Visual Sociology – Car Culture

For another Uni assignment (for my visual sociology class) we had to find a current social issue and conduct a photographic study on it.
For something a little bit different, I chose to look at the demonisation of car enthusiasts and the derogatory blanket  label of “hoon” applied to anyone who has an above average interest in cars and it’s related culture.

The purpose of the study wasn’t to condone illegal or anti social behaviour conducted by people driving cars, but to shed light on a different perspective rarely given an unbiased means for expression. I wanted to look at the motivation behind the wave of moral panic that surrounds car enthusiasts and demonstrate it’s ineffectiveness in addressing real issues.

I conducted interviews and looked into the government’s own research and statistics to challenge common stereotypes and publicised motives for legislation, in order to promote the need for genuine constructive discussion and original thought that involved multiple areas of society when dealing with issues of road incidents and illegal behaviour.

Below are just a few images from my study. My written exploration into the issue won’t be publicly published yet.