This paper will discuss how the people attending Vrankrijk and the interior of the bar can be considered part of a subculture, relating its characteristics to multiple aspects Dick Hebdige discusses in his essay on subculture.
Walking into Vrankrijk, a bar in a squatted building that serves as a sanctuary for all
outcasts and minority groups, I felt as if I was invading a space I did not belong to or as if I was
trespassing. The bar is located in the city centre of Amsterdam, therefore I naively expected it to
be similar to the other bars I have visited. However, as soon as I entered the bar, I experienced a
strong energy unknown to me, as if I was entering another world, or rather, culture. The people
attending the bar were the people that were squatting the building - and thus living there -
homeless people and some (assuming) tourists. Punk/rock music was playing in the background,
the walls were full of stickers and posters criticizing mainstream society, the lighting was low
and almost all the furniture was either dark brown or black. The bar makes a name for itself
through their website and Facebook page, where they put up their events, such as punk night on
Fridays and queer night on Wednesdays.
This paper will discuss how the people attending Vrankrijk and the interior of the bar can
be considered part of a subculture, relating its characteristics to multiple aspects Dick Hebdige
discusses in his essay on subculture. Vrankrijk has been a squatted building since the 90’s, and
thus, over the years, has faced multiple problems with the police and government instances. It is
a place where activists and anarchists have been coming together for years, and they continue to
support this. The place is, however, being increasingly monetarized since two visitors were
severely abused in a barfight by volunteers who were working at the bar in 2008 and as a result
had to close for two years.
, Berge, van den 2
The place itself represents what Hebdige calls “’noise’”, in the sense that the entire cafe
is covered in posters and writings saying things such as “kool kids kill kops” and “free
Palestine”. It is not actual noise, as in sound, it is the words on the walls that have the power to
be heard and make a difference in society. Therefore, it does not disturb society in a visible (or
violent) way but manifests itself in more ‘silent’ ways through “forbidden contents
(consciousness of class, consciousness of difference) in forbidden forms (transgressions of
sartorial and behavioural codes, law breaking, etc)” (Hebdige 130).
The style represented at Vrankrijk could be considered Punk as it encompasses
characteristics such as harsh language on the walls, playing music genres such as rock and punk
rock, and the clothing style of the people attending the bar. The dark and potentially revolting
scene at Vrankrijk attracts certain people while simultaneously keeping others that do not fit the
punk style out. Thus, through expressing a certain style, Vrankrijk “provokes a double response:
it is alternately celebrated (in the fashion page) and ridiculed or reviled (in those articles which
define subcultures as social problems)” (Hebdige 131). This is, however, exactly the response
Vrankrijk seems to want to get as they focus on attracting all minorities. For instance, on
Mondays, they open up Vrankrijk for the Amsterdam Street Medics to provide healthcare. The
poster announcing the event says “assistance with health-related issues, locating resources
(mental health support, addiction treatment, etc.), and listening. We work with other in the
community to care for each other, so we can be dangerous together” (Vrankrijk.org). Through
this approach there is a strong sense of belonging within the community that visits the bar, which
reduces “Otherness” to “sameness” (Hebdige 133).
In his essay on subculture, Hebdige discusses how styles communicate meaning through
commodities that “are purposefully distorted or overthrown”, which blurs the boundary between
“commercial exploitation on the one hand and creativity/originality on the other” (132). This
blurring between boundaries is visible at Vrankrijk, as they need to make money to keep the
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