Topic > The Death and Life of Punk: The Gothic Subculture

Ironically, this subculture was formed because some citizens didn't even feel like they belonged in society and its routines. Goths often felt misunderstood by the people around them and did not fit in with others. Because of this they came together and found a sense of identity within the group. According to Frank's “perpetual motion machine,” today's youth have enough freedom and money to distance themselves from the dominant culture if they are dissatisfied with it. By bucking the dominant culture, they place a new label of “cool” on something other than what everyone else in society likes. The Gothic subculture in this sense draws attention to different clothes, films and music. As a result, this provides a new consumer market for a variety of companies (Gibney, September 30, 2013). Instead of spending all their money on the same type of item, these different subcultures draw them towards particular things to fit them into a specific group. This situation is beneficial for both participants. Companies and stores amass huge amounts of hard-earned money from a young person's minimum wage because that teen believes that purchasing a product is essential to becoming "cool." On the other hand, most of these subcultures branch off from mainstream culture because they are