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In a sense I guess it could be viewed as non materialistic, but the truth is most of them go to great lengths to appear non materialistic. They take as much if not more pride in their vintage second hand clothing as someone walking out of Barneys. In an ironic sense they are materialistically non materialistic.
That said I really don't see why people have issues with them. Truth be told most people probably complain about hipsters because they secretly dig their style, music or scene. Same goes for the people who complain about yuppies. More than likely driven by some form of jealousy.
I agree with you on the first part re. "In an ironic sense they are materialistically non materialistic."
Personally I don't have issues with them. I work and befriend with them but I don't hang out with them since I'm far from that "hip" mentality (some strangers might view me as a "hipster" but I really don't take it as a compliment although they might mean well) However I don't see why anyone above 30 yrs old would feel jealous and envious of the lifestyle or the trend hipsters seemingly present. In my opinion, hipsters are usually the followers, not the pioneers (unless you compare them to the Macy's caliber in fashion, but I digress) and while some of them do seem to be so enthusiastic about art/music/pop culture and some are indeed talented, a lot of them I come across are just pretentious and borderline contrived. Sometimes it's painful to watch them. But mostly it's fun. Anyone who's been young once definitely could get that sort of pretentious, fabricated melancholy and attitude.---Every generation produced its own hipsters, it's just in this day and age our general hipster culture doesn't strike me as the one with much substance, but then again, neither is our contemporary market these days.
I think Carla just hit the nail on the head with that description, "borderline contrived." I've seen the term trendoid used for hipsters on occasion--and this strikes me as fairly accurate, too. They'll move into neighborhoods solely because this or that area has become "cool"; Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a prime example.
Can a kid grow up in NYC and eventually become a hipster or yuppy or are they always excluded from this group
excellent point. the answer is no. i mean yes, they are excluded from these groups because yuppies try to do everything they can to fit into the successful NYC individual look, i.e. an asian graduating from business school, usually stern or wharton, then going out to bars after the 9-9 job and barely making rent on their UES studios but at least theyre 'successful;'
while hipsters are originally from california or new jersey of course, usually found at NYU or columbia who have chosen a school based entirely upon its location and the stereotypical 'hipster' scene.
in the end, both groups of people aren't true manhattanites but desperately try to do everything in their power to become manhattanites and mirror the nyc 'individual' he or she desires to become
Okay..so they are not from NYC..neither are the millions upon millions of immigrants who have come to NYC for their own reasons. But somehow the Hipsters are evil because they did not drag along 8 kids and twice as many diseases with them? So their fashion and lingo and attitudes are cliched..what would you call then the oversized t-shirt, pants down to the knees, and du-rags that are the only fashion style of millions of NYers? Cliche also? Let's be real here people..leave these kids alone...let Hipsters be Hipsters....especially in a city as diverse as NY...wow are so many unaccepting of this group..people just love to hate.
FYI, most of the people I hang out with are hipsters, and in the past I probably looked the part. Also, I detest the hip-hop look and attitude. But the simple fact is..the look,attitude, lingo are a cliche. It's a like a satire when you drive into Williamsburg and see everybody...even hipsters think it's ridiculous.
Hi people. It's Indi9 here, the OP checking in. My original question seems to have morphed into a huge debate about the right of hipsters to exist. Ok, but that was not my original intention. I posted the question because, judging from the comments I have read or heard about hipsters, I did sense that it was more about attitude than style. I am an "underground" poet, singer, performing artist, and budding guitarist. I have an afro and am addicted to wearing black, having grown up in the sixties and having developed a lasting black clothing fetish ever since I was sixteen. I have my own style, but no one has ever mistaken me for a hipster, although at times I have been taken for a "neosoul" artist (think India.Arie, Jill Scott, etc.). None of that matters to me as much as being misperceived as one who thinks she is more cool than all the rest. Nope. Thank goodness. I am very down to earth, as a teacher and a grassroots artist I am sensitive to other people, I am mindful of the messages in my poetry and my music, I care about and am active in the community, and while I am not "street tough" by any stretch of imagination I am "street smart" and I do know how to take care of myself.
I think the problem with coming up with a definition of hipster is that being a hipster varies. What is considered "cool" varies. Styles vary. People vary, even beneath the seeming uniformity.
So far, the wikipedia artice that was suggested early in this thread (ty) was the most helpful to me. Hipsters are very postmodern, it seems, which is their right. I too wish they would lose the attitudes, but knowing what I know of human psychology, people who exhibit the worst attitudes of "superiority" are usually still little children within who were treated as outcasts at some point in their lives. It is debateable of course. I am up for more discussion. I just don't think that hating them or attacking them is the solution. After reading through this thread, it seems that some of my college students would be considered or described as hipsters. And, yes, they have come to me with their notorious, hipster, "I'm too cool for this place" attitudes; but they relaxed once they understood that I was not judging them, that they were accepted in my classroom as long as they learned to accept me and their classmates as well. They had to learn how to maintain and project their individualism while still learning to be a part of the community. This was true of everyone really (imo).
The bottom line is..why does anyone care? The Hipsters bother you...but again I ask why? Do they bother you more than the street bums begging for money and sleeping on the train? Oh wait...they have street credibility so they deserve to be here! How about the gangs of thugs with their pants down to their ankles and du-rags. Oh wait...they are poor, ethnic and part of the street culture, so they qualify as NYers! How about all those nonstop immigrants always flooding into NYC? Oh wait..they too are typically poor and ethnic..so they are welcome here. Exactly when did being a "real" NYer mean you had to be "from the street" or somehoe had "street credibility." Oh that's right, when the city burned, the middle class fled, and the people of color took over, violence skyrocketed, and the city was a dangerous/filthy place to live. You may think that is what NY is about..but that's not what NY was ever about..this is only recent history. The fact remains, NYC is about diversity, whether it be Hipsters, Mexicans, Irish, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Yuppies, Investment Bankers, the Global Elite, etc. The justifications for hating Hipsters are just the same as hating everyother group.....there is always a reason to hate something, or a reason to proclaim some group doesn''t belong here, or in "your" neighborood, or blame a groud for "ruining" the neighborhood. It's all the same..the funny thing is..much of the people who taunt/ridicule/hate Hipsters, for whatever reason, come from families that back in the day were taunted/ridiculed/hated by other groups. Nice job!
Hipsters are just a popular subculture of this particular generation. The 60's had mods, rockers, hippies. The 70's/80's had the punks.
Hipsters are just a less inspired modern version. I don't hate them but I also don't find anything particularly noteworthy or relevant about them. I think most people just kind of find them annoying and trite.
Again, I think to compare the "hate," Hipsters face to that ethnic groups and other social groups face is ridiculous.
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 08-20-2008 at 09:52 AM..
NooYowker clearly the level of hate on Hipsters is not identical..but the mentality is...people always need to make fun of others, look down on others, criticize others, to make themselves feel better or morally superior. Different = bad to so many people....I still don't understand why.
NooYowker clearly the level of hate on Hipsters is not identical..but the mentality is...people always need to make fun of others, look down on others, criticize others, to make themselves feel better or morally superior. Different = bad to so many people....I still don't understand why.
Really? I don't see a lot of people hating the so-called "hipsters", I actually found some young kids worshiping them and trying to copy the style (case in point, Nylon magazine, Time Out magazine. Those magazines featured those styles/looks for a reason, there's a consumer motivation there and brands like Urban Outfitters or American Apparel cater to those kids, there is a niche market there)
If you look at this way, any sub-culture group or phenomenon gets to be hated, annoyed, mocked and parodied. The gothics, the punks, the frat boys, the sorority girls...and the list goes on and on. It's just human nature. British people make fun of the American accent, the Americans make fun of the French and we often see parodies on French paramour on shows like SNL, the North looks down on the South or vice versa,....it's just a bit stupid human nature.
I am sure there are people who just simply don't take the so-called hipsters that seriously considering some of us "have been there done that", it's not them being "different" so people think of them as "bad" (the logic is a bit simplified don't you think? it's not like hipsters are so ground-breaking that we are so in awe of them to the point people gasp upon seeing them. You see 999 hipster kids in St.Marks or NYU area on any given Friday night) people in NY generally have a very high tolerance for any outrageous styles or group, just my 2 cents.
Okay..so they are not from NYC..neither are the millions upon millions of immigrants who have come to NYC for their own reasons. But somehow the Hipsters are evil because they did not drag along 8 kids and twice as many diseases with them?
Say what!?!?!
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