Wake Up, It\u27s Over: Punk in American Culture Today

An investigation into the historical and modern role of punk in American culture. Ethnographic study completed on fellowship from Class of 1962 in the summer of 2013. This is a project comps, with an essay component and a creative component, in the form of a visual document informed by the long tradition of \u27zine making in punk culture. My research is compiled in Wake Up, It’s Over. This document, formatted as a ‘zine, contains photographs taken on the road, transcripts of interviews, and band ephemera. The presentation of the data is influenced by visual elements in punk subculture. The dual nature (visual document and scholarly essay) of this document represents my dual identity: as an American Studies scholar, and my membership to punk subculture. The style is inspired by punk ‘zines of the past. ‘Zines disseminated band information, publicized shows, and sold records. The style represented authenticity by showing mistakes, a document is real if it is imperfect. I drew inspiration for layout and aesthetic choices from not only the early ‘zines, Punk and Flipside, but also later ‘zines, like those found in the Riot Grrrl Collection, Maximumrocknroll, and Touch’n’Go. My document is not a ‘zine, it is a cultural artifact of the punk subculture, and serves as the basis for my analysis of contemporary punk subculture