Hipster Haters

Did anybody read that wespeak “A hipster by any other name”? I usually try to stay out of the hipster-hater dialogue going on around campus, but this last wespeak was so ridiculous that I’ve been spurred into action via the written word.

First of all, I’ve never met anybody who’s openly and non-ironically admitted to being a hipster. Still, they get an unbelievable amount of press time, and people are always talking about how annoying they are. Even if it’s not necessarily an essential identity, like say, African-American, there’s definitely a demographic trend going on.

Ms. Spier – who wrote the wespeak – was well intended, perhaps, in trying to understand, demystify, and malign the ways of the hipster, but by continuing this ceaseless dialogue about how stupid it is to be a hipster, she’s just feeding the flames of hipster hype and the corporate commodification of “cool”. With so many other more important things going on in the world – not to mention New York City – the fact that Time Out New York devotes a whole article to “hipsters” is ridiculous. Hipster baiting, in my opinion, is worse than being a hipster because it encourages this dialogue that’s ultimately trite and self-aggrandizing, contributing to a lot of complaining about hipsters when we could all be talking about other things.

So, that being said, what is a hipster? I don’t claim to be an expert, but I kind of lived with hipsters – or at least people who identify with that “scene” – in Brooklyn the past two summers (and I’m a film major, not that that signifies anything . . .) so I guess I can give you my general observations. As a starting point, hipsters in America – along with the rest of the English speaking world I guess – define themselves against the perceived mainstream corporate commercial culture, along with its commodities and values. A whole lot of people identify that way, however; hipsters distinguish themselves from the general angst-ridden suburban teenager by identifying with an intellectual/artistic aesthetic, and by staying abreast on current (though hopefully little-known) bands, artists, films, and literary works. Hipsters don’t like to think of themselves as consumers, but by definition they take in cultural capital. If you do have to buy anything, it’s best if that money doesn’t go into the hands of The Gap or some other corporate mega-monster. Thrift stores are unquestionably awesome, overpriced “vintage” stores less so. Second-hand-but-not-cheap-looking is really hard to find however, so Diesel Jeans are definitely okay, as are the occasional shirts or whatever from American Apparel. Huge conglomerates, in general, are suspicious since untold numbers of people were killed, maimed, or paid like 5 cents a day to make those clothes; somehow IKEA and Macintosh computers are exempt (every hipster-pad I’ve ever been to in New York features a big apple computer somewhere in the house. That said, this necessary conformity is usually offset by the lack of a functioning television set. No one watches TV anymore, apparently, since the media is totally corporate and mainstream and TV shows with national appeal don’t appeal to more sophisticated tastes . . . Last May I visited some people I had lived with in 2006, and commented, “Wow, you guys got a TV. It looks nice!” Shameful guilt instantly crossed their faces, and Kadria went into a really long story about how one of her former clients gave it to her, and that they still definitely didn’t have cable or watch sports or anything: The TV’s just for movies and stuff. I secretly thought ‘Yeah, they both just turned 30 didn’t they? The world outside of Brooklyn-cool is seeping in, and they’re becoming more like those once city-dwelling suburban couples in Westchester . . .').

So, is hipster identity a lot clearer now? Is it really? IS IT?!?! LOL, but really, since “hipster” isn’t an internal identity, it’s pretty difficult to make clear-cut boundaries. I tend to think of them as being 18-30ish, but then some high school kids have already shed their sappy emo roots and gone “cool”, and I’ve totally seen some 35-45 year old hipster-dads at the McCarren Park Pool, maintaining an air of nonchalance with children precariously set on their backs. Jaded, disinterested hipster moms walking unusually calm babies are the Williamsburg norm. They’re usually from upper-middle class to upper-class backgrounds – especially in New York it seems – though some hipsters come from more dusty roots. They usually went to either art school, one of the politically left liberal arts schools, or NYU, though they might be self-educated. Without a doubt, however, they have to be interested in non-mainstream cultural commodities, and have a lot of knowledge on classic, kitsch, and contemporary independent film as well as underground/indie music. Our generation really isn’t all that well read, though most hipsters will at least be familiar with basic classic literary/philosophical works, along with anything that’s about rejecting social norms or that’s written in a post-modern style. Knowing a little bit about contemporary plastic and performance artists is pretty important too, especially in New York. Irony is also really important. Unquestionable actually. Perhaps this is because the ultimate irony is in the ludicrous idea of trying to live in a major metropolitan city, not work or participate in consumer culture at all, be a total non-conformist yet also try and be cooler than all your friends. I think the reasons run deeper than that, however, you’ll have to figure that out for yourself. But anyway, since there aren’t any clear-cut definitions, I tend to think of the whole “thing” as an inner-and-outer circle, with the unquestionable “hipsters” in the center, and people who seem to be hipsters and definitely associate with that scene, even if they don’t fit the bill 100% (i.e. they’re not 100% obnoxious to be around, lol) in the outer circle. Outside of that would be people who aren’t “hip” but for one reason or another associate with these people from time to time. Maybe they too listen to indie music, or live in one of the hipster neighborhoods. This is the domain of the hipster hater, who perhaps, secretly envies the hipster because of his or her own personal lack of hipness, simultaneously resenting the pretension espoused by those that truly are hipsters. This area, I believe, is where most of the journalist who write/obsess about these kids are, including that Christian Lorentzen guy, who’s decided to make a career out of hipster baiting (among other things, like art/music criticism). This isn't necessarily a bad place to be. A lot of Wesleyan students – I daresay the majority – seem to be around this area, if they’re not hipsters themselves. Still, if you’re a Wes Republican, hang out at DKE more than once or twice a month, think popping your collar is the best thing since khaki shorts, or are one of those white kids who self-identifies with a word that starts with “W” and ends with “igger”, then you’re in another time zone. Other than the “hip-hop heads” who might run into hipsters if The Coup or Daft Punk are playing, these guys aren’t interested in “Hipsters”. It’s only people that associate with hipsters, and have some sort of inferiority complex, that are obsessed with them. Get over it guys. If you’re a real activist, actually trying to make a difference, then you’ve got a leg up over hipsters who are jaded and obsessed with nightlife. But if you shop at the Gap, Wal-Mart, and Urban Outfitters, feel guilty about it, then obsessively hipster bait hipsters for their pretension, then chill out, because even if their only motivation is to look cool, those hipster kids are just a little bit more down with the revolution than you are (even if they are really self-absorbed and pretentious about the whole thing).