The writing is on the wall. Not many read it. Fewer try and understand it. But when you do it tells an important story. Important because it makes what is usually seen as 'senseless and mindless' meaningful. Important because it tells us something different about society's favourite folk devil - the adolescent male. And important because it stops people judging the book by its cover. This is a book about graffiti, but it is really a story about the (male) young and the nameless and their search for respect, status and masculine identity at a time in life when this is often hard to find. Using insights from ethnographic research with illegal graffiti writers in London and New York, this book provides essential reading for anyone interested in new understandings of youth and their subcultures.
Clearly written with a lot of interview data to back up claims. MacDonald's research was very clearly directed by available subcultural research and she framed her findings accordingly. When she encountered results that didn't seem to fit very neatly into available theories, she made efforts to account for these. She also tried to come to terms with the position of females in graffiti and how they are viewed by their male counterparts. She clearly acknowledged that she was a female researcher and admitted that that likely had an impact on her research although she also explored how being female was in her favour. All in all, a good attempt at objectivity whilst recognizing the subjective views of a researcher. Framing of theories in the CCCS school of thought was also done extensively. Perhaps it would have been useful to explore American traditions as well, especially since research was conducted in not only London but in New York as well.
