punk culture, early 1980s. . The hypothesis suggests that the
flower children of the sixties and the mellow side of
reggae culture presents a collective mood of "friendly weakness" while
punk culture and certain aspects of
rap culture present an archetype of 'hostile weakness'. In the late eighties and nineties,
rave culture along with early
drum and bass supposedly presents a mood based mainly on 'friendly strength'. The hypothesis suggests that most people are not hard wired to any particular life script and likewise young people are generally fluid enough to move between different pop trends with ease and some humour. Grunge for example is viewed as an atavistic hybrid, drawing on elements of both punk and hippie culture. The social symbolism of the hypothesis is also compared to the archetypal symbolism of Ezekiel's quaternity in the Christian Bible. Ezekiel is said to have had a vision of the winged man (angel), the bull, the lion and the eagle. The same quaternity was later incorporated into
illuminated manuscripts such as the
Book of Kells. Spence has corresponded
flower power and late reggae culture (
Bob Marley,
cannabis use,
dub,
dreadlocks) to the gentle angel; the rebellious mood of early rap and punk culture to the sullen bull and the leonine strength of drum and bass and rave culture to the proud lion. Grant Morrison and Iain Spence have split views on the subject of hostile strength played out through youth culture. Morrison suggests that the trend has come and gone with the film
The Matrix (1999) along with commanding symbolism in the
nu metal scene. Spence meanwhile suggests that the mood has emerged through the more commanding aspects of
hip hop,
gabber and
metal sub-cultures. ==The sequential integration of the life scripts==