Some people say hipsterism is a sign of a cultural Apocalypse. It shows that absolutely every artistic avenue has been explored and there is nowhere left to turn for originality. Every idea has been industrialized marketed and sold back to you for twice the price.
This idea may be a bit harsh but there is certainly evidence for it when you consider places like Urban Outfitters or other boutiques. These stores are designed around the concept of a New York thrift store, except instead of you going around rummaging through tons of bullshit to find one good shirt, they do. This way you don’t have to worry about maintaining a certain cultural sensibility or curiosity to find a cool shirt. Being hip is as easy as walking into your local shopping mall with a fat wallet.
But some people do go to the thrift store to buy clothes. What does this mean? Are they cool? Does buying a shirt at a discarded cloth item store mean anything other than exactly what it is? That you are able to recognize a cool shirt amidst hundreds of dumb ones? Does that make you cool? What is so great about looking cool?
Some people would say that looking the part is all that matters these days. Young people born into a world devoid of new culture are left unable to create an identity for themselves. Therefore the only way to distinguish themselves from the crowd is to be trendy; to make sure they are always doing something when it’s “In” and be sure to have dropped it when it gets “old.” As soon as it appears their creative statement is no longer separating them from the herd, it must be dropped and replaced with something newer.
There is certainly evidence of this too, as there is no set hipster look. It's appearance is one of constant change, constantly borrowing from other cultures; skating, surfing, punk, prep, hippies, Rastafarians, gays and era’s like the 80’s 90’s, 70’s etc. There is no set statement but fusion of different subcultures combined into trendiness.
But in the end does this really mean anything? Is this hatred of hipsters merely the the product of the hipsters own recognition of itself? That it is a hipsters natural instinct to hate anything that can be put in a box, including itself. Or could it be that there are just people out there who like tho listen to different music and be fashionable, and that we are all over-thinking the entire concept?
I think to understand this concept we must go back to see where it came from. The hipster was created in the 60’s when a split began as to what was “hip” and what was mainstream; hence the term “hippies”. This led to the creation of lifestyles and art that wasn’t understood by mainstream society. And it was the lack of understanding by the mainstream that made the art so pure. The Beatles were just awesome. That’s all there was to it. They didn’t need to be marketed or produced in any particular way, they just were a band, they formed and they played music and people loved it. Nobody new how to make the Beatles because The Beatles were the first of their kind.
It was only after years of seeing these cool new artists on TV and magazines did people began to understand what it was about them that made them so popular. They looked so cool on the cover of those magazines, singing on stage, sitting on couches half paying attention while eager journalists who just don’t seem to under them nervously ask questions about what they think. About everything.
But after awhile Record companies did start to understand them. And through that they began to control the concept of rock n roll. They knew which artists were selling and which ones weren’t. “So you want to be a star? Where are your cool clothes? Where are your tattoos? Where’s your ‘fuck the man’ attitude?"
Soon looking like an artist seemed to be almost more important than the art itself. And i think here is where much of the hatred for hipsters comes from. Many of them are merely a victim of marketing. They grew up idolizing the rock stars, seeing them in magazines, music videos etc, and from this exposure they began to think, ” Hey, I don’t need to actually do any hard work and produce cool artwork that is unique and new, I just need to dress like one. That way everyone will respect in they same way my