BEING CULTURAL is an ambitious collection of original readings which introduces students to key theory and key issues within cultural studies and popular culture. Bringing together established writers such as Andy Bennett, Douglas Kellner, Chris Rojek, Barry Smart and John Storey with academics researching cultural texts in new and innovative ways, the book challenges our common-sense notions of 'culture', placing debates centrally within the power dynamics and dominant meaning-making of capitalist society. In understanding the production and consumption of such texts, the book outlines theoretical discussion from the Frankfurt School, British Cultural Studies, Semiotics, Subcultural theory, and Postmodernism, as well as investigating special topics such as digital media, sport, advertising, social networking sites, celebrity, video games, the body, cinema, reality TV, and issues of gender and ethnicity. With a total of twenty-five chapters presented in a user-friendly style -- including chapter summaries and suggestions for further reading from the authors -- this is an essential text for any student new to the subject.