Description
Influences
The Raggare subculture's influences are American popular culture of the 1950s, such as the movies '' Rebel Without a Cause'' with James Dean, and '' American Graffiti''.Cars
Cars are an important part of the subculture, especially V8-powered cars and other large cars from the United States.''Automobilities'' by Mike Featherstone, Nigel. Thrift, John Urry. p. 189 Statistically, the most common raggare car () is the 1960s Pontiac Bonneville. They are plentiful, classic, relatively cheap, and have a huge backseat so the Raggare can pile in all of their friends. Raggare have been described as closely related to the hot rod culture, but while hotrodders in the US have to do extensive modifications to their cars to stand out, raggare can use stock US cars and still stand out compared to the more sober Swedish cars. Some raggare also drive European cars from the 1950s, 1960s and the 1970s. According to an estimate by one Swedish car restorer, there are more restored 1950s American cars in Sweden than in the entire United StatesSweden's car kings: 'greasers' cruising in vintage US wheelsFashion
The clothes and hairstyle are that of 1950s rockabilly. Blue jeans, cowboy boots, white T-shirts, sometimes with print (also used to store a pack of cigarettes by folding the sleeve), leather or denim jacket. The hair is styled using Brylcreem or some other pomade.Symbols
The display of the battle flag of the Confederate States is popular in the subculture, as followers view it as a symbol of rebellion and American culture. They do not view it as a symbol of slavery or racism.History
Formation of the raggare culture was aided by Sweden staying neutral duringPublic image
Because of their mostly rural roots, retro-aesthetics and attitude towards sex, raggare are often depicted as poorly educated and financially unsuccessful. A famous example is the 1990s TV series, " Ronny and Ragge", a pair of stereotypical raggare who cruise around in a beat-up Ford Taunus. There are several periodic gatherings for raggare around Sweden. The Power Big Meet is the most famous, and is also one of the biggest American car meets in the world.In the media and other popular culture
*In 1975, then glam rocker Magnus Uggla made the song "Raggarna", which was a tribute to the culture. When performing live in late 1970s and early 1980s, raggare threw rocks and tried to thrash the arenas in which Uggla performed, accusing him of being a punk rocker due to his success with the more punk-oriented albums he released in the late 1970s. * Eddie Meduza have performed songs like "Punkjävlar" ("Punk Bastards"), or "Ragga runt," a tribute to the Raggare subculture. * Rude Kids made a song about raggare (later re-recorded by Turbonegro) called "Raggare Is a Bunch of Motherfuckers", as an answer to "punkjävlar" by Eddie Meduza. The large number of punk songs about raggare shows the conflict between the two subcultures. *The 1959 film '' Raggare!'' was about raggare and the moral panic of the time. *The TV series '' Ronny and Ragge'' is about two raggare who cruise around in a beat-up 1976 - 1994 Ford Taunus. * Onkel Kånkel made a song about raggare behaviour during cruising called "Åka femtitalsbil" (later covered by Charta 77). * The early Swedish punk band P.F. Commando has issued a song called "Raggare" on their 1978 ''Svenne Pop'' 7-inch EP * Raggargänget (1962) with Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Sigge Fürst * Massproduktion published a compilation album titled ''Vägra Raggarna Bensin – Punk Från Provinserna''. * On 1 May 1979 about 100 punks formed their own parade down Kungsgatan under the slogan "''Vägra raggarna bensin'' ("Refuse the raggare gasoline"). * Nadja's brothers "Roffe", "Ragge" and Reinhold, Bert * '' Tjenare Kungen'' (2005) * In '' Welcome to Sweden'', Bengt is a raggare, and delighted to meet his niece's American boyfriend because of it. * '' Raggarjävlar'' (2019) is a documentary about the new generation of raggare in the club Mattsvart from Köpinghttps://tempofestival.se/program/raggarjavlar/See also
* Car subcultures like Kustom Kulture, and more generally the Import scene * Biker subcultures like the rockers in the UK the Bōsōzoku in Japan, and Chicanos in the US * Stereotypes like the Harry in Norway, Gopniks in eastern Europe and rednecks in the US * Youth cultures, like Nozem in the Netherlands, and Teddy Boys in the UK * Americanization relating to the assimilation of American and Canadian cultures into a pan-European soil. * Politically inspired subcultures, like Neo-Confederates, Nazi chic, and SkinheadsReferences
External links