Mod: Cultural History

The Mods, dressed in dapper attire and riding Vespas, believed they were truly modern—that they alone personified “the future” and “change.” Originally they were mostly working-class youths who wanted out of their social “caste.” They also thought the Rockers—dressed in leather and riding motorcycles—symbolized the past. Rockers embodied the uncouth ignorance and urban grit of working-class life that Mods wanted to escape. However, this story of identity moves well beyond southern British beaches and the stereotypical Mods depicted in Quadrophenia.

The Mod youth culture of the mid-1960s emerged from what British historian Arthur Marwick describes as a “unique era.” The decade’s significance is bound to distinct and rapid cultural transformations. Key changes included more ubiquitous use of technology such as color television and affordable jet travel, new concepts of identity formation via fashion, and, most importantly, the growing cultural influence of young people. More so than youth of previous decades, Mods consciously and deftly galvanized the quickly accelerating communication technologies to transmit their style around the world. Between 1964 and 1967 a transnational flow of youth- oriented television shows, films, print media, and commodities such as records and clothes globally united young people. Mod’s innovative and androgynous fashion sense raised questions about gender aesthetics and sexuality, while the style’s global reach expressed a desire for international openness among youths. Fueled by the marriage of expansive media technologies and utopian, generation-specific impulses, Mod’s international impact on youth during the mid-60s was unprecedented and foreshadowed the international sweep of the late 60s counterculture. While the original wave of Mod peaked for just a few years (early 1964 to mid-1967), its adoption by youth in succeeding generations suggests an enduring cultural journey.

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