What is culture? Webster's dictionary defines culture as, ‘the act of developing intellectual ability with education; a form of civilization, particularly the beliefs, arts, and customs". Well then, what is popular culture? Is raving, popular culture? According to Theodore Adorno's view, "culture is only genuinely ‘popular' when it is produced by those designated in such a term as the ‘people', rather than merely consumed by them"(Jarvis, 1998, p.72). This then means that industry decides what is popular, and at this time, raving culture is becoming a popular culture. This paper will discuss what ‘raves' are, along with societies views, and Adorno's theory of popular music. I hope to accomplish one important goal in this paper. This goal is to crush all media stereotypes about raves and clarify any miscommunication regarding what raves are all about.
             The first things that needs to be addressed in this paper are what a rave really is, and the role that it has in our culture. A rave by today's standards is a large gathering of kids, generally aged 15-24, who are dancing to electronic music until the crack of dawn. "The actual concept of raves is not new-it is as old as time itself. At the base level, raves are very comparable to American Indian ceremonies…where music is the key towards pulling oneself into a unique emotional and psychological state." (Alt. Rave FAQ 1). Rave culture can be traced back to the 60's Be-Ins, Love-Ins, and Acid Tests. There are even similarities to anarchist revolutions in Italy and France. Raving in North America began in the early 1990's after surviving in Europe for ten years. The rave scene actually began through the punk-rock invasion during the 1980's. The first raves in North America were held in San Francisco. Not long there after, the state of California became
             home to North America's rave central. "The rave scene has always existed as separate from...