10 Outstanding Documentaries About Subcultures

By Scott A. Lukas / November 12, 2013

4. Metal: A Headbanger's Journey And Global Metal

Heavy metal, like video gaming, may be considered by some to be part of the mainstream and not a subcultural formation. However, when we explore the intricacies of this musical formwhich includes glam metal, pop metal, progressive metal, doom metal, and many, many other variationswe learn something about the internal variations of a subculture. This is part of the subject of Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen's two films Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005) and Global Metal (2008). These documentaries chart the evolution of metal throughout the United States, in the first film, and the rest of the world in the second film. A related series called Metal Evolution premiered on VH1 in 2011 and focused on one sub-genre of metal per episode. In addition to learning about the many varieties of heavy metal music, the musicians, and the fans, Dunn and McFadyen's two documentaries also chart the often conflicting values, social tendencies, and controversies that make up the interesting world of heavy metal music.

Authored by Scott A. Lukas

Contributor

Scott A. Lukas has taught anthropology and sociology Lake Tahoe Community College for sixteen years and in 2013 was Visiting Professor of American Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. He has been recognized with the McGraw-Hill Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology by the American Anthropological Association (2005), the California Hayward Award for Excellence in Education (2003), and a Sierra Arts Foundation Artist Grant Program Award in Literary–Professional (2009). In 2006, he was a nominee to the California Community College Board of Governors. He is the author/editor of The Immersive Worlds Handbook (2012), Theme Park (2008), The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nature, and Self (2007), Fear, Cultural Anxiety, and Transformation: Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Films Remade, (co-edited with John Marmysz, 2009), Recent Developments in Criminological Theory (co-edited with Stuart Henry, 2009), and Strategies in Teaching Anthropology (2010). His book Theme Park was recently translated into Arabic. He appeared in the documentary The Nature of Existence and has provided interviews for To the Best of Our Knowledge, The Huffington Post UK, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, and Caravan (India).

Posted On: 12th Nov 2013

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