Youth Culture Essay

From 1945 onwards post-war Europe began rebuilding, a period which created an economic boom, where unskilled and semi-skilled work paid generously in jobs such as distribution, retail and light assembly amongst other service jobs. Creating a society that consisted of considerable amounts of disposable income, especially among working-class youth who worked while still residing with parents . The post war baby boom which brought about a new generation of youth who shared different values, morals and behaviours to that of their parents . This essay aims to explore why youth culture was seen as a phenomenon after 1945 in Europe with reference to Britain and America.

Youth culture was a phenomenon in post war Britain, because the it was a new

This was done through music, dress sense, language and behaviour. The Teddy Bear Boys were the first explicit youth subculture, consisting of working class urban men who wore Edwardian-style jacket, waistcoat, drainpipe trousers and crepe-soled shoes. Their dress sense influenced by Dandies from the Edwardian period .

Youth culture had a snowball effect on the post-war teenagers, drastically increasing in numbers and new formations of subcultures merging. It provoked a rather negative response from the media and older generation, with the media portraying youth culture as dangerous, a threat to social norms and something that had to be eradicated. The older generation could not relate because of the age gaps, therefore strongly opposed the new found social norms, labelling youth as ungrateful, disrespectful and lacking in manners

This meant that the younger generation stuck together as one and were a lot more determined to show that they were not afraid to express their beliefs. They wanted to prove to the older generation and to the rest of society that they had a purpose and would not be deterred or intimidated by the media or the police . However, other young individuals reacted in a violent manner. The negative representation from the media fuelled their deep anger and frustration and they wanted this to be known by the rest of the world. The stereotypically negative representation of sub-cultures by the media created a platform for violence with sub-cultures such as, skinheads engaging in public racism to gain popularity with their fellow