Abstract
Moral panic, developed in the 1970s by British sociologist Stanley Cohen, is one of the concepts used to address the relation between dominant society and marginal/marginalized groups. It can be defined as a condition, when a group, behaviour of its members or event connected to it, is interpreted as deviant to that extent, that it is perceived as a threat to the whole society.
Although this concept does not apply to subcultures only, it is a useful analytical tool for understanding relationships between subcultures and the dominant society. Mass media plays the main role in creation and sustenance of moral panic and is a major tool for its construction and spreading.
This is caused by the fact, that media discourse presents one of the important sources, which represents the image of subcultures in the dominant society. For individuals who do not have any personal experience with subcultures, this discourse might be the main and even the only source of information, on which their attitude towards subcultures is based.
In my paper, I will present moral panic concerning the emo subculture in Czech society. By using this example, I will try to demonstrate how general trajectory of moral panic manifests in the context of Czech mainstream culture and how it uses mainstream values and norms for its construction.
I would also like to argue that moral panic presents an integral part of subcultures and countercultures and their perception by the dominant society.