roytonboy
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Very cool post, Roytonboy. The middle paragraph especially: Looks like the whole "Life imitating Art" thing? I wonder how much of the evolution of skinhead was down to kids imitating the exaggerated newspaper accounts of skinheads as opposed to the "organic" evolution by imitating one's peers and elders in the street.
Thanks, Botolph - I don't think the media had any impact on the 'organic' evolution of the style other than to spread it. What it did though, was to exaggerate the image as the aggressive portrayal then attracted characters who would not have been mods - I can even think of some individuals of whom this would have been true. The papers never referred to the style or the eye for detail, only concentrating on the more negative elements and no doubt got the response they desired from the general public. Conversely, some people who had been mods, or would have become mods, distanced themselves from the look simply because they didn't want to be associated with its violent image. In short, it became a self fulfilling prophecy (or as you say "Life imitating Art").
So, as young people all over Britain rushed out to get their hair cut and don their boots and braces (yes, guilty as charged!) many of those who originated the look were already moving on to a subtler, less overtly menacing image - a style that was also to percolate through the rest of the country in time.
I believe, however, that whilst the press had little influence on the style other than to spread it, they did influence the behaviour as some skinheads now believed, for example, that they should be out attacking Asian immigrants because '**** Bashing' was what skinheads did. (And, as stated above, probably attracted racists who otherwise wouldn't have adopted the style of dress)