Soho is a region rich in culture. From its heavy media presence to its famous night life, Soho has become a place for tourists to flock to when they visit the city of London. Soho is in the West End of London but was farmalnd until 1536 when Henry VIII claimed the area as a royal park. The area was shuffled around for much of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and eventually became an are for immigrants and the like to settle down. Many had hoped that it would become a fashionable area, and would develop on a grand scale to become similar to the nearby Bloomsbury, Marleybone and Mayfair. By the mid-nineteenth century any respectable families had moved out of Soho and prostitutes, music halls and small theatres began to inhabit the area. By the turn of the century, cheap restaurants and neighborhood pubs became a meeting place for intellectuals, writers and artists. This continued into the sixties and many have said that many of these people "never stayed sober long enough to become successful." Many also credit this period for the increased popularity of the Soho pub. Soho is a name that comes with certain connotations: mostly sex shops and clubs. The name Soho has inspired regions in Hong Kong, New York and Buenos Aires. Soho plays host to industry, culture, media and entertainment. However, through our visit to Soho it is clear that the area truly allows people to be themselves. Every block has a gay bar, plays different types of music and sells different types of clothing. Soho is a melting pot for so many different groups of people, and encourages extreme individuality.As the center of the media created industry, Soho has many different cultural aspects to it. Music, being one of the four Pillars of British Cultural Studies, is very diverse in SOHO. During our trip, we heard music from punk rock, to jazz, to pop, all with in a few blocks of one another. Music promotion posters lined the walls as we entered under the Pillars of Hercules into SOHO. With Drake (hip-hop), Rihanna and Pixie Lott (pop), Kelly Rowland (R&B/Soul), The Collective-Teardrop as the 2011 Official Children In Need Single and a promotion for Azari & III (electronic) playing at a night club ‘Ministry of Sound’ these poster all being grouped together in whole show the wide spread range of this part of the city. Along with the music posters, music stores selling a wide range of instruments could be seen up and down the streets. Numerous Jazz clubs, Rock n’ Roll and Karaoke bars line the streets of SOHO. It doesn’t matter what your music scene is SOHO has it for you. One of our first stops in Soho was at a sex shop. On the top floor of the store was a classy book store with no music playing, but the basement had a completely different feel. There was punk rock playing and paraphenelia that made us all a little uncomfortable. We stayed down there for as long as we could but we all felt a little awkward. During our breif stay, though, we were able to see the different culture.
Our next stop was at a bar called Edge. We decided to go inside because it seemed like a popular place. When we went inside the music was completely different from the music that we had heard at the sex shop. The music was much more pop based. We later determined that this bar was a gay bar because we watched two men meet for a blind date. However, there were many heterosexual couples in this particular bar as well. This reflects the accepting nature of the people of Soho. People are free to wear what they want, listen to what they want and love whomever they want.
Soho is known for being the center of London's theatre and film area. The British Board of Film Classification the Soho Theatre, Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios are all staples of Soho's entertainment aspect. Immediately when we arrived we saw the Palace Theatre, which is currently showing Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a popular musical. The advert for the musical was massive, featuring a glass slipper and thosands of lights. There are many other shows that are playing near Soho, including Jersey Boys, but this may be the most notable because almost all of the actors perform in drag. This fits into the culture of Soho very well because of the large homosexual population.
This Post structuralism Hot society could be seen from a mile away. Whether it is a place to hang out after work is done, or a just a place to meet up with friends for drinks, SOHO is the place to be. Everyone is on the go and his or her fashion is very fashion forward. As diverse as this part of London may be, no one was out of place. There are no set “Faces” of SOHO. There is not just one way of doing things, or in this case wearing things. From the men and woman in business attire who just got out of work, to the vintage shop that was selling a shirt with Elvis Presley on it, another with Audrey Hepburn, and a bag with Top Gun logo gave the 70’s Saturday Night Fever feel to it, Soho screams diversity. Carnaby Street, located in SOHO is one of the major fashion centers located in London. It has numerous amounts of large independent fashion boutiques. The culture in Soho greatly revolves around the trendy nature of the fashion. While there was a wide diversity in said fashion, someone in sweatpants would immediately stand out.
Along with the sex shop and Edge, there were several more gay bars, ‘Gay Hussar’, ‘Lick’ (a icecream shop), As we walked on we saw a group sitting in a restaurant, a woman with pink hair, a man with a tattoo up his neck, a guy with a button up light yellow shirt and another with a blond streak through the middle of his head. This group, minus the button up shirt, gave a very urban realism to the punk rock feel we had back in the sex shop. Although we didn't see many other people with pink locks or spiky hair, these people didn't stand out. It was there individuality that allowed them to fit in. The next major aspect of subculture is argot, and interestingly the language played little to no role in Soho. Due to the wide array of groups, it would be difficult to establish any particular words to identify members of ones group. While there are most definitely words within each of the cultures, the are of Soho itself can not truly be defined by any sort of language. The defining aspect of Soho is its togetherness in differentness and this discourages any sort of elitist argot. The ritual in Soho, while less important than the music and fashion of the area, is much more defined in comparison to the argot. When we arrived in Soho around 17:00, most people were leaving work and heading straight to the local bars and pubs. This seemed like a pretty regular thing for them. This immediate migration from the work sphere to the social sphere seems to be a habit. Most of the people that we saw were carrying some sort of work bag and were clearly dressed in business atire, whether it be a suit jacket or a button down shirt. Although this fashion is common at all times of day in Soho, the transition between the number of people in bars at 17:00 and 18:00 was staggering. Another interesting aspect of Soho is its religious presence. Saint Anne's Church is located on Dean Street, St. Patricks's Church is in Soho Square, City Cates Church is in Green's court and the Hare Krishna Temple is in Soho Square. This is an interesting contrast to the wild culture throughout the rest of the area. However, we did come across a women's shelter that at first glance appeared to be a popular night club. The inside was covered in pink lights and was very dark for the most part. Aside from the actual places of worship, it was interesting to see that a lot of the area had evolved to match the current culture of the area. Soho cannot be tied down to one specific sub-culture, but instead is defined by its diversity and acceptance. People in Soho relish being unique and fit in because they are different. The sex shops that the area was once known for have diminished, and the culture now revolves around media and the night life. The music, fashion, argot and ritual help to establish the wide array of cultures in the region of Soho.