| Abstrakt: |
In this paper, I draw on theoretical concepts from the collective memory literature to investigate generational themes and cultural transmission for respondents in my study whom I call "80s Babies"--members of Hip Hop culture, born between 1978 and 1987. I focus on the generational transmission of cultural knowledge about a time that my interview respondents share with a sense of nostalgia as the bygone days or the "Golden Era" of Hip Hop. In my analysis I identify two sub-groups within the "80s Babies" cohort; the "Snobs" and the "Heads." I argue that although members of these two groups share a collective memory for the "Golden Era", their orientation to that time period is very much reflective of their immediate contextual experiences with Hip Hop and thus results in two distinct narratives of the "Golden Era". These narratives undergird the "80s Babies" designations of which of Hip Hop's current cultural products are and are not representative of Hip Hop according to their understanding. I conclude that, these divergent narratives of the "Golden Era" of Hip Hop suggest that the "80s Babies" cohort of Hip Hop enthusiasts has experienced the culture in a very different way than previous generations, providing insight into the cultural dynamics of Hip Hop symbols and meanings, as well as how these symbols and meanings are transferred across generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
