Characteristics of the Fully Committed

The Fully Committed participants emphasise the similarities between members of their social group and the symbolic construction of community (Cohen, 1985) within their social groups. Symbols, such as a song, a cultural item, generate a sense of shared belonging. They are aware that they are part of a group. A song can excite the allegiance of a group and thus unites the group members in their eyes as well as in the eyes of outsiders. They share a similar sense of things or they believe that they do. This means that they do not necessarily understand things in the same way but their shared symbols allow them to believe that they do.

The Fully Committed are thoroughly connected to the cultural form or cultural item, ‘the object’, as Willis calls it. In this study, this object is the music that they listen to. They are also thoroughly connected to the practices of others who are as committed as themselves to that particular music. Their engagement in music and their involvement in the social practices of their social groups influence their own identities. There is a conscious relationship with the music, as well as a conscious intention in their practices.

In order to categorise respondents, Willis’s (1978, p.190) framework of analysis was broadened to include aspects which Willis’s framework alone would not have made possible.

Indexical analysis, which is usually associated with quantitative methods, was only a preliminary part of the analysis used to start shaping the four categories and to loosely place respondents into these categories, since the aim of this study was not to quantify behaviour or practices, but rather, to observe and explore behaviour and how the respondents understood and engaged in that behaviour. Time and involvement in the music scene were the main themes which were focused on for indexical analysis.

Usually the Fully Committed listened to their preferred music for long periods of time both in private and in public, taking every opportunity to listen to their preferred music and were unlikely to listen to any other type of music for considerable amounts of time. Their leisure time was usually taken up completely by their involvement in their music scene, either by playing it or learning an instrument, or having collections of music or even being involved in the promotion or production of the music in some way or another.

Homological analysis, in Willis’s (1978, p.191) terms, attempts to analyse the interaction between the social group or groups they belonged to and the cultural item.

Therefore this analysis focused on the interactions between the Fully Committed and the music they listen to, thus highlighting what the music represents for this category, its meaning for them, as well as the attitudes which members of this category have towards their music.

The Fully Committed are socially, strongly engaged within their social group. They continuously participate in the social practices and rituals of their groups, therefore being part of the processes of creating the group’s social identity as well as their own identity as individuals within that group. They are the insiders, the ones who know the ‘real ideal’ and who can be looked upon as role models of the social group. They are considered as an authority, as the ones to whom members of the social group look to for reference regarding everyday social practices such as image, ideology, language and overall lifestyle. They are also the ones to whom outsiders as well as insiders, look to as reference points, as typical and authentic examples of their social group. They are highly positioned in the socially constructed hierarchies of their social groups and are the ones who enjoy the admiration of the members. Thus they form the elite within the social group, a group within a group. As the elite within the group, the Fully Committed still had to continuously prove themselves through their lifestyle, their in-depth knowledge, their social practices, their image and so on, not only to be considered as insiders but also as the veterans of the group. It is the practices, rituals and common meanings of cultural forms and practices which constitute the access points of outsiders. Outsiders gained access to the circle of the insiders by adopting and internalising the social group’s practices, ideologies, image and manifesting them is an entry point to becoming an insider within the social group. Becoming one of the veterans involved internalising the social practices and showing full commitment to the music.

For the Fully Committed, being up to date in their preferred music was considered a priority. This included knowing about the latest releases, newly formed bands, performances, news about performers’ personal lives and so on.

In-depth knowledge of the music, in whatever particular type of music they are engaged in, having knowledge which requires research about the various bands, the songs, the dates of releases and so on, was considered as prestigious. This does not mean that all members of the social group have in-depth knowledge but it means that the members perceive the Fully Committed within their social groups who have in-depth knowledge about the music they listened to, as people to look up to, as authority in that field.

According to Willis (1978), a high intensity of social engagement activates and brings about particular meanings which the cultural item, in this case the music, becomes loaded with. The Fully Committed are very active in their cultural fields. They are the ones who give on-going meaning to the music which they engage in. It is they who set the accepted code of practices, it is towards them that outsiders look to, to find the ‘real’ meaning of that particular music and the practices that are associated with it.

Integral analysis is concerned with the way the music and the social group influence each other and modify each other. It looks at the lifestyle and activities of the group and the music either as a whole or as elements that condition each other as part of a unitary system (Willis, 1978, p.201). The effects of the music on the Fully Committed is that they seek to go deeper into the music and all that it brings with it, the practices, lifestyle, image and so on, and internalising such practices as a form of capital, and making them part of their identity. Very often, the Fully Committed seek to involve themselves at a higher level in two ways, which are both a means of accumulating cultural capital. The first is by learning an instrument associated with the music they are committed to, either in a self-taught way or by taking formal training. The second is by adopting practices which are typical of that social group and making them part of their everyday life. These practices include adopting the image associated with the music they listen to and incorporates clothing, accessories, hairstyle, makeup, posture, manner of movement and the general attitude towards life which other members of the social group adopt. For instance a Fully Committed rocker, or rock chick, as the female rockers call themselves, would wear the typical rock band T shirt, or lace black top, for any occasion, regardless of whether it was adequate for work, for leisure and so on. To them wearing those clothes was part of being a rock chick.

The Fully Committed strongly consider the music they listen to as a label of identity declaring that the music influenced their character and made them who they are. They are aware of the meaning they themselves give to the music and therefore the way they influence that meaning for themselves and others around them.