A BRIEF HISTORY

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ZINES WERE FIRST CREATED IN THE SCIENCE FICTION FANDOMS OF THE 1930S, TAKING THEIR NAME FROM FANZINE, WHICH IS SHORT FOR “FAN MAGAZINE.” LONG BEFORE THE ADVENT OF THE INTERNET, ZINES ALLOWED FANS TO CREATE NETWORKS, SHARE IDEAS AND ANALYSES, AND COLLABORATE ON WRITING AND ARTWORK.

 

THE COUNTERCULTURE MOVEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BEAT GENERATION OF THE 1950S AND 1960S SAW A GROWTH OF THE UNDERGROUND PRESS, WHICH PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CONNECTING THE PEOPLE ACROSS THE US. ALTHOUGH THE UNDERGROUND PRESS OFTEN INVOLVED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PEOPLE AND RESOURCES IN THE PRODUCTION OF MATERIALS, IT PROVIDED A FUNCTION THAT BECAME A KEY PART OF ZINE CULTURE IN THE 1980S AND BEYOND: GIVING PEOPLE A VOICE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA.

 

ART AND LITERARY MAGAZINES OF THE 1960S AND 1970S WERE BASED ON A SIMILAR NEED TO CIRCUMVENT THE COMMERCIAL ART WORLD, AND WERE PRINTED CHEAPLY AND SPREAD THROUGH SMALL, NICHE NETWORKS. MANY OF THEM COMBINED ART, POLITICS, CULTURE, AND ACTIVISM INTO A SINGLE ECLECTIC PUBLICATION, REDEFINING WHAT A MAGAZINE COULD BE, AND INFLUENCING THE RISE OF ACTIVIST ARTISTS’ MAGAZINES THAT SHAPED THE PUNK AND FEMINIST SCENES LATER ON.

 

THE PUNK MUSIC SCENE OF THE 1980S EXPANDED UPON THE SELF-PUBLISHED FORMAT BY CREATING A WIDE OF ARRAY OF CONSTANTLY EVOLVING ZINES DEDICATED TO THE MUSICAL GENRE THAT WERE BOTH FANZINES AND POLITICAL TRACTS. PUNK ZINES WERE MORE THAN JUST MAGAZINES–THEY REPRESENTED THE AESTHETIC AND IDEALS OF AN ENTIRE SUBCULTURE, A CONDENSED VERSION OF THIS CULTURAL REVOLT AGAINST AUTHORITARIANISM.