90s Rave Culture

“Pure love, pure dance, pure revolution, pure drugs” (Omri). This is how the Economist portrays the Rave Culture and already shows its affection towards the topic. The author claims that the Rave Culture has a huge history and traditions which played an influential role in society. Raving in the modern era is not the same as it used to be back in the day when underground clubs were illegal. “When rave culture took over the world, the UK youth had to fight for their right to party” — the author talks more about how raving impacted the freedom of self-expression and the right to dance —  “Section 63 of the 1994 Criminal Justice Act was the law that made raving impossible”, More than 50,000 people went to the streets in London to defend their right to dance (Mullin).  The writer also unfolds the story of the rave culture from its first origin. Even though this article is primarily based on techno lovers, its audience can be anybody. This article focuses on the impacts of the rave culture and the effects it has on the younger generation. The magazine narrates the story with a great passion and love towards the culture. “The Ravers used to live from a rave to a rave…”. The way the article portrays the underground culture of techno music is very enthusiastic and positive.

“They were free and all they wanted was peace, love, and dance. The magic of the moment…”(Omri).  The writer’s description of what rave was about is very important to the tone and the stance the writer is taking. The purpose of the article can be seen to make people aware of the rave culture and its impact on the younger generation as well as on society. The magazine quoted Pete Tong, Brittish DJ to strengthen its story of how rave culture helped expand creativity and expression of individuality. “It was all one love, everyone together. Anyone can dance all of a sudden, freedom of expression. Dress down, not up. Converse trainers, smiley T-shirts – a sort of tribalism took over. Everyone was happy to be the same”(Tong). The language the author uses is informal and very accessible to the audience. The author uses simple language because the audience of the article is the general public and the genre of the article is an online journal.

Dance Dance Revolution; Georgia’s Hipster Politics – The Economist

 

The publisher of this article is The Economist. This article focuses on not only on the “club life” but also about the influence Raving has in Georgian society. The audience of this article is the general public because the issues this article brings can relate to a lot of people, thought the main audience can be considered the younger generation. As we read through the article we can understand that not everybody in Georgia is a fan of rave culture and some are even against it. As the article paints a picture of what actually is going on in the country, the author is showing its perspective towards the incident by using specific quotes to influence the readers.

“A tussle over nightclubs in Tbilisi is about more than partying” – this is how the writer describes rave in Georgia. This article focuses on Georgia’s rave revolution. It started when the Police officers raided Bassiani on May 12th, 2018. Bassiani is considered as one of the most famous techno clubs in the World. Even if you never heard of Bassiani, after reading this article you can see why it can be considered as one of the most influential clubs in the World.  “Raving is central to younger Georgians’ identity with techno music being the soundtrack to those seeking social liberty and cultural freedom”(Needham). The publisher portrays their stance by writing about it and spreading the information. I believe by writing about this, the writer supports Bassiani and people who were involved. The tone of the article can be described as supportive because of how the writer describes the situation and its feelings toward the situation. As I have pointed out before, the author uses specific examples and points of view in his article. We can think that the author might be biased toward the subject. We can see the bias as we read the author’s views on the effects of raiding Bassiani and uses sympathy to persuade the audience. The writer finishes the article with these words – “The battle, like the music, looks set to go on” – from this quote we can understand the purpose of this article. It simply is spreading the story of what happened as well as showing how unfairly people get treated just because of their lifestyle, which can be considered biased. The language the publisher uses in this article is very informal and direct, this is because to make the article more accessible to the general public.

Tbilisi – All About Music

This documentary is about exploring Tbilisi. Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia. It is located in the middle of Asia and Eastern Europe. The directors and writers of this documentary are Lukasz Dryzalowski & Krzysztof Wrobel of T-Mobile. The tone of this documentary is very enthusiastic and passionate. The documentary demonstrates how Tbilisi has transformed from post-soviet cities to “possibly the coolest city in the world” according to MTV.  The audience of the documentary mainly would be the young generation who are interested in traveling as well as people who are passionate about this lifestyle. As the documentary talks about the growth of techno lovers in the Georgian capital, the main point is not only about partying or music, it is about a new generation who works together as a community to create something meaningful and live in a better place. A new generation as the documentary shows is not only the youth but people who think differently and are open-minded. By explaining Tbilisi’s lifestyle the documentary has a clear standpoint as well as its tone.

The stance it is taking is very supportive and enthusiastic. The documentary shows its very interests and concerns about the city. The tone of the documentary can be described as sympathetic and passionate. The documented has clearly chosen the stance by showing the victims of the story to make the story dramatic and influential. The way the documentary is made we can surely say that it was meant to inspire and leave a positive mark.

It is using pathos to show motions to make the documentary more interesting and its story more significant. The purpose of this documentary is to express and how people how open-minded and creative people can influence society in many positive ways. “Unfortunately, not everyone was able to adapt to the new rapidly moving Georgia”(6:20). I see that the documentary is already making a point and showing its stance once again. The language it is using is very accessible and informal because this is a documentary for the general public.

Club Drugs: Nothing to Rave About

The author of this article is Kathiann M. Kowalski and it is primarily directed to increase awareness of drug abuse in clubs. The audience is the people who are in this lifestyle or youth who should know more about what club life is about. Even though my previous articles show the good side of raving and club life, how it is for people who love music and self-expression there is another side that I wanted to show as well. The author starts the article with a story of a sixteen-year-old Brandy who takes half of the ecstasy table for the first time. “It was Brandy’s first time taking the drug and thought it would not be harmful and just wanted to try it. Later that night she stopped breathing and died”(Kowalski). Although users may think these substances are harmless, research has shown that club drugs can produce a range of effects… hallucinations, paranoia, amnesia, and, in some cases, death”(Kowalski). The tone of the author is pretty clear toward the story. Kowalski does not think drugs are fun and she goes on to talk more about the risks and the side effects on several drugs. The author has researched these drugs and fully explains the facts that we should know about them. In her paper, she fully covers the side effects of a series of drugs such as Ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, Ketamine, etc.

Even though the author primarily talks about drugs in clubs, she also claims that the club drugs are not at Raves anymore but it is spreading. She talks about how it is becoming more common and unfortunately the drug overdosed percentage is increasing and we’ll be seeing cases like Brandy’s more often. The purpose of this article as I have said before is to make users more aware of the side effects and want them to be more cautious around drugs. Kowalski explains the risks of not realizing what somebody might be taking.

“No one can tell whether a pill or liquid is what someone claims. Nor can anyone predict just how dangerous any drug may be”(Kowalski). From all the facts the author has given us with her article I do think it should reach more people, especially to the younger generation who can be easily persuaded and get addicted very easily. The language of this article is very simple and direct.

I have chosen the Rave Culture as the theme because I am very passionate about techno music, especially when it comes to discrimination toward the younger generation. With clubbing, there come drugs but it is important to know when to say no and when to say yes. “Be on guard. Avoid gatherings where people use drugs. Practice how to say no if someone offers you club drugs” (Kowalski). All these articles relate to each other but each has its own story. These articles have many different similarities. They all use emotions and sympathy by showing the impact these incidents had on the victims. All of these articles can be seen as biased, because of how they portray their stories. Though they all show some kind of bias, it is important to see the difference between credible and noncredible reasoning. Mainly, all of the articles use rhetoric to influence the reader or the viewer, which is very important considering it can sometimes be more influential how you tell a story than what the actual story is.

 

Work Cited

1. “Dance Dance Revolution; Georgia’s Hipster Politics Citation Metadata.” Shibboleth Authentication Request, Economist Intelligence Unit N.A. Incorporated, 18 May 2018,
2. Dryżałowski, Łukasz, and Krzysztof Wróbel. “Tbilisi – All About Music.” YouTube, T-Mobile Electronic Beats PL, 20 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUtji2xH-6Y.
3. Needham, Rosie. “Tbilisi, Possibly The Coolest City In The World.” MTV UK, 1 Mar. 2019, mtv.co.uk/travel/articles/tbilisi-possibly-the-coolest-city-in-the-world.
4. Kowalski, Kathiann M. “Club drugs: nothing to rave about. (Cover Story).” Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication, Feb. 2002, p. 6+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A83519899/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=OVIC&xid=67ec46b2. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
5. Mullin, Frankie. “How UK Ravers Raged Against the Ban.” Vice, 15 July 2014, www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vd8gbj/anti-rave-act-protests-20th-anniversary-204.
6. “90s Rave Culture & Acid House: the Beginning of the Revolution.” Techno Station, 12 Jan. 2017, www.technostation.tv/90s-rave-culture/.