Post on 06-Feb-2023
Spreading the message! An analysis of the social networks of the Fanzines and E-zines in
the Portuguese Punk Scenes (1977-2012)
Paula Guerra, University of Porto, Portugal
Carles Feixa, University of Lleida, Spain
Pedro Quintela, University of Coimbra, Portugal
• Usually, homemade produced with a limited circulation, the fanzines tend
to be written and published by punk movement members to their peers.
As Julia Pine (2006) refers, they are material forms of representation.
• These collective and volunteer constructed (editing, contributions and
distribution) objects allowed individual to state their social existence and
cultural participation, at the same time that materialize a local
movement.
• Fanzines’ contents mainly focus on socio-political ideologies statement;
stand for certain causes (such as animal rights); interviews with bands
and others scene members; records, films and books reviews, or even
concerts criticisms.
• The first English punk fanzines of the
second half of the 70s (such as
Panache, Sniffin’ Clue, Ripped &
Tom) were a decisively contribution
to the creation of a specific aesthetic
and editorial "language" that turned
out to be a sort of "subcultural
canon".
• In recent decades, this "language"
was widespread and globalized
leading to the reproduction of a do-
it-youself ethic and a certain way of
"doing" punk fanzines that still
persists today.
Methodology Brief introduction about the information
collection, systematization and analysis
procedures.
We have collect punk fanzines primarily through the following three main
procedures:
• purchase fanzines directly to publishers, or indirectly at concerts,
political events, community centres and squads, etc.;
• donation or loan for scanning by interviewees (punk movement
elements);
• availability of fanzines from the personal collection of some
researchers
• online research and downloading (total or partial).
In what concerns the systematization, a database was created with two
distinct, but complementary, aims:
• On the one hand, to enable a systematic analysis of collected
documents;
• On the other hand, to create an archive that will be based on the
Library of the Faculty of Arts, University of Porto (Portugal).
The database and all the fanzines, records, flyers, posters, photographs
and other documentary and iconographic elements collected be
available for anyone who wish to research the Portuguese punk
movement.
How the fanzines analysis is being organized on the
database?
• Name/designation
• Date of issue
• Type (individual/collective)
• Fanzine Editor – name/designation
• Fanzine Editor Geographic Origin
• Cost
• Fanzine’s total number of pages
• Graphics (Colour; Black and White)
• Type of fanzine
• Subject of analytic incidence
• Types of articles
• Type of Images
• Theme discussed
• Band names mentioned/discussed
• Scenes referred/mentioned
More than 20 Portuguese punk fanzines
(some of them with multiple numbers)
already scanned and analysed
Other 15 fanzines that have been
collected and are currently in process of
digitizing and cataloguing.
The Portuguese punk fanzines and e-
zines collection and analysis began
about a year ago and is a work in
progress.
On the issues addressed in the fanzines,
it appears that most of the issues
mainly are focused on 3 dimensions:
Music, Politics and Attitude.
Preliminary considerations
about some aspects that stand
out from the carried out
analysis
On the first dimension: the MusicThe punk and hardcore styles (especially in its variant hardcore straight-edge) are
the most addressed in these fanzines, as would be expected.
Occasionally, are also addressed other musical styles such as reggae/dub and hip-
hop.
Despite the superficial first analysis, stands out a close relationship
between the Portuguese and the Brazilian punk/hardcore scenes.
The regular circulation of records, bands and, with minor relevance,
fanzines between the two countries is already quite established.
On the second dimension: The political issues –
is a very significantly universe and even there
are fanzines exclusively devoted to this
subject. In fact, most of fanzines mix political issues with
punk/hardcore music and other aspects of attitude.
.
As expected, the anarchist and libertarian
ideologies are fundamental pillars in the political
position of almost all Portuguese punk-hardcore
fanzines analysed so-far.
Interestingly, this political dimension reveals
both a clearly international dimension and a
dimension strongly rooted in local reality.
• Some concerns are generic, relate to the oppressive
nature of capitalist society as a whole and do not have
a specific connection to a particular territory or
community (topics such as the exploitation, capitalism,
development, etc.)
• On the other hand, there are a range of specific
concerns that are strongly linked to a well-defined local
context.
The Alambique fanzine has been
published, since 2007, in
Aljustrel, in Alentejo Region.
A good example of this
articulation of more general
socio-political issues with other
local concerns, very deeply
rooted in history and
contemporary reality.
A third and final dimension that matters to address is what we call
attitude. Addressed issues that are closely linked to individual lifestyles and
individual positioning in society and within the punk/hardcore movement
itself personal considerations about.
• We can find personal articles and different
kinds of issues in various types of
punk/hardcore fanzines (animal rights,
vegetarianism, motherhood, the use of drugs,
do-it-yourself ethics, friendship and solidarity,
among others).
• However, the analysis carried out indicate that
this kind of issues are particularly present in
hardcore straight-edge fanzines.
FIRST, it seems important to emphasize that more than thirty
years after the rise of punk movement in the UK and the
emergence of the first fanzines, the fanzine seems to remain
current and relevant:
• related with the way a certain idea of ethics do-it-yourself spread and is now
fully embedded and globalized within the punk movement.
• despite the widespread use of the Internet and Web 2.0., the truth is that, in
the last years, we have been witness a resurgence of this kind of do-it-
yourself, independent self-publishing.
• the currently produced punk fanzines continue to follow a certain "canon" –
either in terms of graphics, or in terms of editorial content – which has its
roots in the early UK and US punk fanzines from the 70s and 80s.
• This is an inescapable identity
dimension that still remains
relevant in the analysis of punk
fanzines today.
SECONDLY, it seems that the Portuguese punk
fanzines continue today – as before – to play a very
important role in building a sense of underground
community, strongly locally rooted but,
simultaneously, in wide connection with other local
punk scenes around the world.
• The fanzines remain a privileged space of expression and
communication, but also the punk/hardcore editor belonging
statement.
• In sum, can we say that this is a return to the past or is this something new?
• It is an authentic phenomenon or a reproduction of formulas of the past,
globalized and repeated again and again, that remain until the present?
• It’s perhaps too early to take definitive conclusions. Yet the documents
collected and analysed leaves us with a set of interesting questions and
research paths.