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If Russell Brand (aged 39) is a spokesman for modern youth culture (and i'm not sure he is to be honest) it shows how impoversihed modern youth culture is. Hipster isn'y really youth culture is it? It seems to skew towards thirty somethings and is revoltingly white and middle-class to be much of a propa youth culture...

StraferJack Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> "it shows how impoversihed modern youth culture

> is. "

>

>

> That grumpy grandad phase gets ever closer doesn't

> it?



If Russell Brand (aged 39) is a spokesman for modern youth culture (and i'm not sure he is to be honest)

El Pibe Wrote:

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> what is a hipster?

>

> still best article I've read on it

> http://potlatch.typepad.com/weblog/2011/03/an-open

> -letter-to-the-hipsters.html


Yep, I like that article, especially as I recognise most of the name checks ;-)

Speaking of which, what has Robert Peston done with his hair!...

That article doesn't actually explain what a hipster is at all. I suspect because it's a catch all phrase, without a clear definition - and therefore used to disparage whoever one wants to disparage. There are all sort of vague references to characteristics of 'The Hipster', but which don't seem to have any coherence as far as I can tell. To suggest that the rave generation weren't silly in there fashions, or often apathetic in their politics, (but today's youth are), is nonsense. So what do you mean by a 'hipster'?
My attempt at a description would be someone who follows a certain type of fashion (the stereotype would be skinny jeans, check shirt.. or maybe mismatched "vintage" clothing). Bushy beard and tatts. Is of a certain age (post-student to mid-thirties). Prefers bottled IPA to lager. Works for themselves rather than "the man", quite possibly related to street food or "dirty" burgers. Or in digital/social media. Talks about Brooklyn and Berlin a lot. Music tastes tend towards the folky side of "alternative", or esoteric non-danceable electronic music. Predominantly - but not exclusively - a white middle-class phenomenon.

Thanks Jeremey, that's pretty clear description, although I still suspect that others would list different thing. Either way, I'm not sure what you describe constitutes 'youth culture'.


I think there is a description of 'a look' in there, which could just as easily be described as mainstream men's fashion (I would say more for 30-40 year old men).


The rise in 'street food' and beer is a phenomenon in it's own right. Lot's of peeps like burgers and beer and don't necessarily have beards, wear vintage etc.


I don't particularly see the link with any of the above and working in digital media tbh -except in so far as there are a lot of 30-40 year old white men in those industries.


I suspect that this is the reason that you don't hear a lot of people self identifying as 'hipsters' - because it isn't a coherent tribe in any real sense.


But even accepting this definition of what makes a hipster, my main issue with all of this (and that article in particular), is that it's just some people feeling anger at other's tastes - an anger which is then justified through painfully contrived exposition about the seriousness, profundity and importance of previous fashion movements. The fact, is the hippies, the punks and rave kids, were all ridiculous in their own ways. "..but they look ridiculous, why don't they care!!"... why do you?

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think there is a description of 'a look' in

> there, which could just as easily be described as

> mainstream men's fashion


But that's what happens isn't it... things tend to eventually cross over into the mainstream, which is of course the beginning of the end.


> is that it's just some people feeling anger at other's tastes


I don't think there's genuine anger, all the "hipster scum" stuff seems to be an exaggeration for comic effect. Any disdain is probbaly because most of us on here are of an age where we no longer feel the need to conform to some kind of fashion uniform, so we look down on others that do... especially when in some cases they're almost as old as us.

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> rahrahrah Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I think there is a description of 'a look' in

> > there, which could just as easily be described

> as

> > mainstream men's fashion

>

> But that's what happens isn't it... things tend to

> eventually cross over into the mainstream, which

> is of course the beginning of the end.

>

> > is that it's just some people feeling anger at

> other's tastes

>

> I don't think there's genuine anger, all the

> "hipster scum" stuff seems to be an exaggeration

> for comic effect. Any disdain is probbaly because

> most of us on here are of an age where we no

> longer feel the need to conform to some kind of

> fashion uniform, so we look down on others that

> do... especially when in some cases they're almost

> as old as us.




but why do people feel the need to look down on them?

human nature innit.


We all constantly have an internal bubble sort going on as we finely calibrate our position in the world and our relationships to pretty much everything.


Currently anyone sporting an outlandish victorian moustache and riding a penny farthing sits below me on my inner-peace ladder, but possibly above me in the doing-something-more-constructive-than-soul-destroying-development-work-for-the-man ladder.

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