Adbusters: Hipsters the end of Western civilization? Ehhhh… Part I

http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/hipster.html

When I saw the cover of the current issue of Adbusters on Saturday, “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization”, I quickly flipped through the pages to find the article.  I read the first few paragraphs, which included descriptions of the quasi-unique fashion and habits of this demographic, and I momentarily lamented the fact that someone had stolen my brainchild article before bringing myself back to reality and picking up the issue.  (Then I saw the price, and promptly put it back on the shelf, making a mental note to find the article online.)  

Ultimately, I ended up feeling disappointed.  Author Douglas Haddow didn’t go much deeper than evaluating the alleged hipsters’ clothing and party choices, and only breezed over the most interesting idea, the question obliged by the title: How will hipsters be the end of Western civilization?  

I’m not sure I see the point of asking people if they are hipsters.  I fit into the age group in question and frankly I don’t think the word “hipster” is something that most people my age could define.  I also didn’t think it was a word used much, aside from people over the age of forty-five talking about the day’s youth, but maybe I’m alone there.  

It’s just that, as one anonymous reader commented on the online version of the article, Haddow is a little late.  A lot of the things he describes–the Mac revolution and iPods, the ironic t-shirts, free-trade coffee–were novel several years ago.  With respect to the fashion, these things all put together were cool at one time and have indeed become trendy and lifeless, but many of us had already noticed that.  Four or five years ago I would see the kinds of guys described in the article and was intrigued, envisioning them as my subversive, creative, alternative dream guy.  Likewise, and until more recently, I would see these girls and want to emulate their style.  But I don’t anymore, as with any other fashion trend that gets old.  And I don’t see how that’s an indicator of the end of civilization, because isn’t that how it always goes?  Something new and perhaps rebellious gets adopted by the masses, loses its coolness, and continues to morph into a generic trend for the next few years until it fizzles out, meanwhile those who started it have moved on entirely or would no longer be associated with the streamlined version.  Haddow argues:

The American Apparel V-neck shirt, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Parliament cigarettes are symbols and icons of working or revolutionary classes that have been appropriated by hipsterdom and drained of meaning. Ten years ago, a man wearing a plain V-neck tee and drinking a Pabst would never be accused of being a trend-follower. But in 2008, such things have become shameless clichés of a class of individuals that seek to escape their own wealth and privilege by immersing themselves in the aesthetic of the working class.

Rich kids trying to distance themselves from their background for the aesthetic and even lifestyle of the working or lower class is nothing new, nor is there anything inherently wrong with it.  You also aren’t required to have a revolutionary agenda to dress or act a certain way.  Haddow rightly points out the hypocrisy evident in the selective adoption of the lifestyle (these kids can look like starving artists but won’t give up their techie toys and their material necessities), but that hypocrisy is simply a symptom of a diluted trend that was once a substantive movement.  It seems as though Haddow views these people as the end of Western civilization because they are counterculture icons and our youth’s idols, but I don’t think they are.  I think the subculture aspect of this trend is on its way out, and the way in for the next actual movement is opening.  The current followers of this fashion and attitude trend don’t seem any different to me than followers of any other worn-out trend.  By now it’s an accepted style, free to seduce the most superficial follower, no different than the preppy trends, the goth trends (not as accepted but just as trite), the hippie trends, or the hip-hop trends.  I wish I could comment more on Haddow’s findings on beliefs, views and aspirations of his subjects, but he didn’t cover those things.

For all its faults, the article did touch on some valid issues, two in particular that I wish he’d developed more: a culture too “detached and disconnected”, and a culture too vapid and superficial for its own well-being.  Remember, I was really excited to read the article, because I thought I’d found someone who could better put into words what I think about all the time and what I’ve tried to tackle in previous posts.  I don’t think hipsterdom can be blamed by itself–I think our problem with disconnectedness and superficiality spans over multiple generations, but I do believe our culture is in peril and I do feel like we’re being sucked into a black hole of shallowness and mediocrity.  

But I’ll have to expand on that later in Part II.  Meanwhile, send me your thoughts!

UPDATE: See the follow-up here.