Hinton: Hipsters hip, but skin-deep
By
published: Mon, 1 Feb, 2010
Being a hipster, though, has very little to do with any specific tastes. Kinds of clothing, music, social events and the like are just inconstant vessels into which hipsters can pour their short-term, fanatical interests. Consider early uses of the term “hipster.” In 1948, the American cultural magazine The Partisan Review wrote, “Carrying his language and his new philosophy like concealed weapons, the hipster set out to conquer the world.” In 1959 Jazz Scene published, “Jive—talk or hipster-talk is ... an argot or cant designed to set the group apart from outsiders.”
Though the philosophy has changed — today’s hipsters don’t spout novice existentialism but recite postmodern mantras — and the music has shifted from jazz to low-fi, folkish and electro stuff, the mindset remains the same. Hipsters cherry pick some niche and adopt its jargon and accoutrements as their lingua franca.
Picture the following scene from a party that I once attended. This is an actual conversation I heard:
Dude in impossibly big glasses — “So what are your plans after college?”
Frumpy girl wearing all kinds of layered jersey — “I don’t know. I’m just so tired of all this fake work, work, work. I’m thinking of moving to Portland and taking up glassblowing.”
Dude — “That’s awesome. Getting to touch your creation. None of this corporate simulacra.”
Girl — “Yeah. [Pause] Wanna go inside? I think my friend’s noise band is playing.”
Now, glassblowing, the Pacific Northwest and noise are all fine interests. However, in this particular tableau of insincerity, they are just neon flags signaling that you are part of the elite weird. The fatal flaw of hipsters — and this is what sets them apart from people whose interests coincide with hipsters — is that they don’t actually care about the things they say they love. They just want to be card-carrying members of the secret society of card carriers. The requirements for membership are constantly changing and chasing this caprice is their real pastime.
Sure, bros are into Jagermeister and telling girls that they have awesome racks. But they are actually into it. The growlers of Natty Ice and center spreads of Adriana Lima are the authentic stuffs of dreams, whether or not they are bad dreams. Look down on it if you want, but I would take a bro repping Under Armour every day over a hipster promoting Goodwill yesterday, American Apparel today and — likely — something like Topshop tomorrow. Sincerity is the deal breaker in this one, Mr. Beitzel.
E-mail Erik at ech15@pitt.edu.
Still think hipsters are cooler than bros? Check out Dave Beitzel's counterpoint to this column.
Comments
same same
I happened upon this article and found it to be a sound, honest description of the kind of artifice I'm accustomed to encountering. Dunno what to make of it though. Seems like everyone (at least at my college), from your hipsters to your natty ice bros, are superficial.
I happened upon this article
I happened upon this article and found it to be a sound, honest description of the kind of artifice I'm accustomed to encountering. Dunno what to make of it though. Seems like everyone (at least at my college), from your hipsters to your natty ice bros, are superficial.
This is shockingly hypocritical
First, hipsters never admit they're hipsters. You are not a hipster. You're trying to be one of the try-hard "card-carrying members" that you denigrate. This is an embarrassment to the actual hipster population at Pitt. But apparently not to yourself. And I understand this article is supposed to be fun-loving and humorous. But it's not.
Who died and let you decide who's a hipster?
The actual hipster population at Pitt is an embarrassment to those whose interests tend to diverge from the mainstream. I rather liked this article, as one who is constantly labeled a hipster, but could give two sh*ts. Who wants everything about them to be summed up to a mere term? People are into what they're into, and if they're genuinely into what they're into, they shouldn't care if they're labeled for it. Sheep are sheep no matter what you want to call them.
so you've been called a
so you've been called a hipster before. but don't consider yourself one. but are offended when someone rips on hipsters. because you, like the so called hipsters, diverge from mainstream culture. and just because you (yourself, hipsters, and mistaken for hipsters) do that, you shouldn't be made fun of. and at the same time, you (minus you) are all sheep. and you do all the same thing. so hipsters don't matter. nothing matters. its only a matter of time before matter becomes a matter no one cares about because we don't have enough time for such a matter. timeless matters. existentialism. postmodernism. salinger. nietzsche. coffee. fair trade. muslim scarves. candy. who died and made you feel obligated to use a cliche in a internet comment title. ....... ok.
that made about as much sense and articulated as many comprehensible arguments as your post? thought so.
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