It’s hard to write about hipsters. Hipsterism is a movement embedded in irony and contradictions, so it’s not easy to nail down.
But to understand our youth culture better, it is time to approach hipsterism with more thoughtfulness. It is time to admit that the hipsters of today are remarkably different from all youth cultures of the past.
Nevertheless, there are some similarities. Hipsters carry the signature of previous counter-cultures — the cry of a youth oppressed by mainstream America. Like the beats or punks that came before them, hipsters build their identities around what the mainstream apparently isn’t — progressive, informed and self-aware.
But while the beats were defined by an artistic, literary movement and the hippies through their celebration of love and peace, hipsters are defined by material objects available for purchase. Consider the images that define the 21st century hipster: thick-rimmed eyeglasses, a plaid flannel shirt, skinny jeans and a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
While the subcultures of prior generations resisted the oppressive nature of capitalism, most hipsters do not — at least not really. Mainstream America sells hipsterhood right back to the hipster, and the trendy hipster is more than happy to buy skinny jeans from Urban Outfitters for $75 a pair. As Douglas Haddow writes for Adbusters, the hipster is “less a subculture” and more a “consumer group — using their capital to purchase empty authenticity and rebellion.”
Like other subcultures, hipsters also display a keen interest in self-expression.
Allen Ginsberg, a beat poet, broke out of the repressive structure of conventional poetry and wrote in free-verse, a form he felt was less restrictive of poetic expression. Musician Janis Joplin, in her rendition of “Summertime,” shows no vocal restraint, singing not for the sake of music, but for self-expression.
This intense investment in self-expression exhibited by members of previous generations culminates in the image of the hipster. The hipster becomes the parody of a culture desperate to express individuality. Ginsberg expresses himself through poetry, Joplin expresses herself through music and hipsters express themselves through consumer choices. The hipster has unbending preferences as a consumer and isn’t shy about expressing them, favoring vintage over contemporary and organic over conventional products.
The hipsters I know buy vinyl records, shop at thrift stores and eat organic food to express an identity. The hipster who buys vintage — before it was cool to do so — has classic, timeless taste. The hipster who chooses Whole Foods over Wal-Mart is a well-informed friend of the environment. The hipster who wears scarves in July can be a fashion non-conformist, in spite of the blistering Arizona heat.
Moreover, the hipster exhibits unprecedented interest in preserving something called “authenticity.” There seems to be something intuitively natural about buying vintage and eating organic.
With the prevalence of hipsters in our generation, it would be a huge mistake to dismiss them as urbanites who whine about something called “the mainstream.” Hipsterism is the first subculture produced by the Information Age, and the technology we have at hand gives us a unique advantage over every prior generation: the means to participate in critical dialogue about a cultural movement, as it is currently taking place.
With this column, I hope to begin a dialogue. There is no time like the present to ask yourself: What does the hipster ethos say about our generation and its relationship to the world?
Reach the columnist at ctruong1@asu.edu
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