Appropriation

From MarxWiki

Appropriation is technically defined as, `the act of taking or using something forcefully or without permission` (Webster's Dictionary). Author Dick Hebdige uses this term in his discussion of youth subcultures, semiotics, and subversive forces in his book, Subculture: The Meaning of Style. Appropriation of a group's semiotic language by other groups is common; graffiti artists, for example, have had their style of art appropriated, or stolen, by large corporations who create large graffiti-style advertisements on the side of buildings as a marketing tool. However, countercultures have also appropriated the semiotic language of the mainstream to create a subversive message. For example, the Mod subculture in Britain during the 1960s were obsessively trendy and alert, attempting to exaggerate ideals found within the mainstream culture to subvert the power of the mainstream's ideology and semiotic language.