Books, long articles, documentaries about subcultures and communities

February 20, 2019 11:06 AM

There's a particular type of nonfiction I find absolutely irresistible- the deep-dive into a community. Like Paris is Burning, Can't Stop Won't Stop, Kamikaze Biker, Frederick Wiseman documentaries, even this recent FPP post on the Warren Ellis Forum. What all these works share in common is that rather than focus on just one person and their experience, as most works about a community tend to do, they examine their communities at a more macro level. Help me find more like them?
posted by perplexion to Media & Arts (17 answers total)

I haven't read the books you mentioned, but it sounds like you might enjoy authors Jonathan Kozol or Alex Kotlowitz.

Both authors write sociology-type books focusing on community. Amazing Grace by Kozol is a wonderful read. I haven't read it in many years - thanks for the reminder about it!

Kotlowitz's The Other Side of the River dives into life in two neighboring cities.
posted by hydra77 at 11:26 AM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I immediately thought of Lily Dale: The Town That Talks To The Dead for looking at a whole community.
posted by Vortisaur at 11:26 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

i thought of Seth Tobocman's War in the Neighborhood, a graphic novel about squatters' wars in NYC's Lower East Side in the 1980s-90s.
posted by entropone at 11:35 AM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Hackers, Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy, especially the first section about the scene around the MIT AI lab in the 1950s and 60s. Another section is about computer game programmers in California in the 1970s.
posted by JonJacky at 11:57 AM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

The King of Kong, which is about a particular conflict roiling the subculture that still plays cabinet arcade video games.
posted by praemunire at 11:58 AM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

you GOTTA see Errol Morris' Vernon, Florida (1981)
posted by Dressed to Kill at 12:11 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

Dark Days is a documentary about a group of homeless people who live inside a network of abandoned tunnels underneath Manhattan.

Cinemania is a documentary about a group of people whose lives revolve around attending movies. They live in New York City and attend upwards of a thousand movies per year.
posted by alex1965 at 12:18 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

PS - An interesting complement to Levy's Hackers (above) , which is popular and journalistic in style, is The Second Self by Sherry Turkle, which investigates the same MIT AI Lab scene (years later, but with some of the same people) in a more academic, scholarly style.
posted by JonJacky at 1:01 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Rich Hill, about the Missouri town of the same name, follows three young men with similar but different circumstances, and uses their similarities to offer a broader view of life in that town.
posted by AgentRocket at 1:24 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Bill Buford's Among the Thugs: The Experience, and the Seduction, of Crowd Violence, which deep dives into the frightening subculture of UK football hooliganism, is considered a classic and exactly what you're looking for. I couldn't put it down.

Nth Errol Morris' Vernon, Florida.
posted by nightrecordings at 2:51 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

I highly recommend Righteous Dopefiend by Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg. This powerful study immerses the reader in the world of homelessness and drug addiction in the contemporary United States. For over a decade Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg followed a social network of two dozen heroin injectors and crack smokers on the streets of San Francisco, accompanying them as they scrambled to generate income through burglary, panhandling, recycling, and day labor. Righteous Dopefiend interweaves stunning black-and-white photographs with vivid dialogue, detailed field notes, and critical theoretical analysis.
posted by littlecatfeet at 3:41 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

As an adjunct to Righteous Dopefiend, I'd recommend the excellent Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders by Teresa Gowan about can collectors in the tenderloin. It's a scholarly text, but really easily readable, perceptive, generous. Also Michael Dunier's classic sociology tome, Sidewalk, on sidewalk booksellers and the underground economy of Manhattan in the early eighties. I'd also recommend Erica Lagalisse's dissertation (if it's publicly archived somewhere) on anarchist and radical communities in North America.
posted by tapir-whorf at 5:59 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

Don't miss The Smash Brothers, a great documentary about the world of competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee. Sure, it's long, and it starts off with a weird voiceover, but it builds up portraits of a bunch of different players in a really fun way. Note: I've played the game but never really got into it--it's the documentary per se that I appreciate.

I'll nth Burgois too, and if his stuff works for you, then googling for 'subculture' and 'ethnography' with site:amazon.com or site:goodreads.com could keep you busy pretty much for life.
posted by Wobbuffet at 6:38 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

You might enjoy Word Freak, about elite competitive Scrabble players.
posted by peacheater at 7:38 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

All for a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora by David Rensin. I loved it, learned tons about surfing and have never even touched a surf board.
posted by frumiousb at 10:55 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

oh my god, get yourself a copy of Voices From The Farm
posted by twoplussix at 11:32 PM on February 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

A term for this that you might find useful in searching is ethnography. Some of my favorites:

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University, by Kevin Roose
Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits, also by Kevin Roose
Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point, by David Lipsky
posted by airplant at 11:40 AM on February 21, 2019 [1 favorite]