Bourgois argues that street culture is “creative, destructive and oppositional” I will begin to explain each aspect of street culture, before discussing what Bourgois was depicting in the Ethnography when referring to street culture. Furthermore, I will use sections from the Ethnography to paint an essential picture of Bourgois argument while including my own reflection. To Illustrate, I shall go over Bourgois definition of inner-street culture “A complex and conflictual web of beliefs, symbols, modes of interaction, values, and ideologies that have emerged in opposition to exclusion from main stream society “(Bourgois, 2008:8) with this in mind, we can depict that Bourgois, recognizes the inner struggle of ethnic segregation and prejudice
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For Bourgois the creative aspect of street society is ‘the concentration of socially marginalized populations into politically and ecologically isolated inner-city enclaves has fomented an especially explosive cultural creativity that is defiance of racism and economic marginalization.’ (Bourgois, 2008:8) With this in mind, we look at how inner-street culture had exploded as a ‘new fad’ in America as Hip hop and rap were becoming more popularized and implemented within society. Styles such as baggy jeans and hoodies became more of a trend then a subjection of poverty, racial segregation and economic marginalization. Members of society flocked to these creative trends as popular and unique. Terms like “cool”, “square” and “hip” were coined on inner-city streets. Granted, we can see how society has a way of creating a falsifiable look into other cultures allowing the exploitation of ethnic minorities’. “Mainstream society through fashion, music, film, and television eventually recuperates and commercializes many of these oppositional street styles, recycling them as pop culture” (Bourgois, 2008: 8) We see here that we are the victims of our own society. Without education on how these styles came to be, we will further go on exploiting and contributing to a bigger picture of economic
For Bourgois the creative aspect of street society is ‘the concentration of socially marginalized populations into politically and ecologically isolated inner-city enclaves has fomented an especially explosive cultural creativity that is defiance of racism and economic marginalization.’ (Bourgois, 2008:8) With this in mind, we look at how inner-street culture had exploded as a ‘new fad’ in America as Hip hop and rap were becoming more popularized and implemented within society. Styles such as baggy jeans and hoodies became more of a trend then a subjection of poverty, racial segregation and economic marginalization. Members of society flocked to these creative trends as popular and unique. Terms like “cool”, “square” and “hip” were coined on inner-city streets. Granted, we can see how society has a way of creating a falsifiable look into other cultures allowing the exploitation of ethnic minorities’. “Mainstream society through fashion, music, film, and television eventually recuperates and commercializes many of these oppositional street styles, recycling them as pop culture” (Bourgois, 2008: 8) We see here that we are the victims of our own society. Without education on how these styles came to be, we will further go on exploiting and contributing to a bigger picture of economic