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- - by: Comment and analysis by Andrew Banks

- From: news.com.au
- September 14, 2011 1:05PM

TV scene: Subcultures are so mainstream

MY old mate Isaac Newton once said: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Or something like that. I wasn't listening, I was watching television.

But, it stands to reason that for every subculture in society, there has to be a corresponding TV show (and mobile app).

This week, I'm going to explore some of these TV subcultures, strip back their mystique and reveal their underbellies. It won't be pretty. And you may need a good wash after reading.

I live in a pretty good neighbourhood, so for me, exposing myself (metaphorically speaking) to these shows was an eye-opening experience. But a most rewarding one.

Here are FIVE of my favourite TV subculture shows:

(Warning some videos may include spoilers/bad language/disturbing images)

Sons of Anarchy

Will appeal to: Bad-a** bikers, bikie poets.

Link: Official site.

Sons of Anarchy premiered in 2008. Its second season debuted in 2009, and its third season began on September 7, last year. The show was renewed for a fourth season. Life lessons: Never threaten a bikie. Never dob in a bikie. Never crack on to a bikie's woman. And never, EVER sit on a bikie's bike.

Why is it so good? This is my favourite show at the moment as I wait for Mad Men to return. Ron Perlman is an excellent bikie gang leader. It's got Peg from Married With Children (Katey Sagal) in an amazing dramatic role as the matriarch. Her son Jax, played by Charlie Hunnam, is great eye candy - like Brad Pitt "only less gay". It's got guns, sex, violence, explosions - what more do you want? Bit of trivia: Sagal has been married to the show's creator, Kurt Sutter, since 2004. She has a son called Jackson from a previous marriage.

Big Love

Will appeal to: Polygamist Mormons, multi-taskers.

Link: Official site.

Big Love aired between 2006 and 2011 in the US. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy. It stars Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. The show ran for five seasons. Life lessons: One wife is enough. You can't possibly run three (sometimes four) households while holding down a day job as a politician, casino owner and church leader. Something's got to give.

Why is it so good? As a married dad, this show reminds me that most of my problems are first-world problems: my computer froze, I can't find a matching sock, I've just spilled my drink. Here's a guy juggling everything and still surviving. The writers took a risk exploring polygamy and they've done an amazing job creating likeable, believable characters that you just want to isolate from each other to save them from their own poor choices.

Dexter

Will appeal to: Serial killers, blood donors.

Link: Official site.

Dexter is a drama centering on Dexter Morgan (Michael C Hall), a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer. The show debuted in 2006, on Showtime and the fifth season ended last year in the US. The show has been renewed for a sixth season and is set to start next month in the US. Life lessons: When disposing of bodies, the EAC is a handy outlet. The "code" is kinda flexible. Blood is thicker than water.

Why is it so good? I managed to get my mum hooked on this show recently. Now she's not the bloodthirsty type, but she is a fan of CSI and I knew she was ready for something ... meatier. Once I explained to her that the storylines don't wrap up every episode and that this story was more of a slow kill, she warmed to it. I worry I have created a monster, but the smile she gave me when she showed me series 3 and 4 from a plastic bag she had just bought at the shops vindicated my feeling that Dexter is a pretty bloody good show. Pardon the pun.

Breaking Bad

Will appeal to: Drug dealers, chemistry fans.

Link: Official site.

Breaking Bad premiered in 2008 in the US. The series was renewed for a fourth season. AMC says Breaking Bad has been renewed for a fifth and final season consisting of 16 episodes that may be split over two seasons. Life lessons: Never f*** with Mexican twin hitmen. ALWAYS have a plan. Drugs are bad. You can go too far trying to help your family.

Why is it so good? If you feel your life spiralling out of control, better to let someone else do it and live vicariously through them, right? This is one poor bloke's journey and believe me, it's not pretty. Sure, he's cooking meth, but you're rooting for him. His motives are as pure as the stuff he produces and when the action and suspense cranks up ... well.

Subculture Of The Week

An episode of a TV show, especially a Crime and Punishment Series, focusing on a particular subculture. Accuracy is optional, since the only research that goes into the episode is reading the paper...especially when the paper wasn't right. This is also common on Medical Dramas with the subculture having a connection to the Patient of the Week. Sitcoms occasionally use this trope when one of the characters becomes involved with a strange new crowd or dates someone who is.The subculture in question is most often presented in a horrifically stereotyped manner. They aren't just average people with non-mainstream interests. Rather, they are total creeps with no social skills unrelated to their subculture, which dominates every aspect of their lives. For example, if it's a sexual subculture, they'll wear fetish gear to the supermarket and make inappropriate come-ons to the main character. If it's gamers (video ortabletop), they'll play to the point of addiction, live with their parents well into their 30's, possibly imitate the violence they commit in the game, and are probably virgins. If it's Neo-Pagans, they'll wear ridiculous Goth or New Age clothing and talk about casting spells and "cursing" people they don't like. To real people within these subcultures, the misconceptions and poor research on these shows can be either a source of Snark Bait or a Berserk Button.

Useful Notes: Subcultures

Say what you want about predominant modern culture, it isn't everyone's bag. Some people appreciate things that skew differently than the cultural norm. Other people, like younger generations, can't seem to find a role in theculture of past generations, and so set out to create their own. Still others latch on to a new development and try to build it into something big, something that may one day reshape the norm. This is how a subculture is created.On the other hand, some people want to be normal and won't understand why others would purse something else.They argue the problem can't be that it just doesn't work for those people; no, there must be something weird,laughable, or even dangerous about those people. This meme then gets reused by the media, in the form ofinvestigative reports and special episodes.As screenwriter John Rogers

paraphrases: "Anyone who decides to poke their head out of the cultural world of the CBS primetime line-up is a sad, basement-dwelling loner screaming into his Hello Kitty pillow as crackling dubs of the original Spider-Man cartoon flicker on his television." This may be corrected or subverted on occasion, but it's safe to say that any hobby or subgroup that is not understood by the mainstream media will be butchered, one way or another. Just look at the number of news stories which cover comic book conventions, that include at least one photo of a fat man in an ill-fitting spandex costume.Just look at how many times school shootings are linked to violent video games or music, instead of the fact that the shooters were likely victims of bullying. The historical acceptance of war efforts and rejection of peace movements makes this even more ridiculous.This page serves to both provide accurate info on subcultures while demonstrating the ways in which subcultures are portrayed in the media, both accurately and otherwise. Some subcultures have their own Useful Notes topics to elaborate upon their histories, many aspects, and other things that are usually missed out on by the media. We won't list them all, because human cultures nest fractally.