Skinhead

A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and then soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, and later to other countries around the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian (specifically Jamaican) rude boys and British mods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle. Originally, the skinhead subculture was mainly based on those elements, not politics or race.

Eventually, political affiliations grew in significance for the skinhead subculture, and then the political spectrum within the subculture spanned from far right to far left, although many skinheads described themselves as apolitical. Contemporary skinhead fashions range from clean-cut 1960s mod-influenced styles to less-strict punk- and hardcore-influenced styles.

History

In the late 1950s the post-war economic boom led to an increase in disposable income among many young people. Some of those youths spent that income on new fashions popularised by American soul groups, British R&B bands, certain film actors, and Carnaby Street clothing merchants. These youths became known as mods, a youth subculture noted for its consumerism and devotion to fashion, music and scooters.

Skinheads (novel)

Skinheads is the seventh novel written by the British author John King. It was published in 2008 by Jonathan Cape.

Set in the same new town hinterland as two of King's previous books, Human Punk and White Trash, it forms a loose trilogy with those two, in what King has described as The Satellite Cycle.

The main character is Terry English, an original skinhead approaching his fifties who is still mourning his dead wife, attempting to keep his nephew Nutty Ray (also a skinhead) out of trouble, and concerned that his 15-year-old son Laurel might be a closet hippy. Terry is also dogged by ill-health. But he is kept going by a crush on a younger employee and dreams of re-opening a derelict club called The Union Jack.

Raquel Moran, in The New Review, said the central theme of Skinheads is that "family values, the love for your own country and the ethics of hard work are timeless sentiments which anyone and everyone, including members of the British skinhead culture, is allowed to praise and defend in their own way".

Skinheads (film)

Skinheads is a 1989 United States thriller film, directed, written and produced by Greydon Clark.

Plot

A group of neo-Nazi skinheads violently rob a Jewish grocery. After they flee the scene of the crime, they stop at a roadside diner where they encounter some traveling students. The neo-Nazis terrorize the students and the owner of the diner, leaving two survivors who escape to the nearby Colorado mountains. The neo-Nazis give chase but are met with opposition when a World War II veteran living in the woods comes to the aid of the students.

Cast

External links