Abstract
This chapter explores the effects of the mobility of surfing and surf music on cultural appropriation. It contextualizes the movements of populations and cultures in order to illustrate the concept of ethno-aesthetics. The processes of connection and distinction in surfing and surf music are described from an idealized cultural construction that was built from memory by individuals and societies. The spatial-temporal movements of surfing and surf music are put into perspective in the processes of cultural acquisition and cultural capital construction that result in the production of a singular and subjective subculture. The notion of cultural sociality introduces the paradox of rootedness and movement, present throughout the remainder of the book.
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Notes
- 1.
The notion of bricolage is understood here in accord with the definition given by Claude Levi-Strauss (1962) in The Savage Mind: “the characteristic of mythical thought, as of ‘bricolage’ on the practical plane, is that it builds up structured sets, not directly with other structured sets but by using the remains and debris of events” (p. 14). Residues and debris are here directly connected to the distance between the source culture and the hybrid culture. For Sayeux (2005), by building their universe through bricolage, surfers create social ties and belonging networks (pp. 232–233).
- 2.
Interviewed on June 13, 2017.
- 3.
ASG is a metal group originally from North Carolina. Pennywise is a punk-rock band from California. The latter seems particularly popular among Baby Boomers and Generation X in Florida.
- 4.
For example, rap is no longer a phenomenon exclusively associated with the United States, which is why we talk about US rap, French rap, etc. Surfing is global, but its influence remains thought of as stemming from the United States, and its music has not broken the shackles of the historical nomenclature: there are Australian, Hawaiian, etc. surf musics but that is not what we are referring to when the terms surf music are used.
- 5.
Interviewed on June 7, 2017.
- 6.
Interviewed on September 10, 2016.
- 7.
Interviewed on June 13, 2017.
- 8.
- 9.
EDM and dubstep are two types of electronic music. The former is a broad category which entails a large spectrum of electronic music. The latter is characterized by the accentuation of the bass.
- 10.
The effect of reverberation happens when sounds balance off the surface of a space, causing the repetition of the sound but in such an intricate way that it is difficult to interpret the replicas as being successive sounds (Pearsall, 2017).
- 11.
I suggest an explanation of the concept of diaspora, taking into account the debates that exist around it. The typology of William Safran (1991) serves as a starting point for my definition: diasporas involve the dispersion of a people from different places, the collective memory of the place of origin, the feeling of not being accepted in the host place, the idea of a necessary return to the place of origin, its restoration, the maintenance of relations with it (pp. 83–84). However, as Clifford (1994) pointed out, certain aspects of Safran’s (1991) definition do not or no longer address the problems of national conscience, resistance to assimilation by taking control of the host place, and facilitation of the transport of people and ideas (p. 307). My understanding of the term diaspora then stems from the definition of Safran (1991) to which I add the idea of boundaries that a group or a culture must cross or control in order to maintain its identity. The notion thus defined does not correspond to the way of understanding the mobilities of surfing and surf music and their corollary, as they are defined here.
- 12.
Sean refers to his Hawaiian friend, Donovan Frankenreiter.
- 13.
The cultural capital is what allows an individual to mobilize appropriate skills and attitudes.
- 14.
- 15.
On the international scene, Kelly Slater tends to represent American surfing as a whole.
- 16.
A fish is a shortboard particularly adapted to Florida’s small waves, whereas a big-wave gun is a long and narrow surfboard that allows to surf the big waves of Tahiti, for instance. It is not uncommon to see beginners on these boards that they buy used without knowing their function.
- 17.
The concept of strand applies to surfing and includes the style of surfing, the culture or cultures of the place in which the subculture developed, and the geographical environment.
- 18.
One of Gary Propper’s last art exhibits at the Florida Surf Museum hosted local bands.
- 19.
- 20.
The concept has been interpreted by many, including Jack Attali (1985) and Michel Maffesoli (1988). For the former, sociality is synonymous with music, as it is performance and a substitute for representation. For the latter, it defines the common characteristics of humans and founds what enables social life. It is operated at the micro-level beyond class borders and within consuming and lifestyle groups who collectively imagine and built communities of peers.
- 21.
These points will be developed in the last part of this book.
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Barjolin-Smith, A. (2020). Contextualizing Ethno-Aesthetic Mobilities: Toward Floridian Surfing and Surf Music. In: Ethno-Aesthetics of Surf in Florida. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7478-8_6
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