Skinheads Essay examples -- Gang London Skinhead Gangs

When thinking about skinhead gangs in London, it is impossible not to conjure up images of shaved heads and heavy Doc Martin boots accompanying a particularly racist kind of violence with no respect for authority structures of the state. However, did these gangs begin with such a clear idea of their purpose? Were they aware that their daily activities would become a â€Å"subculture† along with the Mods and Rockers? In his essay titled â€Å"The Skinheads and the Magical Recovery of Community,† John Clarke argues that skinheadism is about the recovery of a community in working class neighborhoods where this feeling had been lost due to various changes in socio-economic conditions. He says that their feeling of exclusion â€Å"produced a return to an intensified ‘Us-Them’ consciousness† (Clarke, 99). Though the realization of this distinction plays a major part in the formation of any subculture, the Us-Them discourse turns out to be much more compli cated in the case of skinhead gangs, and the space that these groups occupy in relation to the outside world does not have such clear boundaries. Looking at three different representations of Skinhead culture: the novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess, the non-fiction work The Paint House (1972) by the Collinwood gang, and the film Scum (1979) directed by Alan Clarke, the evolution of this space over time becomes clear. This change happens both in the way the gangs define and view themselves, as well as in the way mainstream society deals with the problem of violence in â€Å"Modern Youth† (Burgess, 41). Ironically, the skinhead style began as a way for these working class youths to feel dignified and was in direct opposition to the tendency of other young people, such as hippies, ... ...ys, â€Å"The people who read it will be these Marxist students and such who will contact us to join them in their fight against the establishment† (110). There is certainly an ambivalence about giving mainstream society literary access to the space the skinheads occupy. This is yet another way that the boundary between Us and Them gets breached. Perhaps the sheer violence, language, and overall controversial nature of these works are in themselves a kind of boundary maintenance, only letting in those who feel some affinity to their world. Works Cited Clarke, John. â€Å"The Skinheads & The Magical Recovery of Community.† In Resistance through Rituals. Ed. by Stuart Hall and Tony Jefferson. 99-105. London : Hutchinson, 1976. Doyle, Pat and others. The Paint House: Words from and East End Gang. Middlesex, Eng.: Penguin, 1972. Scum. Dir. Alan Clarke. G.T.O, 1979.