Taking pleasure seriously: the political significance of subcultural practice

Cultural Criminology: The Time is Now

“…Ferrell's, latest (2018) work on Drift extends this reflection on the links between contemporary poverty and rootlessness. In my own work, I have noted the operation of clashing class cultures (Ilan 2010(Ilan , 2018 and new class identities (Ilan 2011) in contemporary processes of criminality and criminalisation. The entire enterprise of examining 'street culture' is dedicated to exploring how the urban poor negotiate their position and how they are simultaneously feared, while at the same time, a source of fascination and inspiration for popular and consumer culture (Ilan 2015).…”

“…There has been a tendency amongst some on the left, and in particular 'ultra realist' criminology, to criticise and reject what they call 'identity politics' (see, e.g., Winlow et al 2017;Winlow and Hall, this issue) or what others might call analyses of race and gender in power relations. A distinction is drawn between what is viewed as empty 'lifestylism' and 'real' politics, and borders are placed around what might be considered legitimate inquiry and political analysis (see Dimou and Ilan 2018). Cultural criminology's logic is opposite, deliberately inviting participation, challenge and difference.…”

“…There is ultimately a need for an articulated politics and set of fruitful goals that can be pursued (see Hayward and Schuilenburg 2014), although these can take multiple forms (see Naegler, 2018). Participating in cultural endeavours has, however, been identified as a vital route to politicsboth in terms of developing consciousness (Hall et al, 1978) and for cultivating the affective charge and passion that provide motivation (Dimou and Ilan, 2018). And it is important to remember that for all the social media activism, the movements for black lives have well thought out policy positions (see e.g.…”

Shock and Awe: On Progressive Minimalism and Retreatism, and the New Ultra-Realism

“…We can suggest that existing theoretical frameworks can be adjusted or perhaps even merged with other frameworks, but we cannot suggest that these frameworks are no longer capable of yielding any genuine insight into the manifold problems that litter our societies. Even now, amid the wreckage of neoliberalism's long-running war against the poor and otherwise disadvantaged, as ethnocentric nationalism returns and the signs of future catastrophes come into view, many of us continue to wax poetic about the inherent rebelliousness and progressive sensibilities of marginalized social groups (see, e.g., Millington 2016) or the political power of personal enjoyment (see, e.g., Dimou and Ilan 2018). We continue to be more concerned with the politics of social reaction than the actual causes of harm, and more interested in continuing to note the right-wing media's tendency to distort reality than account for our willingness to inflict suffering upon one another.…”

Grime: Criminal subculture or public counterculture? A critical investigation into the criminalization of Black musical subcultures in the UK

“…This begs the question of how cultural criminological scholarship can challenge such stereotypical depictions of subcultures and the injustice(s) that these bring by rethinking and reintroducing musical subcultures like grime as instruments and conductors of active public participation through sonic, lyrical and bodily performance. Despite recent scholarly optimism (Dimou and Ilan, 2018), ambivalence (Ilan, 2014), healthy scepticism (Bennett and Harris, 2004;Blackman, 2005Blackman, , 2014Huq, 2006;Jencks, 2005;Muggleton and Weinzierl, 2003) and outright pessimism (Lash, 2007;Winlow et al, 2015) about the meaning and value of subcultures and their relation to 'depoliticized play in the post-modern pleasuredome' (Muggleton, 2000: 49), the remainder of this article will (re)present grime as a valuable form of creativity, public expression and political agency -one that continues to resist, criticize and expose its criminalization by 'speaking truth to power' (Benda, 1928;Jacoby, 1987;Said, 1994) and finding innovative ways to carve out a space for public engagement, belonging and even work 'within a music industry that is otherwise dominated by socially-privileged groups' (White, 2018: 1;White, 2016).…”