Dance, Drugs, and Escape: The Club Scene in Literature, Film, and Television since the Late 1980s

In the late 1980s, the rave phenomenon swept the youth culture of the United Kingdom, incorporating the generations' two newest social stimulants: modern electronic dance music and a notorious designer drug known as Ecstasy. Although the movement began in rebellion against mainstream culture, its underground dynamism soon attracted the interest of novelists, screenwriters, and filmmakers who attempted to reflect the phenomenon in their works. Through artistic and commercial popularization, the once obscure subculture was transformed into a pop-culture behemoth with powerful links to the entertainment industry. This study deals with the transformative effects of film, television and literature on club culture. Chapters furthermore reflect club culture's own effect on crime, ethnicity, sexuality and drug use. As the study traces artistic depictions of club culture's development, each chapter focuses on individual books, films and television shows that reflect the transformation of the club culture into what it is today.

In the late 1980s the rave phenomenon swept the youth culture of the United Kingdom, incorporating the generations' two newest social stimulants: modern electronic dance music and a notorious designer drug known as Ecstasy. Although the movement began in rebellion against mainstream culture, its underground dynamism soon attracted the interest of novelists, screenwriters, and filmmakers who attempted to reflect the phenomenon in their works. Through artistic and commercial popularization, the once obscure subculture was transformed into a pop-culture behemoth with powerful links to the entertainment industry.
This study deals with the transformative effects of film, television and literature on club culture. Chapters furthermore reflect club culture's own effect on crime, ethnicity, sexuality and drug use. As the study traces artistic depictions of club culture's development, each chapter focuses on individual books, films and television shows that reflect the transformation of the club culture into what it is today.

Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 Introduction 12 1. The Rise and Fall of Club Culture: Idealism to Economics 26 2. Crime and Club Life 60 3. Whose Club Is It Anyway? Ethnicity and Club Culture 83 4. It’s Raining Men: Representations of Gay Lifestyle in Club Fiction 103 5. Drugs, Sex and Disco Dancing 124 6. Take the Money and Run: Exploitation of Rave Culture 161 Conclusion 191 Notes 194 Bibliography 204 Index 210 "This study deals with the effects of film, television and literature on club culture. Chapters reflect club culture's own effect on crime, ethnicity, sexuality and drug use. Each chapter focuses on individual books, films and television shows that reflect the transformation of the club culture into what it is today"--Provided by publisher. Deals with the transformative effects of film, television and literature on club culture. The chapters reflect club culture's own effect on crime, ethnicity, sexuality and drug use. Each chapter focuses on individual books, films and television shows that reflect the transformation of the club culture into what it is.