Oh, hell no, I'm not a hipster

[roach]

i don't think hipsterism is really a movement. it's just like scensters and nerds and jocks. just another label so everyone knows who we are talking about. I also don't think hipsterism is producing art and all that, it's just that some people who produce art, music and movies happen to fit into the hipster label because of how they look.
the grunge look didn't produce nirvana, nirvana was just poor and liked plaid.

ro"calling it a movement makes hipsters feel a little more important, perhaps"ach

[Irock]

Semi-aside: "hipsterism" is hard to say / read, I vote "hipsterdom."

And I also think Roach is right; hipsterdom hasn't "created" anything because it's not a movement, which would explain why its "members" could be forgiven if they didn't stand for anything, they never sought membership.

I've never so much looked into Dada but I'm certain the Beats didn't say, "this is funny/meaningful but YOU just don't GET it." They said, "I'd like some alcohol, please. No, you can keep the job." And while they didn't seek membership either (they were assigned their label mostly after the fact), the difference is they stood out as a group and had something in common, so they were a movement. And I mean the original Beats not the people in the 60s with black turtle necks on.

So the idea is to:
1. assign a divergent group of people a label based on the fact that they wear skinny jeans, non-scrip glasses, or Urban Outfitters,
2. tell them what their label is meaningless, and then
3. criticize them for it.

[aquaphase]

I have movements

[katie]

awfully defensive of a movement you're "not" a part of, dalya...

ka"making fun of dalya for being a hipster just never gets old"tie

[Dalya]

*shrug* well I think "real" hipsters are the actual musicians/art school graduates/Vice Magazine writers living the [fairly obnoxious] hipster lifestyle over in Williamsburg Brooklyn. They're the ones who set the trends and create the... atmosphere.... or whatever. Urban Outfitters and such have just gotten really good at latching on to those trends almost immediately so it's hard to tell where the idea came from. [This is about to sound so obnoxious but there's no other way to say it.] When you walk through Williamsburg on a weekend you can see that they are the *pauses and hates self* "real deal." But those are the ones who dig through thrift stores to find some article of clothing that they can wear until everyone else catches on, live with 7 roommates in a shitty loft, attend every stupid rooftop party where Vice can photograph them, ride vintage bikes, drink PBR, etc. Steph is sort of one of these: parsons grad, in brooklyn, wearing weird shit to her job at an auction house, attending themed parties, etc. But there's a totally different attitude about it, because a lot of those people are actually producing something (art, music) so they feel they need to know whats going on and be part of the scene. Steph has talked about this with me at length - that a lot of these people annoy the shit out of her, but she has to be part of the art world to eventually open a gallery... Dunno if this last point makes sense, but thats the real difference to me between those that are part of what might later be labeled a movement and just everyone else. (The rest of the skinny-jeans-wearing population (like myself) are just following fashion trends that they like. That's clearly not a movement. I'm not producing anything but poop.)

[roach]

i think i am just old now. I stopped reading vice a couple years ago because it just seemed they started phoning it in. it was the same articles and shit that i'd read before from the previously. almost formulaic. like they have a cookie cutter system for their articles and that got kinda old. to me. but I suppose it's always new to someone.
but they have bloc party and the streets on their label so i give them a pass.

[Tracy]

i think i am just old now. I stopped reading vice a couple years ago because it just seemed they started phoning it in. it was the same articles and shit that i'd read before from the previously. almost formulaic. like they have a cookie cutter system for their articles and that got kinda old. to me. but I suppose it's always new to someone.
but they have bloc party and the streets on their label so i give them a pass.

No, I'm old.

I've never heard of Vice. Ever. Until now.

[katie]

*shrug* well I think "real" hipsters are the actual musicians/art school graduates/Vice Magazine writers living the [fairly obnoxious] hipster lifestyle over in Williamsburg Brooklyn.

i think it's real easy to think that they're the "real deal" because they live in new york and go to parties where magazines take pictures of them. more press != more legit. and you'll never convince me that hipsterism is an art movement. i think some people in the art world happen to be hipsters, but i don't think that at its core, hipsterism is about art. it's a revival of the culture that was popular when we were kids: flannel, an update on the tapered jean, dorky glasses (occasionally sans prescription). it's what happens when too many kids get their hands on high fidelity and dream about being the cool loser.

[Dalya]

Well that's why I'm saying it could later be categorized, not now. The same way literary movements get defined after the fact. Oh, all these people lived in Switzerland or Germany and wore the same clothes and kind of all hung out together and you can find things in common in their work (as a result of living in the same time and place) so that was a Movement.

Ok maybe it'll define the time period. Like Victorian England? That attitude/style emerged in art, music, and literature, both good and bad (mostly bad).

21st Century Hipsterian America?

[roach]

how long do movements last? kramer was considered a hipster on seinfeld. a hipster dufus.

[Dalya]

you know what would solve this problem?

let's get rid of language.

[katie]

Well that's why I'm saying it could later be categorized, not now. The same way literary movements get defined after the fact.

Ok maybe it'll define the time period. Like Victorian England? That attitude/style emerged in art, music, and literature, both good and bad (mostly bad).

wat

pls 2b not comparing hipsterism to victorian england or literary movements, kthx.

[Irock]

how long do movements last?

From the OED:

1967 Lancet 15 July 150/2, "The ‘hipster’ movement in California..seemed to be an outright rejection of accepted standards and values."

That's actually the most recent reference listed, the first being from 1941 ('see also: hepster.').

[mere1975]

You know what's more hipster than an art school graduate?

ART SCHOOL DROP OUT!!!!

Can I get an amen?

No?

I don't count?

What?

- Mere "is it because I qualified for partial tuition reimbursement?" 1975

[Dalya]

I love that the Lancet is referencing hipsters. Do they have some sort of health benefit???

P.S. I purposely compared hipster___ to a time period that i HATE. Victorian England = Dickens describing a pat of butter for 2 pages and a swoon for 10 pages. Lets have more of that, please.