Subculture has its own values and beliefs but is often able to exist within mainstream culture. On the other hand, counterculture fundamentally goes against mainstream culture and, if large enough, ends up reshaping the mainstream.
Dick Hebdidge wrote a book named 'Subculture: The Meaning of Style' in 1979, which focused on the British youth culture and the different groups that emerged after World War Two. He discussed that style and its association with music was a symbolic form of resistance. He also analysed how each specific sub-culture (such as punks, rockers, skinheads etc.) has evolved, as well as looking at the shared aspects that are common to that evolution such as socio-economic background, ethnicity, class, and regional factors. Hebdidge also looked at links between subcultures around reggae music, punk music and, despite ethnic differences, saw links in terms of a rejection of the dominant ideology of the day - which at the time was a form of British nationalism.
The Trajectory of Subcultures
Hebdidge argues that all subculture experience the same trajectory. In this model, subcultures initially form through a common resistance. The dominant society often sees these groups as radical, leading to fear, skepticism and anxiety in their response. in some ways, this gives the subculture's resistance more power but only momentarily, because eventually entrepreneurs find a way to commodify the style and music of subculture. Before long, elements of the subculture are available to the mainstream, i.e. Edwardian jackets of the 'Teddy Boys'. In this way, what was once subversive, rebellious and radical is now contained. For this reason, it is often the case that the moment when dominant society begins to recognize a subculture is the moment that the resistant power of the subculture begins to die.
