Teenage – The Prehistory of Youth Culture 1875 - 1945 by Jon Savage
This is big and dense exploration of youth culture's emergence and evolution during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Yep, there were teenagers back then and they were starting to flex their muscles and get noticed by the establishment. It didn’t all happen in the 1950s.
With mountains of research and a narrative style that blends historical and cultural analysis with personal anecdotes, diary entries and letters, Savage delivers a thorough examination of how teenagers evolved from an unrecognised demographic to cultural pioneers. This mix is one of the strengths of what can be an overwhelming book at times.
Jon Savage came to my attention through his fantastic and highly recommended England’s Dreaming, a history of the Sex Pistols and Britain in the late 70s. if you are at all interested in the rise of punk both in terms of the music and how the movement evolved in the England and the USA of the time that book is a must read. He has written extensively on music and Teenage grew out of a failed TV documentary idea that he just wanted to delve deeper into.
As you might expect, the book focuses on Europe and the USA and begins in the late 19th century, when societal shifts such as urbanisation, industrialisation and mass immigration began to create space for a distinct youth culture. The rise of the nation state and the emerging movements of nationalism and the bohemianism set the stage for the first battle for the new teenagers’ minds, bodies and souls. The phrase juvenile delinquent had been first used in the 1810s and by the 1870s newspapers were ranting and raving about hoodlums and teen gangs. Nothing much has changed.
We work our way through the invention of military schools and the Boy Scouts, NY gangs, hideous slum life, wealthy college freshmen, lords and ladies and decidedly odd New Euro pagans before WW1 descends and slaughters them all.
Post WW1, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism and communism, the move away from religion to secularism and the rise of The Consumer Society all continue to particularly impact and influence the teenager. Sex, drugs, shopping and jazz you might say. Savage navigates us through the pivotal moments, from the rebellious flappers of the 1920s, the swing-dancing teens of the 1930s, through to the end of WW2 and ground zero at the birth of the Baby Boomers, illustrating how each era's youth found ways to express their identity and desires amidst societal constraints.
But Teenage is not merely a chronological account of youth culture's evolution; it is also a critical examination of how teenagers shaped and were shaped by their social and cultural environments. Savage's prose is engaging. However, you might find the book's extensive scope and detailed historical analysis a bit too much at times.
In an age where youth is increasingly shaping political and cultural landscapes, Teenage serves as a timely reminder of the power and potential of young people as a market, and as drivers for meaningful change. And how us oldies have never been happy about it.
Teenage – The Prehistory of Youth Culture 1875 – 1945
Jon Savage
Penguin Books
2007
549 PP
