The two main social groups presented in this film are the ‘mods’ and the ‘rockers’. The film portrays the fashion, music, behaviour, symbols and language associated with each subculture, but the main focus is on the mods. Jimmy, the main character, is a member of the mods, so the audience is led to perceive the rockers in more of a negative light compared to the mods.
The mods all wear green jackets, and spend their time driving their mopeds at night under the influence of drugs and alcohol, as well as attending alcohol-fuelled parties and getting involved in fights with the rockers. The mods rockers have been designed to shown many union jacks, stickers and many lights, and this could indicate a way of the mods trying to create their own characteristic of their subculture. The rockers tend to wear black clothing, such as leather jackets and boots, and spend their time driving large and loud motorcycles. Both members of the mods and rockers are of a similar age group (early to mid twenties), and are both rebellious.
Despite the film showing a large interest in the mods and rockers, it doesn’t seem to show authority figures in a negative light. For example, the police, who the mods and rockers tended to have a negative perception of, are never really perceived in a negative image. Instead, especially in the large fighting scene in Brighton , they appear to just want to control the safety of the public. Despite this, Jimmy’s parents are shown as aggressive authority figures, although this is due to Jimmy’s poor behaviour and obsession with the mods.
The mods and rockers don’t seem to use separate language to each other, and this could be because they are of a similar age group and feel no need to create any independent slang. The mods music taste is usually associated with that of ‘The Who’, who played the soundtrack for the film.
