Lit Review
The purpose of the lit review is to show my readers what other research I referenced in my research. It really helped me because it forced me to read, and even closely read, my resources. It will help my readers by showing them what research they can go to if they would like to know more about a certain topic. My personal goals for this paper are to write it well! I have never attempted a paper like this and I just want to get it right. I believe my target audience is the same audience as the audience for my intro. I will be catering me writing to young adult audiences.
Lit Review
One reference that I used was Robert T. Wood’s Straightedge “Youth: Complexity And Contradictions of a Subculture”. Wood is a professor of sociology and writes about the history and social implications of being Straight Edge. Wood’s research on the history of Straight Edge states that Straight Edge began in the early 1980’s, and has roots in the hardcore punk music subculture.
Since my research was on what types of things influence a youth towards claiming Straight Edge, I needed to research the effects of family life and religiosity. James Herbert, Williams, Von Dorn A. Richard, Ayers D. Charles, Bright L. Charlotte, Abbot D. Robert, and Hawkins J. David’s research on the topic explains that families can have a positive influence on a child’s decision to do drugs. A strong, close relationship between a child and his family may impact a child’s choices and cause him or her to abstain from using tobacco, drugs, or alcohol. Their research also showed that children who were raised in an unstable home environment or in a home with a “lack of a consistent parent figure” were also more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Their research was preformed by giving a questionnaire to college students are three large universities in America. They looked at how things like race, gender, and religious affiliations influenced young peoples tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use.
Another reference that I used in my research was the film American Hardcore. Straight Edge has deep roots in the hardcore punk subculture, so to understand the Straight Edge movement it is important to understand the history of the hardcore punk subculture. American Hardcore goes deeply investigates the history of the hardcore punk subculture, and uses many clips from old hardcore shows and interviews with members of bands that shaped the scene. The film states that the Straight Edge movement began in 1981, and adopted it’s name from the lyrics of a Minor Threat song. The Straight Edge movement became a home for many youths who resented mainstream music and pop culture. They wanted to be as different from the “cool” kids who drank and smoked and bullied them as possible. The film also investigated that violent, militant side of the Straight Edge movement. Straight Edgers began to fight back against local drug dealers in the cities where the movement was strongest, such as Boston, Washington D.C., and New York. Violent Straight Edge gangs began to form, and fight back against organizations that push drugs. Straight Edge bands also controlled the subculture and wrote violent lyrics about not tolerating drugs and alcohol. Even the shows where the music is performed are violent, with attendees pushing and hitting one another. This research was crucial to my project because it takes a firm understanding about the history and origins of a movement to write about why someone would join that movement.
Another film that I used as a resource for my research is Boston Beatdown, Vol; 2. The film is about the violent hardcore subculture of Boston, Massachusetts. It depicts members of the movement, almost exclusively young white men, fighting and attacking people who aren’t members. It shows graphic images of fights in which hardcore kids, many of whom are Straight Edge, beat the ever loving stuffing our of people who are not Straight Edge. The film has been met with resentment from many Straight Edge viewers, however. Many Edgers maintain that the Straight Edge movement is in no way about violence, and that films such as Boston Beatdown, Vol; 2 are dragging down the idea of Straight Edge.
The purpose of the lit review is to share the research that I referenced in my research so that my readers will be able to go back and get more information on a certain topic. It helped me by helping me gain even greater focus for the rest of my paper. It was also a tremendous relief to get the lit review done, because there is not too much more work left to go on this assignment! To cater my writing to my audience, I used common language that young people can understand and defined all the types of things that would be necessary for a young person to comprehend the paper.
