Hebdige Theory

Dick Hebdige

Dick Hebdige is a British media theorist and sociologist, and a Professor of Art and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work is commonly associated with the study of subcultures, and its resistance against the mainstream of society. His current research interests include media topographies, desert studies, and performative criticism. Hebdige has written extensively on contemporary art, design, media and cultural studies, on mod style.

What is his theory  

The Hebidge theory comes out of Dick Hebdige’s book Subculture: The meaning of style. The book focuses on the UK’S youth subcultures. Drawing from Marxist theorists, literary critics, French structuralists, and American sociologists, Hebdige presents a model for analysing youth subcultures. While Hebdige argues that each subculture undergoes the same trajectory, he outlines the individual style differences of specific subcultures, such as Teddy boys, mods, rockers, skinheads, and punks. Hebdige emphasizes the historical, class, race, and socioeconomic conditions that surrounded the formation of each subculture.

Representation of youth

In his book Hebdige argues that how youths were represented in the 70’s was extremely limited and they are either seen as trying to cause trouble or seen as having fun and there is no in-between. He also goes on to mention that the media representation of youth was not actually reality.