Hebdige's text, my own personal introduction into cultural studies, was something of an enigma to me because my initial thought, and the one that sustained itself throughout my reading (up until the penultimate page), was, "Why write a book on punk?" Because, I answered to myself, once you define what punk is and explain how to be punk, doesn't punk self-destruct?

The answer, as it turns out, is yes, but the way in which Hebdige explores the artificiality of punk and the manner in which it has become an empty amalgamation of many different, more meaningful subcultures, offers an interesting take on WHY that emptiness exists.

To that end, though this text really applies only to its cultural moment (late 1970s England), it has a certain amount of relevance to the American punk scene as it has survived today.

A concise, clear, and surprisingly complex study, well worth the brief amount of time it will take to read.