To what extent do skateboard magazines reflect counter cultural ideologies?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Sport, Culture and Subcultures

To what extent do skateboard magazines reflect counter cultural ideologies?

In an attempt to analyse the proposed question, the essay will aim to de-code magazine representations of the subculture of skateboarding. This will be accomplished through the textual analysis of semiotics. Utilising this specific method allows for an in-depth analysis of skateboard magazines. The analysis will illustrate to what extent the subcultural skateboarding magazine (Sidewalk) reflects counter cultural ideologies, or reflect the consumer ideals of the mainstream society.

To understand what is a subculture, firstly it is essential to understand what is meant by culture.

'The culture of a group or class, the meanings, values and ideas embodied in institutions, in social relations, in systems of beliefs, in mores and customs, in the uses of objects and material life. Culture is the distinctive shapes in which this material and social organisation of life expresses itself' (Hall & Jefferson, 1975, p10)

Therefore, from Hall and Jefferson's (1975) definition of culture, we are able to identify what is meant by the dominant sports culture. As shown, culture is seen to be something that is shared by a group, such as