My culture of interest is dub shows and the people that attend. Maybe more commonly in
affiliation with the term, “ravers”.The definition of culture is learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people (Martin & Nakayama 2012). The rave culture consists of many defining behaviors as well as a common theme of coming together as one. The common interest of being a college student is apparent. The music, dancing, and lights. The experience of a lifetime.
The main points I will be covering in my final blog include
the experience as a whole, the influence that drugs may or may not play in the experience,
and the typical behaviors of people at the dub show or concert. The data I
collected from the interviews and the field notes from my personal experience
at “Life in Color” share a common theme of togetherness. I wanted to share a specific quote from my good friend since
high school, “I thought Bassnectar was pretty good before I saw him. But
his show was the first time I rolled and it was absolutely amazing. Molly
allows you to connect to the beat and feel the vibrations of the bass on a
completely different level”(#1, Participant).
The concept to frame my project is cultural adaptation,
which deals with adjusting to and becoming comfortable in an environment. I also want to emphasize the outcomes and
characteristics of individuals involved in this culture. For example, the energy from the
group at “Life in Color” was evident and strong. I could feel the anticipation
build as I stood, or should I say swayed, in the crowd.
The three approaches of the cultural adaptation theory, as described in my previous post, are
going to be the three higher level categories in my final project.
These include the social science approach, the role of the individual in the culture group, the interpretive approach, which deals with the experience as a whole, and the critical approach, dealing more with the politics of the culture.
The social science approach is supported throughout my data in my interviews and field work. One of my interviews reveals, "People
feel free to be themselves and do what comes naturally and dance however feels
good and no one is judging because they all feel amazing themselves"(#1, Participant).
The second approach,
the interpretive approach is using language to describe human behavior (Martin & Nakayama, 2012) and is reflected greatly throughout my research.
The experience as a whole is said to be "life-changing" and a "positive,
united moment with the crowd"(#2, Participant). My friend from high school can remember
passing out toys and beads to strangers at the shows to help them enjoy
themselves better. She says that they always give her stuff back and
truly appreciate it to the core.
Finally, the critical approach deals with the past and reasons for groups of people choosing certain cultures to belong to. I believe this particular topic could relate back to the 60s when big festivals were a big deal (think Woodstock). The people of that culture identified themselves with the music and the drugs and the unity of people. Another quote from my second interview supports this,
"I
have never made so many random friends and seen so much genuine kindness as I
have at raves. Everyone looks out for everyone and is just having a blast" (#1, Participant).
References:
These include the social science approach, the role of the individual in the culture group, the interpretive approach, which deals with the experience as a whole, and the critical approach, dealing more with the politics of the culture.
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References:
Djvibetv. (2010, August 10). BASSNECTAR ABSOLUTELY MURDERS IT!! SHAMBHALA.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eA7Qu7Lz2g] Retrieved from
http://www.YouTube.com
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2012). Intercultural
Communication in Contexts.
Chicago: McGraw Hill.
