The Language of the Unheard: Social Media and Riot Subculture/s

This chapter examines the relationship between social media, subculture identity and the 2011 riots in Bristol. The first part of the chapter situates the events in terms of their social, urban, economic and political context. The term ‘riot subculture’ is adopted to loosely ascribe those individuals and groups who express support, or sympathy, for these riots and/or riots more generally. The second part of the chapter draws on empirical research concerning the April 2011 riots that broke out in Stokes Croft, an inner-city part of Bristol UK. The findings show how individuals and groups produce knowledge about the riots that differ on alternative forms of media.