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Paper short abstract

This paper explores the heterotopic meanings ascribed to forests when the urban electronic music subculture organises a rave party in the forest. Heterotopia here refers to the Foucauldian idea of an “other” cultural space.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores the heterotopic (héteros, “other”; topos, “place”) meanings ascribed to forests when the urban electronic music subculture organises a rave party in the forest. In this case, rave refers to unlicensed electronic music events held outdoors and organised secretly in the forests of Finland. Heterotopia (Foucault 1986) refers to the idea of an “other” cultural space that functions as a counter-space distinct from its surroundings. It is thus understood as a place that allows deviation from the normal and from norms, providing a space for the expression of subjectivity.

Drawing on interviews with rave participants, I focus on narratives about nature and the heterotopic meanings of the forest. The analysis suggests that the forest offers a space to hide and to escape not only everyday life but also the norms that prevail in formal venues for raves, such as clubs or concert halls. As a space, the forest provides an opportunity to disappear from society and to party “together but alone.” The forest also offers protection from outsiders, including authorities as well as people unfamiliar with the unwritten rules and protocols of the subculture. Ultimately, even though the phenomenon is contemporary and urban, the narratives of heterotopic meanings attached to the forest resemble the traditional narratives associated with forests in Finnish folklore.

Reference

Foucault, Michel. 1986. “Of other spaces: Utopias and heterotopias.” Diacritics 16: 22–27. https://doi.org/10.2307/464648.