Subculture

Generally, subcultures can be described as groups of people with a distinct culture that differentiates itself from the larger (mainstream) culture to which they belong. Cohen defines subcultures as “a compromise solution between two contradictory needs: the need to breathe and express autonomy and difference from parents […] and the need to maintain the parental identification” (Cohen 1972 in Hebdige 77). Thus, subcultures like the Mods, can be interpreted as an attempt to mediate between something traditional and modern (ibid.). Familiar things from the larger culture are borrowed and appropriated by the subcultural group, but are modified and get a new meaning.

Reference:

Hebdige, Dick. Subculture: the Meaning of Style. London: Routledge, 1979.