With the current media climate fanatically hopping
from one moral panic to the next, and newspapers such as The Sun, The Mirror
and The Daily Mail providing horror and hysteria with every page. It seems
strange to imagine a world without the continuous critical assault and media
fuelled panic targeting youth culture. One modern example being articles
claiming that the next generation are becoming more volatile, as they become
desensitised by the casual violence of TV shows and video games. However, it
was the Mods and Rockers phenomenon, in particular the events of 1964, which has
been referred to as the first ever publicised moral panic.[1]
The developing rivalry between the Mods and Rockers
allowed the media to allude to the youth of the 1960’s becoming dangerous and
anarchic. The two factions of teens defined namely by their fashion and music.
In May 1964, the animosity and tension between these two groups of teens
reached a head, which resulted in teens fighting and causing disruptions across
the South East of England. Brighton, Margate, Bournemouth and Clacton became
known as the epicentres of the violence; the media extensively photographing
and publicising the events, with dramatic headlines such as the “Battle of
Brighton” and “Wild Ones ‘Beat Up’ Margate.”[2]
The reality of this weekend, however, was not
necessarily as violent as it was made out. The media created a scandal of
teenage aggression, when according to Chris Tull of Thanet District Council,
“in today's terms it was probably something like an ordinary Saturday night in
any town centre but at the time nobody had seen anything like it before.”[3] The papers sensationalised
the level of violence and anarchy being cause by teenage rivalry. In a quote
from John Braden, who was an 18-year-old Mod at the Margate fights, he said, “I
joined in a few of the fights. It was a laugh; I haven't enjoyed myself so much
for a long time.”[4]
Giving an alternate view to the dramatised media coverage. He continued to
describe the reasons for the desire to rebel, “It was like we were taking over
the country. You want to hit back at all the old geezers who try to tell us
what to do. We just want to show them we're not going to take it.”[5] He tells us that it was
not as extreme as the headlines and tabloids suggested. Whilst there were
fights and several arrests, the ‘Battle of Margate’ "was hardly a teen
take-over.”[6]
The term moral panic was coined by sociologist Jock
Young and by definition it means, “a condition, episode, person or group of
persons emerges to become a threat to societal values and interests; its nature
is presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media.”[7] Stanley Cohen observed
that, “one of the most recurrent types of moral panic in Britain since the war
has been associated with the emergence of various forms of youth culture”.[8] He argued that the Mod’s
and Rockers were creating a generational shift. Simply making room for
themselves in an environment that did not accommodate for them and the adults took
their actions as “threatening and a symptom of national decay.”[9]
With the Mods and Rockers there was certainly
violence, but Cohen argues that the exaggerated levels implied by the media
only reflect the fears of the older generation.[10] In conclusion, it isn't
violence that the Mods and Rockers should be remembered for. They were more
than just violence; they were about redefining and creating a space for the youth
in a world that alienated them. More than just a lifestyle, they symbolised the
changing and developing world.
[1] Savage,
J., ‘Mods and Rockers: Two Tribes go to War’, BBC-Culture, 21 October 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/story/20140515-when-two-tribes-went-to-war,
Accessed: 05/03/2020
[2] Savage,
J., ‘Mods and Rockers: Two Tribes go to War’, BBC-Culture, 21 October 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/story/20140515-when-two-tribes-went-to-war,
Accessed: 05/03/2020
[3]
Ainsworth, C., ‘Margate capitalises on 1964 Mods and Rockers’ Riots’, BBC-News,
01 October 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-15094293,
Accessed: 05/03/2020
[4] Feldman, C. J., ‘We
are the Mods": A Transnational History of a Youth Subculture’, New York,
Peter Lang, 2009, Accessed: 07/03/2020
[5] Feldman,
C. J., ‘We are the Mods": A Transnational
History of a Youth Subculture’, New York, Peter Lang, 2009, Accessed:
07/03/2020
[6] Savage,
J., ‘Mods and Rockers: Two Tribes go to War’, BBC-Culture, 21 October 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/story/20140515-when-two-tribes-went-to-war,
Accessed: 05/03/2020
[7] Savage,
J., ‘Mods and Rockers: Two Tribes go to War’, BBC-Culture, 21 October 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/story/20140515-when-two-tribes-went-to-war,
Accessed: 05/03/2020
[8] Cohen,
S., ‘Folk
Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers’, New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1980, Accessed: 07/03/2020
[9] Cohen,
S., ‘Folk
Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers’, New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1980, Accessed: 07/03/2020
[10] Cohen,
S., ‘Folk
Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers’, New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1980, Accessed: 07/03/2020
No comments:
Post a Comment