Session 4: A Little Louder Please? The Power of Words Not So Softly Spoken
2nd Global Conference
Wednesday 11th November – Thursday 12th November 2009
Salzburg, Austria
Spreading the Disease: How Scholarly Communication, Collaboration, and Interdisciplinary Perspectives are Establishing Heavy Metal Studies as a Rising Force
Brian Hickam
The University of Toledo Libraries, Toledo, USA
No abstract is presently available
Communication Function in Estonian Metal Subculture
Lii Araste
Institute for International and Social Studies, Tallinn University, Estonia
In the 80’s the metal subculture arrived to Estonia, thus, next to the punk-culture, is considered one of the eldest youth subcultures in the country. In the rest of the world the scenes are devided by styles (black metal scene, heavy scene etc) but due to Estonia’s small population there is one subculture connecting the metal music fans. This changes the whole nature of the collective identity. The subculture members are outstanding and expressive, just like they were in the past.
The objective of the paper is to find out, what are the characteristics of the Estonian metal subculture and how it has developed during time, also the role of communication in it.
In this paper, the constructing grounded theory method has been used. 9 interviews with metal subculture members have been carried through. As the objective of the paper was the subcultural change, the principle of the sample forming was the connectedness with the subculture.
The primary results show that in Estonian metal subculture the importance of looks and metal have been tied to various channels of communication throughout different periods. As such, communication holds key importance in the creation and existence of a cultural identity.
“I’m a Metal head”: The Representation of Women Letter Writers in Kerrang! Magazine
Rosemary Hill
Centre for Women’s Studies, University of York, York, United Kingdom
This paper examines how Kerrang! magazine represents women metal fans in its letters pages. Since the turn of the century an increasing number of women have been reading Kerrang!, a situation predicted by Jonathan Gruzelier to have a profound effect upon the genre’s culture. To understand the culture of metal I ask two questions: what myths can be read from the letters pages?, and how are women letter writers represented as interacting with those myths? I examine letters pages from June 2000-7 (the month of Download music festival) and, using a methodology drawn from Barthes’ Mythologies, I analyse the changing design to identify Kerrang!’s ‘myths’, and read the letters to ascertain how they support or belie those myths. I argue that a powerful myth can be read in Kerrang!’s design – the myth of the warrior – and I consider the ways in which women are represented as ‘using’ this myth. I conclude that the power of the warrior myth is so strong, and so essential to the culture of the genre, that women letter writers are frequently represented as interacting with it, whether to challenge it and elicit new behaviours within the metal community, or to use it strategically to strengthen their position in a highly masculine culture. Furthermore, whilst some aspects of the warrior trope may be unworkable for some women letter writers, the myth’s potency allows women letter writers to assert themselves with confidence in their everyday lives. In terms of Kerrang!’s representation of the culture of the genre, the increased presence of women does have an impact upon the less ‘sociable’ aspects of metal culture, but the ways in which women are represented as gaining strength from the myth of the warrior ultimately reinforce it.
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