lethargy, laziness and boredom.

The second wave is considered to be the turn of the 1970-1980s. At this time, the subculture is politicized. Many punk bands perform concerts in defense of animals, as well as against fascism. At this time, the “hardcore” movement emerged from the subculture. The music of such groups is mostly politicized. The punk movement moved from complete nihilism to positivism.

History of subculture in Russia

Unlike the English movement, which arose as a result of the socio-economic crisis, “punk” spread in the USSR as a protest against totalitarian thinking. This happened in the 80s of the last century.

In many cities, young people purchased music recordings of famous Western punk bands from black marketeers. There was information about the Western subculture in Soviet magazines, which presented it as an example of the decay of bourgeois culture. The movement was considered an underground underground due to its prohibition and opposition to the accepted system. The “punk” subculture in the USSR introduced new values into the minds of young people: it was not a manifestation of simple rebellion and protest, as in England.

Leaders of the subculture

There were no clearly defined leaders in the subculture. Mostly hard rock bands were popular. The most famous of them were the Sex Pistols, Klesh, Damned and others.

The name of the American artist and producer of the Velvet Underground group Andy Warhol is associated with the development of punk rock. The lead singer of this group, Lou Reed, is considered one of the founding fathers of alternative rock, which is associated with “punk.”

Life of representatives of the subculture

To understand who punks are, you need to learn more about their way of life. Most of the time it consists of communicating with like-minded people. At the same time, it doesn’t matter to them what they talk about - the main thing is that everyone understands each other. They all feel free, both in words and in actions.

The life of a punk is not complete without large youth gatherings, which are called “sessions” in their vocabulary. On them they listen to music, communicate, live in their own separate world, which from the outside resembles a madhouse. The young people themselves find new acquaintances at such sessions and have fun.

There are also girls in the groups. As a rule, they are perceived as sisters or girlfriends of warriors. Girls also want to show off their ability to ride a motorcycle or their ability to spit the furthest. And due to the fact that the topic of sex in groups is quite discussed and absolutely free, there are practically no cases of rape among the participants.

How to get into the counterculture

First, you need to find out what groups there are in your region of residence and communicate with them at a session. Further, everything will depend on the desire to join one of the groups. In order to be accepted into the ranks of the group, it is usually necessary to pass some kind of test. Its character depends on its representatives. It can be anything that proves that a person is able to step beyond generally accepted norms. “Punk” as a subculture protests against stereotypes, so a newcomer should not experience feelings of disgust and shame.

Examples of tests for the rite of passage:

eat from a garbage dump for a week;
sit in a garbage container for several days, saying “Good morning” to passersby.

Brutal or religious-romantic methods are not used for the initiation rite.

If a punk wants to leave his group, all he needs to do after his phrase is say something smart, for example, “Thus spoke Zarathustra.” The person will make it clear to everyone that he is no longer a punk, since a protester against generally accepted norms should not develop, he should live for his own pleasure.

Appearance

Who punks are is clearly shown by their clothing style and attributes. They are quite aggressive and defiant:

the hair is often dyed a bright color, combed straight up and fixed with hairspray or other similar means;
the most recognizable feature is the mohawk hairstyle, which spread in the 80s;
Grinders, sneakers, and any heavy boots with metal toes are welcome as footwear;
the presence of exotic weapons is the embodiment of a certain idea;
popular clothing is jeans, which have a torn and frayed look;
the biker jacket went into “punk” from rock and roll;
Collars, leather bracelets with spikes, and wristbands are popular among the paraphernalia.

In clothing, the so-called “dead style” is predominant. That is, there are elements or images of skulls and bones.

British designer Vivienne Westwood made a great contribution to the style of the punk subculture. She made their merchandise fashionable for the mass consumer. The style of a true punk is difficult to classify as fashion, since the clothes are deliberately chosen without taste. For example, jeans are specially soaked in bleach to create rust stains on them, and dress pants are tucked into heavy boots.

The informal punk movement, with its style, wants, first of all, to stand out from society and show it its protest.

Youth subcultures

Punks are divided into many subgroups that differ in their clothing style, behavior, and musical preferences.

Varieties of punk subcultures:

"anarcho" - originated in England in the 70-80s of the last century;
“Celtic” - originated in Ireland in the 70s, revealed the spiritual and social issues of the working class;
“crust” - appeared in the late 80s - early 90s, spread the ideas of anarchism;
“Gothic rock” arose in the late 70s, embodying the ideas of nihilism, apathy, and alienation;
“folk” - appeared at the same time and reflected all sorts of themes, including left-wing political views;
“glam” - arose in the early 70s in the northeastern United States, was associated with the ideas of aestheticism, dandyism, narcissism;
“garage” - originated in the late 80s in Detroit, and by the early 90s appeared in Japan;
“hardcore” - still exists today, distinguished by various themes, including political, social and anti-war;
"horror" - associated with the 70s in New Jersey and horror films, as well as science fiction;
"surf" - appeared in California in the 80s, associated with ideas of the environment and the ocean.

There are a dozen more youth subcultures that are associated with the concept of “punk”. What unites them is their protest against the surrounding society and their love for freedom from stereotypes.

You can’t argue that most people imagine punks in torn jeans, T-shirts and hoodies, with unwashed hair, as well as with images of unknown bands on their clothes, wearing sneakers, high boots and always hung with metal, and, moreover, constantly drunk. But we will allow ourselves to highlight several types of punks:

"Glamorous Punk" They, in turn, are also divided into two groups. The first are those who are actually glamorous (kind, clean, don’t smoke, don’t drink, sleek), the second are those who put on a mohawk and wear punk clothes only for concerts, various gatherings, etc., but in life they wear ordinary things. with beads, baubles, etc.

A "regular punk" is one who wears traditional punk clothes, but acts like a normal, everyday person who considers himself a true punk. Some of them even try to understand something about punk.

A “low-down punk” is an unwashed, vomited, smoke-stained, pierced, drunk, narrow-minded and aggressive person who does not set moral principles and beliefs for himself. Often these are hooligans, always stoned, scary, indecent and stupid homeless people, alcoholics, drug addicts and so on. It is precisely these punks that scare small children, and the mention of them makes grandmothers feel feverish.

“Shitpunk” are completely stupid creatures who don’t understand anything about punk, but are fixated on one group and consider themselves cool punks. Their punk is exactly as their imagination created it. The main signs of shitpunks: nationalism, racism, sexism, indifference, classism, ageism and more.

“Rocker” are people who play punk rock, are nothing special, and at the same time do not look exactly like punks, and often do not even understand what real punk is.

“Free punk” (or real) - always understands the ideology, philosophy and worldview of punk, always wears and does what he likes. He never sets himself the limitations that have developed stereotypes. They live freely and do not limit the freedom of others.

Various areas of youth subcultures began to actively attract the attention of the public - the older generation, politicians, psychologists - in the second half of the twentieth century. Punks have become precisely the culture that has clearly defined its individuality, declaring its “otherness” to the world. But how antisocial is this culture really? It was with this question that we began to study the punk movement in the modern world.

The modern idea of punks is so distorted that it is almost impossible to find a person in today’s Russia who clearly understands what a real punk movement is. This is precisely what determines the relevance of this study.

Punk - this is what women of easy virtue used to be called in street slang. In this meaning, the word is found in W. Shakespeare’s play “Measure for Measure.” In America, at the beginning of the 20th century, he was already classified as a prisoner - the “six”. Later, the word entered the mainstream lexicon and today is used to mean “dirt,” “rot,” or “garbage.”

In the mid-1970s. In Great Britain, during a time of severe unemployment and apathy, a vibrant youth culture suddenly appears, called “punk” by journalists, which means “rotten.” Most researchers saw in it a new youth subculture, like mods or rockers, differing only in defining its social base.

Punk was originally a counterculture that later evolved into a counterculture movement. The main differences between counterculture and youth subculture are the predominance of political forms of confrontation over symbolic ones and the denial of dominant values instead of belonging to a class or tradition.

But first of all, punk is music, loud, heavy and very fast, the main task of which was to make people see the protest, think about life, about the future. Punk rock of the 60s is commonly called "garage rock". Where did such a strange name come from? Everything can be explained very simply: amateur groups rehearsed mainly in garages - they simply had nowhere else to go. “Garage” punks sang for their own pleasure, did not make mercantile plans and were known only among their relatives, friends and neighbors. Their creative searches responded to the requests not of a mass audience, but of a local audience (school, college, district).

The torch lit by the “garage workers” was picked up in 1973-1974 by well-educated young people from New York. They gather in the evenings in expensive clubs. The idols of this youth are new groups: “Talking Heads”, “New York Dolls”, “Ramones”, who now seem to be the first punk musicians of the second, real wave of punk rock. The first real punk band is considered to be the New York Ramones.

At first, the activities of American punks did not go beyond the boundaries of club parties. They remained within the bounds of decency, practicing mainly in music and avant-garde literature - symbolism, futurism. In general, as the American media put it, “the intelligentsia is having fun, it’s okay.” That's what everyone thought until the punk rock storm struck the UK in 1976. The British exactly copied the Americans - and stunned respectable England. What happened in the USA not very noticeably, raised a storm overseas, it was called “Sex Pistols”.

At first, frightened authorities declared the punks hooligans. But when hundreds of thousands are hooligans, it is called differently - a riot. Moreover, this rebellion arose from the transformed conflict of “fathers and sons.”

Old dreams collapsed - no one believed in new ones. The time has come for despair, complete rejection of the world around us and nihilism. With an abundance of material wealth, neither society nor the youth in conflict with it had sufficiently strong moral qualities to use them for the benefit of themselves and all of humanity. This also gave rise to the punk riot. At the beginning of 1976, it seemed to respectable British people that British youth had gone crazy. The streets were filled with crowds of disgusting-looking teenagers.

Punk style paraphernalia became fashionable and was produced on an assembly line. The processing of public opinion has gone in the direction that, they say, there is nothing good in any system until it is opposed by an anti-system. This threat is simply necessary to prove the viability of the system itself and its correct path of development. Punk is such an anti-system. And if the system was bad, punk would sweep it away. Since he failed, it means the system is excellent.

The first punk bands (such as the Sex Pistols, Clash, Jam, etc.) expressed anarchy, apocalypticism, denial for the sake of denial, shockingness, and dissatisfaction with everything in their songs and behavior. Most of these groups self-destructed rather quickly, avoiding the fate of the 1960s counterculture and not becoming part of the system. Punk's success in show business (as part of popular culture) was "successfully" defeated.

But punk “did not die”; the so-called second, politicized, wave of European punk appeared (1980-1984), represented by the groups “Crass”, “Conflict”, “Discharge” in the UK, “BGK” in Holland, etc. For a quarter of a century existence, punk managed to form an entire system in opposition to show business. He contrasted small independent labels with multinational music companies, fanzines made by Xerox using cheap recycled paper and soy inks with expensive glossy magazines, distribution systems that spread punk music and punk ideas by mail or directly at concerts or festivals. – shopping in expensive supermarkets, etc.

On the other hand, punks managed to create an alternative socio-cultural and partly economic space, in which the main values are not money and competition, but friendship and cooperation.

Today it is customary to say that, unlike English punk, which arose as a natural reaction to the socio-economic crisis in the West, punk in the USSR appeared as a protest against totalitarian thinking. Of course, like many other phenomena of the “Soviet underground,” it was influenced by Western influence, although direct borrowing was virtually impossible in the 1980s.

Punk was one of the few musical movements that came to the Soviet Union with minimal delay. In 1976, punk rock appeared in England, and already in 1977 in Leningrad, Moscow, and Siberia. Young people interested in Western music bought records of the Sex Pistols, Clash and other British punk bands from black marketeers, caught music broadcasts on the Voice of America, the BBC with Seva Novgorodtsev, read Soviet magazines and newspapers, which did not fail to respond to the emergence of a new youth movement as “a growth on the rotting body of bourgeois culture.”

What were the first punks in the USSR and what was their opposition to Soviet power? We will highlight three main areas where punk received the greatest development, different from other regions - these are Leningrad, Moscow and Siberia (Omsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen), and, in accordance with this, we will try to answer the questions posed.

The first Leningrad punks were teenagers aged 15-17, music lovers, and record collectors. They most often met at the “plate push”, got together, drank, listened to music. They tried to live the way they liked, but this was a serious contradiction not only to the dominant ideology, but also to Soviet laws (for example, the law on parasitism). Many wanted to go abroad, to be where their favorite punk bands were. For Leningrad punks, punk rock was not an expression of political protest or calls for the destruction of the system. It was rather a spontaneous internal rejection of officially accepted norms and values, deviation from which in the Soviet state could be regarded as ranging from petty hooliganism to betrayal of the Motherland. According to the official version, rock music was an invention of Western propaganda, designed to distract Soviet youth from building communism, and Western democratic youth from the fight against capitalism.

The Siberian punk rock area is represented mainly by three cities - Omsk, Novosibirsk and Tyumen. The so-called Siberian punk rock was the most politicized and openly directed against the totalitarian system. This was expressed both in the lyrics (for example, the group “Cooperative Nishtyak”, at the height of the repression of rock musicians, sang: “A ghost is wandering around Europe, cut off his legs”), and in the reaction of the authorities to their work. Members of Siberian punk bands were put in psychiatric hospitals and sent to the army, but they remained “ice under the feet of the major.”

Soviet punk culture of the 1980s, initially focusing on the Western movement, organically rethought it and intertwined it with national roots. As a result, absolutely original phenomena arose, generated, first of all, not by imitation, but by the desire to express oneself and somehow oppose oneself to the officialdom.

In the USSR, punk was a counterculture simply because it was taboo, so it opposed the system. Since 1987, totalitarian mechanisms have begun to actively collapse, and rock music, in my opinion, has made its contribution to this process, albeit small, being the bearer of other cultural values. Here lies the main contradiction of domestic punk: having taken part in the destruction of the system, it found itself in a difficult situation - what to fight against now, when everything is possible? Subsequently, punk loses its status as a counterculture with the destruction of prohibition, and the development of modern Western forms of confrontation in Russia is difficult due to the difficult socio-economic and political situation. The existence of the punk movement, as well as other forms of counterculture in the USSR in the form in which they functioned before the perestroika era, lost its meaning at the turn of the 1980s and 90s.

The concept of punk music in Russia has changed and evolved.

In the USSR, Punk was a subculture, as it seems to us, only in the period from the 80s to the 90s. It was during this period that a systemic crisis occurred in the country, 70% of youth found themselves below the poverty line, the collapse of ideology and a centralized system of distribution of goods: all this created fertile ground for the development of such a subculture as punk.

After the 90s, punk began to decompose, it became commercialized, lost its idea, lost itself, but at the same time, punk did not disappear completely, it was divided into other social phenomena. Thus, in the Soviet Union, playing rock, and especially punk, was a confrontation. This was prohibited, and people who were involved in rock music and did not fit into the standard image of a “simple Soviet person” often seriously risked not only being beaten at the police station or by “vigilantes,” but also losing their freedom. The state authorities tried to suppress any deviations from the official ideology: they expelled them from work and from institutes, sent them to the army and to psychiatric hospitals for compulsory treatment, persecuted them through the press (revelatory articles), etc. On the other hand, what could punks oppose to the state machine? ? The confrontation occurred, first of all, at the level of lifestyle and worldview, which was manifested in behavior, appearance, and value system. Rejection of Soviet ideology and standardized society was not necessarily expressed in criticism and struggle.

Chapter 2. Punks as a subculture

Today, punk appears to us most often in a dirty, bad-smelling, and drunken image. If you turn to the older generation with the question “Who is a punk?”, in 9 out of 10 cases you will hear something not very pleasant.

Today, most teenagers who call themselves punks do not even know basic facts from the history of the punk movement. Some “punks” are so far from reality that they are simply ridiculous. The second chapter of the work and the research itself are closely related to this.

2. 1. Behavior in society. Political position.

Punk self-esteem

Punk always has his own opinion and is not afraid to express it. He doesn't care what they think of him. He is what he is and will not change anything. It is traditionally believed that punk behavior in all cases is a struggle, a struggle against the system. Against which, the punk himself decides. The system implies, first of all, rules. Rules mean obeying. To submit means to surrender. This is the most important point in punk politics.

The determining factor was a disregard for others and ourselves, an attitude of always doing only what you want right now. Morality turned out to be changed 180 degrees: everything that was considered immoral among normal people became an outward manifestation of “morality” on the street.

Punk culture implied complete freedom of action. Punks were hooligans in cinemas, behaved defiantly towards police officers and bullied passers-by. In this way they hastened to express their protest to the world in which they were born and raised. The philosophy of the punks was the philosophy of the “lost generation”, simple to the extreme: in a pigsty it is better to be pigs yourself. They finally decided that it was impossible to change the world for the better, and therefore life and career in the old sense of the word were put to rest.

The punks themselves evaluate both the punk movement and themselves in this culture differently. Here are some excerpts from one of the punk forums:

“I’m a punk because I want to be. Punk doesn’t necessarily mean wallowing in the mud, but sleeping in a trash heap for initiation. and put the mohawk on beer mixed with urine. And definitely – a state of mind.” (Spelling and stylistics of statements are preserved in the original - note by V.S.).

“First, I’ll tell you what punk is not: it’s not fashion, it’s not a certain style of clothing, it’s not a knee-jerk rebellion against your parents, it’s not the latest “cool” trend or a particular style of music. In fact, it is the Idea that guides and builds your life. Think for yourself, be yourself, don’t just accept what society gives you – make your own rules, live your own life!” .

“I am a punk because I AM AGAINST. Punk is a state of mind, a way of thinking, it doesn’t matter how much it manifests outwardly. Punk is on the inside. I hate those who think punk is just a fashion statement!”

“Any movement is, first of all, an idea, not clothes and window dressing. The main thing is always what is inside, and not what is shouted about at every intersection. Just like anarchy was turned into freedom to drink and mayhem, although its meaning is much deeper.”

We see that most of those people who consider themselves punks agree that punk is, first of all, an idea, a way of life and thoughts, and only then - external attributes! It is the ideology of the punk movement that has not changed since the 70s, but the punks themselves note that a very small number of young people who consider themselves to be punk culture are familiar with the idea of punk. Thus, it turns out that the punk movement is “degenerating.” Transforming from “Idea” to “Fashion”

2. 2. Public assessment of punk

Sociologists from the Internet site Info_Mania, conducting a sociological survey among different segments of the population of Moscow (sample - 100 people), often received such characteristics of punks as “schizophrenic category”, “maybe with their own beliefs, but mentally ill people”, “ill-mannered, frivolous people" and punk as a "youth phase shift". Some respondents noted “combs” as a distinctive feature of punks.

Here are some common opinions of ordinary people about the punk movement:

“In my understanding, punk is, in any case, a hoodie, bastards, a crest for show-off and a badge with anarchy. In any case, a punk should go to concerts instead of rallies, because there you can get drunk, and if God forbid he doesn’t get drunk, then he will see the world with sober eyes, be horrified and accidentally start thinking with his own head, and not with other people’s ideas and stereotypes. Punk is, first of all, a protest, and against what, how, why, and why is no longer important. Punk is a state of mind."

In order to obtain data on issues of public assessment of punks and punk culture, students of Gymnasium No. 8 were offered two questionnaires, on the basis of which we were able to come to the following conclusions:

1) More than half of the high school students we surveyed have a general understanding of punk.

2) The idea of punk is based mainly on external attributes - clothes, shoes, hairstyles.

3) The behavior of punk is perceived by most students as antisocial - smoking, alcohol, aggression.

One gets the impression that the majority of ordinary people in Moscow (according to the Info_Mania survey), as well as ordinary Russian cities (students in the city of Angarsk) do not understand the nuances of youth subcultures and for them punks are almost no different from metalheads or hippies. The attitude towards punks in society is quite negative - “aggressive, drug addicts, alcoholics.” This image of punk created by the media is actively confirmed by the punks themselves (“pioneers”), who draw their “aesthetics and ideas” from the mass media.

We will try to systematize the most common beliefs about punks among ordinary people, and give our comments on them. The results of a study by the Info_Mania agency were taken as the basis for these statements. We conducted a similar survey among students at our gymnasium and came to certain conclusions, which we presented in the form of comments.

Statement 1. All punks are stupid, narrow-minded “birds” and losers (in general, people of a low intellectual level of development).

Comment: this statement is very common among ordinary people. 34% of the surveyed students from Gymnasium No. 8 agreed with the correctness of this statement. However, the majority of respondents (49%) did not agree with this opinion of Russians, noting that people who are unfamiliar with punks and have never communicated with them talk about punks this way. Yes, of course, among the punks there are also “bird people” and generally very stupid people, but there are not many of them and they make up only a small percentage of all punks. Among the followers of the punk movement, the percentage of university students is much higher.

Statement 2: punk is a purely youth movement, a teenage protest that goes away with age. You can be a punk from 12 to 18, maximum 20 years old, and then you need to grow up.

Comment: On this statement, the opinions of high school students were divided approximately equally: 45% of respondents agreed that the punk movement is of a youth nature, and 43% refuted this opinion. This is quite consistent with the data that we have when researching punk.

Indeed, most punks begin to “punk” in adolescence or adolescence, but this does not mean that punk is a purely youth movement. Some people move away from punk with age, but for the most part these are people for whom the opinion of the majority, the crowd, is more important than their own opinion. Among the former punks there are also those who were simply disillusioned with the ideas of this movement. However, there are also punks 30 years old and older, and although not all of them adhere to the external trappings of punk, they still share most of the “punk” ideas. And in general, in the statement “You can be a punk from 12 to 18, maximum 20 years old, and then you need to grow up,” the word grow up is actually, as a rule, used by ordinary people in the meaning of “become like everyone else, accept the ideas common in society " Compare with the meaning of the word “grow up” in the explanatory dictionary. Being a nonconformist (and punks are nonconformists, because they adhere to ideas that are not widespread in society today) does not mean not being an adult.

Statement 3: Punks are always dirty and never wash, they always smell bad.

Representatives of the youth gothic subculture are distinguished from the crowd by deathly makeup and black clothing. Fans of the rap style are distinguished by their flared pants and stylish cap. The punk sign in the form of a defiant mohawk on the head, an abundance of metal on leather jackets and on the body attracts the attention of the crowd. Youth groups with different interests, united by the search for the meaning of life and justice, were called informals.

History of the development of the punk movement

Punk culture originated in Western Europe under the influence of the works of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Sex Pistols. In their music they expressed the idea of permissiveness and anarchy. Imitation of musical idols and denial of social norms, protest against government and society transformed into rebellious defiant behavior. The English word (punk), loosely translated as a lost person, trash, worthless, tramp, in the full sense fit the behavior of punks.

Excessive and demonstrative use of alcohol and drugs is also a characteristic sign of punks, as a form of protest against a healthy lifestyle. The desire to demonstrate personal freedom was manifested in the choice of anarchist symbolism in red and black.

Punk worldview

In the public environment, there is a strong negative opinion about punks, supported by the defiant appearance of representatives of this subculture of the world. Hidden behind external sloppiness and aggressive behavior is a persistent desire for self-affirmation and self-expression, characteristic of adolescents. What is the outward manifestation of protest?

Cloth. A mandatory element is a short dark leather jacket with metal studs and red and black T-shirts with anarchist symbols, creating an image of liberated negligence.
Shoes. These, of course, are bastards - bulky, heavy boots with a shaft and rough soles.
Behavior. Demonstratively disdainful of government officials and public opinion. Breaking out aggressiveness and independence from stereotypes. Addiction to drinking and drugs.
Hairstyle. They love bright hair colors, so they dye them in various shades of red, green, and purple tones. Particular importance is attached to fixing the hair in the form of a rearing militant mohawk.
Music. It is distinguished by the sound of affirming rhythms, drive and expression.

What causes teenagers' interest in punks?

Firstly, because they are attracted by the loud, bright, completely reckless, non-standard behavior of this group of young people.
Secondly, the desire to express a personal attitude towards everyday instability through protest in the form of a denial of all norms and rules. This is also the reason for the imitation of clothing style.
Thirdly, why not? What better time to have fun and fool around in your youth, out of spite for “gray everyday life.”

In adolescence, it is difficult to demand a balanced attitude towards life. Every second person tries to join informal groups. Over time, views on life change, understanding of everyday standards comes, and growing up.

Musical style punk rock

Followers of the punk rock movement appreciate the rhythmic, aggressive tempo of performance. The lyrics, written in a hooligan manner, reflect the social problems of the youth environment. Short song compositions with 3-4 chords are well remembered and provide an opportunity for self-expression.

Some imitate the style of clothing, others believe that it is enough to be drunk and curse the authorities, while others demonstrate mohawks. But, first of all, punk is a life position and way of thinking.