 |
| D o I l o o k l i k e a h i p s t e r i n t h i s ?!?! |
Remember folks, this is tongue in cheek and largely in jest - don't go gonzo because one or more of these items applies to you, your mom, or your dog. After all, if the shoe fits you should wear it...even if they're three inch heels and there's snow on the ground. Read it. Think about it. Enjoy.
Me:
How “smart” can someone appear though? I mean, you have the stereotypical intellectual trappings but with the rise of hipsters who imitate geeks in some ironic attempt at coolness you can’t even gauge nerdiness (an amazing indicator of intellect in many ways, haha) by how someone dresses anymore. ; )
Sam:
That is very true. I have to confess, “hipster” has become like “existentialist” to me. I’m not
sure what it exactly means, and furthermore, I’m not sure the person who fancies himself
as such does either. I understand it has become pejorative. I imagine it might have to
do with someone who is pretentious (I’m thinking of the people who drink coffee at Café
Aroma or Spot with their shoulder bags and their designer coffees); but then I heard it also
may have something to do with a distinct literary interest (Chuck Klosterman, Brett Easton
Ellis) and an affection for independent music. So, could you educate me? What is a hipster?
Is a hipster an aesthete? A metrosexual? What does it mean?
Me:
My feelings on a hipster may be different than others, but I diagnose hipsterdom with a combination of the following symptoms:
a) “Alternative” or artsy clothes that are usually chosen for how much their look coincides with others in that desired social crowd, versus their own personal love of that style (particularly when the person intentionally looks geeky, frumpy, etc intentionally even though they are not actually a geeky/unattractive person – “I’m so not cool it’s cool”). Basically, they look different-but-the-same – their style is obviously not “average joe” style, but they still look like clones of buttloads of other people you see at concerts, art shows, etc.
b) People who constantly have to be in p+ssing contests about what they like. “The bands I like are more indie than yours,” “ the club I go to is more underground than where you go,” “the organic market I shop at is more eco friendly than yours,” “I’m friends with person x, y or z in this or that scene or the owner of this or that business”
c) People who adopt style or personality traits to be “ironic” – for instance, a recent hipster trend with dudes is having large beards and moustaches, because they are not popular in common fashion right now and further broadcast the “I want people to think I don’t think about what I look like” attitude
d) They are pretentious about everything, especially if they don’t think you are “cool” – i.e. you know people they like or know people who they want to like them. They will get snippy/preachy/d0uchey about almost any subject if it makes them feel better about themselves (read “more cool”) to tear other people down. Ex: You can name a band to them that has put out 100 copies of an album and they’ll deride you for liking something “too mainstream.”
e) They accuse everyone of being posers, wanting to project an image or trying to infiltrate their “scene,” because subconsciously they know they are fake and/or they feel threatened someone else may actually be cool and steal their thunder. They desperately try to find any hole or crack in anything you say to pretend you are “trying too hard” to fit in with them or to make yourself sound cool, even if you have a genuine interest in something and either misspoke or are just misinformed (for instance, say I’m discussing the Stonewall Riots and misquote what year they happened, or have read a source that quoted it incorrectly and repeat them, the hipster would roll their eyes and say something like “if you were reeeeally into gay rights you would know that.”)
I have a lot of sore thoughts on this subject as people often mistake me for a hipster due to my unusual mode of dress and (I guess?) not common hobbies/interests. However I am not hip, do not think I am hip, and will never be hip (although, ironically that would make me hip, yes?). I like what I like and I don’t care if no one else does or if a billion people do. It’s just as cool either way.
Sam:
I get it. I think especially the personal interactions are telling. Just really insecure people.
I think especially of Ryan from “The Office,” who is always trying to one-up everyone else
and be the coolest cat around.
Very good description! Very informative! Where do you encounter these people?
Me:
I encounter them regularly – coffee shops, bars, stores. I have always been very into art and music and both of those things tend to attract a lot of people who think that interest makes them cooler and “better” than average joe nobody who isn’t in an art collective or a band, etc. People set about building some sort of counterculture identity for themselves but sadly wind up acting just like self-centered high school students, constantly judging, labeling and grouping everyone they encounter into those who are cooler than them and they want to gain status from, as cool as them and thus able to be their “friend” or not as cool as them, and thus unacceptable to hang with unless they want something from them.
Sam:
I will have to save this extremely good analysis of hipster culture for consultation at a later date
See, another person saved from a potential drive-by hipstering.
My friend Coconut, as we'll call him for blog purposes, on the other hand knows how to spot a hipster when he sees one.
Coconut:
The girl across from me has been asked “what is a hipster” and her and I ended up in a very similar discussion to the ones we have had. The problem is, there are hipsters of all facets of life now – they were there before, but now with some understanding of what a hipster is, you can notice it in many different areas of life. Gotta love it. I think it would be safe to say that just about everyone might have at least one of the qualities that make up a hipster, but that does not make everyone a hipster. You just…know it when you see/talk to/hear from them.
Well said, Coconut. Just like on your SAT's, some snarks are blarks, all blarks are garks...are all garks snarks?
No comments:
Post a Comment