From raggare to rånere (swedish expression). I could not find any excisting translation for these words . But have in mind young people driving around in there amarican/europeen cars in the sixtees. Raggar means from being a young symbol of something other than the established, the car has become a symbol of materialism. 1950 - and 1960-century raggare redefined the vehicle's usage to a free space away from family ideology. The word "raggar" was first registered in Norway in 1961 and referred to one who acted like a mix of gangster and cowboy. The origin is the Swedish verb "Ragga again." It is taken from the taxi slang expression and means "to pick up customers." In the 1950s, "raggar" whas a term for young men who drove around in the larger American cars. Raggarnes cars should not look too fancy, but some American symbols should be present for both the owner and the car, American clothes, like jeans and cowboy boots - and the car had to have a fox's tail. The seemingly pointless driving, cruising, gave raggarne opportunity to see and be seen, while it gave status and thus opportunities to pick up girls who walked nearby the road. The 1950s was a decade where the traditional class division in society were hints of a more prosperous working class. Meanwhile, the established gender role patterns and family as society's pillar challenged from several quarters. 1950-century United States can be seen as the starting point for the "raggar culture", in that the car was established as a symbol of freedom and had another function beyond being a means of transport. When Jack Kerouac gave the book On the Road in 1957, became a classic for restless youth who wanted to rebel against materialism in society. Also the movie Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean in the lead role, appealed to the beat generation and focused on the car that retreat from the parents and hostile environments. In keeping with the rebellious ideal beat James Dean died in a car accident in 1955 with his own sports car a German 550 Porche Spyder. Raggarne were positive to the U.S., or rather the "idea of America." The freedom and the consumer society opportunities attracted young people from working. At the same time tease the irony of the status of vehicles by equipping them with leopard skins and Davy Crockett-tails in the form of the fox's tail, and indistinct made them with their own modifications. Raggarne was a favorite target for critics of the youth rebellion. They laid claim to the city, the streets and cafes and brought trouble and unrest in the town. One of the most problematic with Ragginger there were people who experienced the pointless execution. And just by the immorality, the senseless and impure raggarcar undermined the established symbols. Raggarne was not politically active, on the contrary, many liked to provoke opponents of the Vietnam War. So annoyed the opponents into two camps, the establishment, which was provoked by their noisy conduct, and the radical protesters who was irritating that raggarne was so positive to the U.S.. In Norway, the most important environment for raggare was at the border to Sweden and in the centre downtown Oslo in 1960. Gender pattern in ragger culture be said to have been traditional, but it had other forms. Still the man had control of the car. The big difference was in the "Erna's bride" role. Instead of being " nicely girl" as was expected, they sat in their cars and were actors in a flamboyant youth gang. The girls escapes the control of the home and family. European cars were seen as family cars, while the U.S. gave a different kind of status through the symbolic value of the car got. Raggarne selected motion rather than satlement away rather than at home, useless decoration rather than sensible organization. Many amcar-raggare dislike to be placed in the same category as the current rånere and believed that they had a completely different relationship to the car. Often, they point out that rånerne not have as much knowledge about the car that they had. Most modern amcar owners also have a daily driver, for amcar is only for decoration. It seems that it is important for today's raggarne to stick to the original. Ironically raggarne appeared as defenders of something modern in the 1950s and the 1960s. Today this is not the case. We can see today an increasing interest in the 1950s, not only in the car, but in fashion in general. It also leads to many young people find their way to Amcar environment, and several clubs report an increase in membership. In the Olypic city Lillehammer, one is in the process of starting a junior club in Amcar environment. Also in the city of Halden the young people are still concerned in Amcar and uses American symbols and clothing. The young people prefer to be called "shaggy" and believes that rånerne are more interested in disco and bass than style and engine.
Just to think most Americans are of the mind that most anything to do with cars originates in California or along Woodward Avenue in Detroit. I'm amazed at the unique variations people from other countries can put on such a well travelled theme. Interesting to say the least.
From Raggare to Rånere THANX for sharing this cultural echange ! . Here in La La Land (home to fruits , nuts & flakes) there's a whole ' Retro ' thing going on too , mostly clueless kiddies who have little idea of what they're copying but it looks interesting .
