Ultimately, it is the value that subcultures such as skate punk add to society through their mode of representation, their expression of an alternative to the hegemonic norm, the encouragement of self determination and awareness, the activation of socio-political thought processes and the encouragement to live the life that you want to live, which inspires countless people in society every day.

There is a propensity of subcultures to become commercially absorbed into mainstream ideology as examined by Adorno and Frith, making them less viable as an impassioned social and political voice. I believe that Suicidal Tendencies are in an even stronger position to live an authentic subculture due to their success as a skate punk entity, which has elevated them to a position of complete self sufficiency, the height of D.I.Y. achievement.

“Skaters have a completely different culture from the norms of the world’s society. We dress differently, we have our own language, use our own slang, and live by our own rules. People feel threatened by foreign attitudes. Everyone has his own views on different types of society and their own stereotypes…Please stop viewing us as a totally negative race of people.”

Both subcultures were purveyors of innovative and unique methods in which to express, move and represent. Their culture and lifestyle morphed into creative aspects of corporeal movement, which involved both skateboarding and music. Living in the same locale in Southern California, those involved influenced others who were interested in colluding with this rebellious identity and not conforming to the hegemonic norm of mainstream society. When music and movement combined, skat

The subculture of skate punk as discussed in this thesis will be analysed within the theoretical understandings and frameworks of Gelder and Hebidge and the focus of essential musicologists, such as Frith and Grossberg to ascertain how the band Suicidal Tendencies promulgated the skate punk subculture. This occurred through the maintenance of authenticity, which continued throughout the creation of their music and their sustained representation of their beliefs and ideologies

In the early 1980s the subculture of skate punk became visually mediated in the new popular aesthetic form of music television (MTV). The music video, “Institutionalized” (Suicidal Tendencies,1984) was positioned between songs of David Bowie, Culture Club and the Rolling Stones but when this video played, people stopped to watch and listen – it made a statement as a representation of sociopolitical youth rebellion.