Subculture vs. Counterculture

Subculture vs. Counterculture:
Read pages 51-52 and identify the difference
between the two groups. Also, provide examples
of subcultures and countercultures.



Occupational subcultures
Recreational subcultures
Ethnic subcultures







"Reefer" ... refrigerated trailer
"Big Road" .... Highway
"Flip Flop" ... return trip
"Chicken Coup" ... truck scales
"Bear" ... Police
"Back Door" ... Behind
"Lot Lizard" ... truck stop prostitute

In your groups make a list of 5 youth
subcultures we have here at the high
school:
◦ Identify what shared values/ideology the group
embraces
◦ Identify what shared aesthetics the group
embraces (music, dress, hairstyles, body
modifications, pastimes, etc.)
◦ Identify what shared vernacular the group uses
(slang terms or specialized language)

Members of countercultural groups are…
◦ Usually outsiders
◦ Alienated
◦ Don’t fit the mold of what American cultures says is
“normal”





Gives people a place where they are empowered
Connects likeminded people
Makes invisible people visible
Allows people to escape the identity they are born
into
Gives people a place to construct identity
What is a “cult”
A group that is considered to be abnormal or extremist, can
be religious, members often live outside of a conventional
society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
Scientologists?
Westboro Baptist Church?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Authoritarian: central leadership in one person or small group
of individuals.
Oppositional: values, beliefs or practices at odds with
dominant culture.
Exclusivistic: only the group has ''the truth,'' usually based on
new insights or revelation.
Legalistic: a tightly structured framework which governs
spirituality and the smallest details of daily life.
Subjective: undue emphasis on experience and emotions
often resulting in anti-intellectualism.
Persecution-Conscious: the belief that their group is singled
out for persecution.
Sanction-Oriented: stern sanctions issued for anything less
than total obedience.
Esoteric: an emphasis on secret, hidden or inner truth.
Jonestown: Founded in 1956
James (Jimmy) Jones founded the “People’s Temple” in
Indiana, moved to California then moved 900+ people to
South America to live in isolation.
Congressman, Leo Ryan visits the “People’s Temple”
Heaven’s Gate
Overview:
Heaven’s Gate was founded in the mid 1970’s by Marshall Applewhite
(Do) and Bonnie Lu Truesdale(Ti). The two claimed to have arrived via
UFO from another dimension (a level above human). At its peak, HG
reached several hundred members.
Beliefs:
Planet Earth was going to be recycled, suicide would transport members
to a “safe” world --- the next level if…
•Group members gave up material possessions and lived a life without
indulgences
•Left their families and abandoned individuality
HG’s claim to fame came in March of 1997 when 38
members including Applewhite committed suicide in San
Deigo, California. The mass suicide of HG members is said
to be one of the most widely-known examples of cult
suicide.
This event has led sociologists and other social scientists to
study countercultures.