Subcultures make our life interesting! Subcultures can be define as a group who looks different, shares different beliefs and activities as a result of resistance against the societies’ problems and norms. However, what defines youth subcultures are music and style!
Uturn is a youtube channel. The people behind it can be seen as an example of a subculture or they are trying to be one. They are a group of Saudi youth who shares the love of creating interesting videos on YouTube. Currently they produce 15 different shows discussing local news, popular YouTube videos and social issues in a comedic manner. The channel got so popular that many western news channels, such as CNN talked about it.
Click here to watch the CNN video
Subcultures, such as Uturn, emerge in societies as a result of struggle. When the hip-hop subculture emerged, it was the poverty and discrimination that led to its emergence. People might wonder what might be the struggle in the rich Saudi society that led to the creation of Uturn? It is the corruption and the social problems the conservative Saudi society suffer from. One of Uturn members is Omar Hussain, who presents the show 3al6ayer. He discusses the Jeddah floods in many of his episodes. He focuses on the financial corruption in the infrastructure. For example, the person who was supposed to spend government money to fix Jeddah streets did not use it in that way resulting in the floods.
The Labeling Theory is one of the theories used in studying subcultures. In his book, Goths, Gamers and Grrrls, Ross Haenfler explained by saying that the theory “proposes that actions or people are deviant only when society label them deviant.”
Referring to the Labeling Theory, the Saudi society labeled Uturn as deviant. There is gender segregation in Saudi Arabia. Even in restaurants lines, men stands in separated lines. The people at Ururn are a mixed group of men and women. This might not sound like a big deal, but in Saudi Arabia this is considered deviance. Deviance is one of the things that make a subculture one.
The pictures below, are from the show Alfe2a Alfala. The episodes end with rap songs most of the time. Their pictures on Uturn pages of show how they are trying to look deviant by trying different styles.
One of the essential elements in a youth subculture is style, such as language and fashion. The group refers to their fellow members as “Youturenii” (Youturner). They use weird slang words such as “Shamangahabash!” This is the word used when a situation is missed up and confusing. The other part of style is fashion. Bader Saleh, EyshElly presenter, has an interesting style in fashion. In some episodes, he wears a normal Polo shirt. However, instead of the Polo logo there is a drop shaped logo. This logo says “Marka Muya” (Water Brand).
Another example of fashion is Omar Hussein. Sometimes he plays a superhero role in his show. The way he dresses when he plays this role is abnormal and deviance. This reflects their want to be a subculture. The superhero is called Abu Serwal wa Faneela.
He dresses in Serwal and Faneela, which are what men wear under their traditional thob. He also uses a wezar, traditional fabric men wear around their west, as a scarf around his nick. Although this weird way of dressing is for the show only, it is a fashion statement. It is about breaking the norms and keeping traditions that reflect their identity. This shows their cooperation of Arabic culture on the global website YouTube. Their sense of fashion make their subculture special.
Globalization in its simple definition relates to the blending of cultures. Globalization affected many of the ideas behind these shows. One cannot help but notice the similarities between these shows and western ones. 3al6ayer with Omar Hussain is similar to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The show was glocalised by having a Saudi young man talking about local issues. They are also making a superhero look more local by dressing him up in Arabic clothes.
Globalization cannot pass in a sociology blog without talking about its deeper meaning. Globalization is also about capitalism and resistance. It cannot be mentioned with out bringing up the big corporations who are making money out of it.
Big corporations started getting advantage of Uturn big fans base. Mobaily, the telecommunications company in Saudi Arabia is sponsoring Uturn shows. In return, Uturn advertise for them. Nestle Nescafe is doing the same thing too. Now, many other companies started paying Uturn for advertisements. This might be moving Uturn from being a cool subculture to being part of the mainstream type of media.
This subculture is making our life interesting through their videos on Youtube. Still, the Youturners receive lots of criticism in the comments section on YouTube. Many people resist them because of the bold topics they discuss and their including of girls in the show and behind the scenes. However, Uturn are resisting back and being themselves.
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