Are you talking about HIP-HOP? The following is the relevant information I found:
Since the 1990s, a new form of exercise has become popular among young people in big cities in China. Young people use public spaces such as streets and parks as sports venues. They gather in small groups to compete in dance skills - similar to black dance styles, or practice skateboarding and make thrilling jumps from time to time. This is what is popular among Chinese young people nowadays. Hip-Hop movement.
Hip-Hop culture is a street rap culture originated from African Americans in the 1970s. It is translated as hip-hop in Chinese. "Hip-Hop" comes from the lyrics of "To the hip, hop, hippy hop" by Lovebug Starsky. Literally, Hip refers to the arm, Hop refers to jumping on one foot, and Hip-Hop means gently twisting the arm. From this, we can see the characteristics of Hip-Hop dance.
Hip-Hop culture first included African American rap and hip-hop, and later other forms of youth culture with the same rebellious spirit, such as graffiti, skateboarding and other extreme sports, were also included. this column. In the 1990s, Hip-Hop culture landed in Asia and hit Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other countries and regions. With the invasion of the "Korean Wave", it quickly became popular among young people aged 17 or 18 in China. .
1. Cultural manifestations of the Hip-Hop movement
As for the movement forms of Hip-Hop, we mainly introduce hip-hop and skateboarding.
When it comes to hip-hop, African American rap music is indispensable. The two are integrated with each other, and both are rooted in the traditional entertainment methods that the black nation is good at. The style of rap music is improvisational rap, which abandons musical melody and emphasizes rhythm. The straightforward language and single rhyme must match the intensity and rhythm of the drums. Coupled with a man's technical speech from beginning to end, it promotes a wild temptation and unyielding momentum. But the persuasiveness of all these is not enough. Melody represents the ups and downs of people's inner emotions and their delicate sensitivity. After being abandoned, the expression of emotion and the emotion itself become simple and rough. So it naturally used another black music culture - dance, to make up for the lack of emotional expression with the help of changing body language, so street dance was born. There are many types of hip-hop, including disco, break dancing, dance, rock, popping, locking, etc. It uses body jumps, twists, rotations, swings, and even a series of difficult movements such as somersaults, handstands, and gyro spins to interpret the independent and uninhibited personality. It is very explosive and contagious, with free dance movements and strong rhythm. It is not something that can only be danced on the streets, it "originates from the streets". Therefore, it can be done in any garage, rooftop, stage or even at home. Boys and girls who dance hip-hop are called B-boys (Breakingboy or Boogieboy) or B-girls.
Let’s look at skateboarding again. Skateboarding is an extension of surfing on land. In the late 1950s, residents of beach communities in Southern California invented the world's first skateboard. They wanted to experience the feeling of surfing on land. Because skateboarding is very challenging and expressive, it became widely popular in Europe and the United States in the 1970s, and soon became popular all over the world. It is said that this sport will enter the Olympic family in this century.
In today's high-tech era, the technological progress of skateboarders and the combination of advanced technology have enabled this sport to overcome the obstacles of hard land and make it more and more fun to fly freely. The mainstream of skateboarding today is to specially combine various slopes and obstacles, and professionally design various skateboard parks so that skaters can "ride the waves" at the top of the peak. Where there is no venue, young people use street obstacles such as sloped roads, steps, etc. to practice. Today, skateboarders have formed a large group with their own culture, language, sports style and even music.
2. Cultural Qualitativeness of the Hip-Hop Movement
As a form of cultural expression, the Hip-Hop movement has its own different cultural qualitative characteristics, which makes it present many unique features.
Sports competition culture.
Hip-hop is a kind of sports competition culture, especially skateboarding, which has become the most popular sport for young people to challenge their physical limits. Both hip-hop and skateboarding require skills, but the level of intensity and endurance is different. Both are leveled and have a lot of prescribed moves. For example, hip-hop dance includes airplanes, airswipes, applejacks, backspin, etc. There are no less than a hundred in total. Skateboards include ollie, kickfilp, heelfilp, kickfilp360, etc., to name a few. These prescribed movements include walking, running, jumping and their variations, and coherent combinations of flexion, extension, rotation, circling, oscillation, and wave-shaped twisting of joints such as the head, neck, shoulders, upper limbs, and trunk. Pay attention to both the upper and lower limbs, Coordinate the movements of the abdomen and back, head and trunk, and pay attention to the independent movement of each part that makes up each link. It not only has the effect of general aerobic exercise to improve cardiopulmonary function, reduce fat, enhance muscle elasticity, and enhance ligament flexibility, but also has the function of coordinating muscle groups in various parts of the human body, shaping a beautiful posture, improving human body coordination, and cultivating beauty. Therefore, recently, even many middle-aged and elderly people also dance hip-hop, which is equivalent to doing bodybuilding and weight loss exercises. As a sports competition, in recent years, large and medium-sized cities in central and eastern China have held street dance or extreme sports competitions, and the competition rules have also been in line with international standards. For example, a national extreme sports competition was held in Huzhou in September this year. It adopts double scoring and double ranking for international and national competitions. Skateboards and scooters are divided into BMX Stunt Bike Park Race, Extreme Skateboard Park Race, and Flatland Fancy Stunt Bike Race. , extreme in-line skate park race, extreme in-line skate race, extreme in-line skate double race, BMX stunt bicycle race, and extreme skateboard race. And it has driven the localization of related sportswear, sports venues, sports equipment manufacturing and other industries.
Youth pop culture. The hip-hop movement is another kind of youth popular culture. Young people are often the initiators and strongest supporters of "pop". It has only been thirty years since hip-hop and skateboarding became popular. They have set off waves of popularity wherever they go, attracting many young people to continue to "fever". And extended from this form of movement, a new style of youth culture was formed. For example, hip-hop clothing, hip-hop sporting goods, Rap music, DJs, etc. When we pay attention to street youth, we often find that they have similar dressing styles. For example, put a nose ring on your nose, wear several earrings on your ears, a large T-shirt, board pants, sports boots, baseball cap, or wear thick silver earrings, necklaces, bracelets and other accessories, wear sunglasses, MD Listen, scooter, backpack, etc., walk up and down (up and down), braid, perm or tie your hair... In short, you need to show a dynamic look, which shows that young people have high recognition of hip-hop culture. sex. Hip-hop and skateboarding have an inherent pop quality to them. Street dance imitates the dance steps of black people and pursues charm. Skateboarding is based on sliding on the board, then the body leaves the board and leaps into the air, dodgy twists and turns, reverse somersaults, aerial twists, gyro spins, etc., all of which pursue the grace of dance or body shape. stretch. Both provide players with great fun. So it quickly "flowed" to all parts of the world, setting off a wave of craze among young people.
Global fringe culture. The so-called fringe culture refers to the subcultural forms created and recognized by a small number of informal groups in society and popular within their groups. Youth culture is one of the diverse social and cultural stratifications. It is a subcultural form in which young people are the only target group to live, spread and reproduce. Therefore, it is a marginal culture. The reason why the hip-hop movement is always popular among young people is that it is rebellious, non-utilitarian, advanced, aesthetic and differentiated, which is consistent with the psychological characteristics of young people. In the hip-hop movement, whether hip-hop, skateboarding, fancy cycling or other extreme sports, they all pursue formal beauty and stress relaxation. Street dancing integrates sports into entertainment, while skateboarding integrates entertainment into sports. Young people are energetic and pursue freedom of individuality. The combination of entertainment and sports is their favorite way of leisure. The hip-hop movement is originally a form of entertainment created by young people themselves, so it can be favored by this sub-group of young people.
Niche leisure culture. Hip-hop culture is a leisure culture for young people. It is a series of activities that young people carry out outside the time of work, study, sleep and other necessary activities to develop their perfect self and improve their quality of life.
Although skateboarding has begun to be included in formal vocational training and has a small number of professional players, most participants still regard it as a hobby. In terms of the nature of the sport and the original intention of its invention, it is a form of leisure and entertainment and has been included in the professional The sports category is the same fate faced by sports projects in our commercial era. As a leisure culture, hip-hop is an important way for young people to vent their emotions. When people dance hip-hop, they can do whatever they want. They can dance vigorously with their heads and heads bouncing, or they can sway lazily to the music and immerse themselves in the unrestrained dance steps. However, due to its high difficulty, skateboarding allows players to adjust their body and mind. , it also exercises people's will and endurance, and gains a profound understanding of life from sports.
3. Cultural attribution of the Hip-Hop movement
The background of globalization. The hip-hop movement is popular in an era of globalization. The isolation of young people between countries and regions has been broken. All-round connections, communication and mutual influence have become increasingly strengthened. The time and space constraints of human interaction have been weakened, making young people enjoy The group of people who are most active in the achievements of globalization. Marx has long pointed out that this day is inevitable. "The spiritual products of various nations have become the property of the public, and the one-sidedness and limitations of nations have become increasingly impossible." The hip-hop movement and other derived cultural forms have spread with the help of the encouraging hints of modern media and the three-dimensional display of media with both harmony and eroticism. Its popularity is so rapid that it has swept away all physical geographical barriers. All this would be unimaginable if it were not for the breakthroughs in transportation and communication provided by scientific and technological progress, making global cultural exchanges that transcend time and space a reality.
Networked living space. The rapid spread of hip-hop movement culture benefits from the pervasive Internet. The Internet era is characterized by openness, equality, selectivity and individuality. Affected by it, young people form groups according to their own wishes without authority, hard settings, and social stratification. The hip-hop movement group just meets these requirements. It connects members based solely on interest to compete and compete together. At the same time, they make full use of the Internet and establish various related websites or web pages. For example, "Skateboarding League", "Free Soul", "Kicker Club", "China Extreme Sports Network" and so on. Colleagues exchange experiences online, conduct online teaching, publish sports news, introduce foreign developments, etc. All information related to hip-hop culture can be found. Therefore, the development of hip-hop movement in China cannot but be said to have benefited from the spread of the Internet.
The belonging function of youth culture. The popularity of hip-hop sports culture also lies in its attraction and belonging functions as youth culture. It is a typical youth culture, passionate and unrestrained, in line with the lively nature of young people; its technical nature can arouse young people's desire to explore and curiosity, and hone their will and endurance. It has differentiated evaluation scales, making it easier for participants to obtain various positive evaluations; the hip-hop group can make corresponding and consistent group responses to external stimuli, and can provide psychological protection and psychological comfort to its members; and the group A large number of equal exchanges between members can stimulate creativity, form the concept of self-esteem, self-confidence and respect for others, and obtain emotional satisfaction. Young people will naturally identify with the Hip-Hop movement culture.
The life course of adolescence. The main characteristics of the adolescent stage are also an important reason for the popularity of hip-hop culture. During adolescence, people's self-awareness develops and forms rapidly, and their needs and desires for self-realization continue to grow. They strive to get rid of the influence of their parents and families, gain personal independence, and take getting rid of emotional attachment to adults as a sign of their adulthood. In this case, the peer group becomes the object of their emotional attachment.
At the same time, the youth of this period are highly rebellious. This is a specific way for them to fight for adult rights and gain recognition in the adult world. It is a form of self-assertion as a subject. Hip-hop culture is the cultural symbol of youth rebellion. It can be said that it is a completely individual activity in a group. There is no pressure to direct, order, be excluded, or be replaced. It is very free, and everyone is both an actor and an audience. Therefore, everyone is equal and has the opportunity to show their charm. They must also respect the rights of others to perform and appreciate them. This means the acquisition of autonomy, independence, equality, self-control rights and status, which are very important for young people.
The attraction of sports competition culture.
Hip-hop brings new elements of sports competition culture. Its unique excitement, indulgence, catharsis and adventure can release people's psychological potential and reduce psychological pressure. With the acceleration of the pace of life and the materialization and monetaryization of interpersonal communication, nervous urbanites are increasingly feeling the burden of life, and more and more people are choosing exercise to relieve themselves. Young people are already fans of sports, and they are very attracted to new and exciting forms of exercise. According to research, during sports, the human cerebral cortex nerves are in the most appropriate state of excitement. At this time, people have keen observation, clear memory, and active thinking, which can greatly enhance people's creative potential. Especially in competitions, people's self-esteem needs and self-realization needs are stronger, and their will to overcome difficulties and their belief in winning are stronger. Therefore, cultivating young people's love for their favorite sports, such as hip-hop, is a good way to exercise their body and mind.
4. The cultural function of the Hip-Hop movement
Self-selection of youth socialization methods. Joining the hip-hop movement group is a good way of socialization for young people to choose themselves. Personal socialization occurs through interpersonal communication, especially people with similar status, conditions, age, etc. in society, who are the first choice for interpersonal communication, and the same is true for young people. As a youth culture, the function mechanism of the hip-hop movement is to provide behavioral models for youth groups and provide the most concrete, vivid and convincing guidance to young individuals; to subtly guide young people and form a culture that is tolerated by this culture and the superior culture to which it belongs. , agreeable social behaviors and personality characteristics, and provide opportunities for communication and running-in through members’ social interactions, ultimately achieving the result of youth plasticity.
Simmel (Simmmel.G) believes that people have two needs. The first is to adapt to society and meet the "common needs of society", and the second is to be different from the people around you to meet the "different needs of society." Participating in hip-hop culture is a manifestation of young people following trends, which reflects their psychological dependence and identification with their peer groups. And striving to practice skills within the group in order to achieve perfection is due to their achievement motivation and "social differential needs". This is a normal response in the socialization process of youth. It integrates the joy of life, mutual cooperation, trust, support and self-realization achievement motivation into entertainment, sports and competition. In this process, young people gradually learn conflict resolution, cooperation and other social survival skills, which are lacking in family and school education.
Ideographic symbols of youth’s life values. The hip-hop movement is a pop culture icon. As a sports culture, it conveys the youth's desire, exploration and practice of the meaning of life; as a popular culture, it shows the rich personality and independent and rebellious spirit of youth. As a leisure culture, it is a manifestation of affirming and enjoying life. It can integrate the experience of the meaning of life into entertainment, and integrate value principles into healthy fun. People who participate in skateboarding have the same wish, that is, the desire to continuously obtain peak experiences, so they make their lives full of challenges, which is determined by their life values.
Hip-hop movement culture is a new cultural living space created by young people. It is formed on the basis of constantly breaking old cultural norms and living patterns that are not suitable for the development of human nature. As a new youth culture, it will promote continuous new variations, integration, transformation and development of people's lives and living conditions, showing an infinitely open trend. This is a process and method that is particularly needed for the survival and development of contemporary people. .
Objectively, it is a strong stimulus to social consumption. Modern consumption has social, psychological and symbolic implications, becoming a means of constructing personality, identity and social stratification. The same is true for youth consumption. Marketing believes that “young people are increasingly considered to have substantial and unpredictable decision-making power in the selection and use of cultural goods. …Marketers no longer define young people as having certain material interests (reflecting their position in the labor, family and education structures) and reflected in consumption tastes and habits, but defines youth as a market category." This can be seen throughout the youth's consumption of hip-hop culture. When the hip-hop movement first became popular, keen merchants recognized the inevitability of its future popularity, and quickly learned from foreign practices of incorporating sports into commercialization mechanisms, and began to cultivate professional players in extreme sports.
Today, hip-hop sports events of various levels are held in many cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Hefei, Zhengzhou, and Huzhou; hip-hop music groups and rap records have been produced. International exchanges of the hip-hop movement are carried out frequently, and a company specializing in manufacturing skateboards also entered China in 1992. Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other places have established special extreme sports venues. Shops specializing in selling skateboards, hip-hop culture websites, hip-hop training classes, Hip-Hop evening parties, agencies that organize performances, individual hip-hop supplies stores, hip-hop clothing stores, etc. are all popping up everywhere. All this has objectively promoted the upsurge of youth consumption, forming a new business model with youth as the main consumer, hip-hop sports equipment and clothing as the main products, and driving related industries, showing a strong personalized consumption color. Cultural boom.
Conducive to social integration. The popularity of hip-hop movement culture among Chinese youth, on the one hand, indicates that there is a crisis in social identity, because social identity comes from cultural identity, and the collectivism principle advocated by traditional mainstream culture, as a cultural orientation, cannot cancel various colorful edges. The rationality of cultural orientation. Cultural orientation is only a stipulation of the principles of social life. It does not exclude the diversity of specific life contents under the guidance of this principle. On the other hand, hip-hop culture just reflects the increasing degree of social integration. Because the popularity of this trend in China, which originally belongs to the Western bourgeois cultural system, shows that the social and political system recognizes the youth's establishment of a heterogeneous culture suitable for this group. It is an important step for young people to create new cultural space and choose a personalized way of life. respect, which was unimaginable in China before the reform and opening up. Now people have realized that this is an era of individualization. In an individualized society, various subcultural groups are connected to form a vibrant micro-foundation, and are maintained into an organic social macrostructure through the cultural ties of specific groups. The social structure can no longer be integrated only by collectivist monoculture. Individuals, as its micro-foundation, are becoming more and more autonomous, differentiated, equal and independent. Once excluded, it will intensify the centrifugal force against the mainstream culture and ultimately lead to social The structure is loosening and disconnected, so people are becoming more and more tolerant of heterogeneous subcultures. Through the shaping, cohesion and edification functions of various subcultures on their own members, they can generate a sense of identity and belonging to unite people's hearts, which will ultimately promote the healthy operation and effective integration of society.