History Main / Hipster

In other words, yet another subculture dedicated to individuality ended up manifesting just as much herd mentality as the mainstream it rejected, along with a tendency to act as though [[ItsPopularNowItSucks popularity and quality are inversely proportional]], and to be [[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster&defid=2705928 insufferably smug]] about it.

[[DescribeTropeHere Describe hipsters here]].

[[DescribeTropeHear Describe hipsters here]].

->''"What's there to live for...? [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywPan19kvyI Who needs the peace corps?"]]''
-->--'''FrankZappa and the Mothers of Invention''', ''MediumCool''

Sometime in the late 1990s - early 2000s, the term hipster was dusted off and applied to a new generation that expressed the old hipster ideals in new ways.

They were predominantly middle-class, urban, white 20-something-year-olds interested in alternative culture: left-of-center politics, [[AlternativeRock alternative music]], independent films, thrift-store or vintage fashion, and a diet of locally-grown, organic and/or vegetarian/vegan food.

** That's one of the jokes, that hipsters == white people. They occasionally note the existence of other groups of white people, like the people who like [[http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/04/13/124-hating-people-who-wear-ed-hardy/ Ed Hardy]], but for the most part, they assume white people refers to young, pretentious, elitist, liberal white people.

These days, self-identified hipsters view themselves as intellectuals who reject the mainstream and carefully define their own identities, taking [[{{Postmodernism}} a buffet-style approach]] to elements of other cultures and subcultures. Your typical hipster outfit will appropriate and/or cannibalize elements from the punk, hippie, rave, and LGBT scenes, plus [[TheNineties '90s]] [[{{Grunge}} geek-chic]], and some token from a non-Western culture; lacking the ''[[{{Postmodernism}} raison d'etre]]'' of any of these subcultures, the hipster will instead use [[{{irony}} an air of irony]] to tie the ensemble together. Hipsters' musical tastes are generally centered around indie rock, BaroquePop, indie hip-hop, punk and garage rock, and minimalist techno. The ''Pitchfork'' music blog is probably the most important hipster tastemaker.

* The main character of ''The Lonely Island'''s "I Threw It On The Ground", played by Andy Samberg, appears to be the sort of hipster who rejects everything as "part of the system", and will inevitably respond to basically everything by throwing something on the ground.

Compare EmoTeen, {{Beatnik}}, [[NewAgeRetroHippie Hippie]]. Related to {{Irony}}, {{Postmodernism}}, PopularityPolynomial.

Due to this strawman, the term "hipster" is frequently used as an insult, lobbed in the direction of anyone deemed pretentious or the slightest bit "artsy". Further confusing the issue, hipsters themselves will, owing to their "indier-than-thou" attitude, [[RuinedFOREVER frequently disown]] any hipster fashions or artists that [[ItsPopularNowItSucks catch on in the mainstream]]. One year, hipsters may wear distressed jeans and t-shirts with ironic vintage logos; the next year, self-professed hipsters will stop wearing those because they're available at every Wal-Mart in America, while the latecomers who start wearing those ''will still be labeled hipsters'' by outsiders. Which only further contributes to the decay of the label (although the term "scenesters" is sometimes used for these johnny-come-latelies).

In the 1940's, hipsters were middle-class white people who [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy emulated]] the lifestyles of black {{jazz}} musicians. This was, for them, an existentialist rejection of society. These hipsters were an unorganized movement that eventually morphed into [[{{Beatnik}} the beatniks of the 50's]] and [[{{NewAgeRetroHippie}} the hippies of the 60's]].

Sometime in the late 1990's - early 2000's, the term hipster was dusted off and applied to a new generation that expressed the old hipster ideals in new ways.

These days, self-identified hipsters view themselves as intellectuals who reject the mainstream and carefully define their own identities, taking [[{{Postmodernism}} a buffet-style approach]] to elements of other cultures and subcultures. Your typical hipster outfit will appropriate and/or cannibalize elements from the punk, hippie, rave, and LGBT scenes, plus [[TheNineties 90's]] [[{{Grunge}} geek-chic]], and some token from a non-Western culture; lacking the ''[[{{Postmodernism}} raison d'etre]]'' of any of these subcultures, the hipster will instead use [[{{irony}} an air of irony]] to tie the ensemble together. Hipsters' musical tastes are generally centered around indie rock, BaroquePop, indie hip-hop, punk and garage rock, and minimalist techno. The ''Pitchfork'' music blog is probably the most important hipster tastemaker.

** Eridan also has some hipster traits to him, though they aren't as pronounced. [[RummageSaleReject Mainly its the way he's dressed]].

But the real reason hipsters get so much hate is probably just the smugness. According to certain alarmists, hipsters are not just AcceptableTargets, but [[TheNewRockAndRoll an occasion for outright panic]]. To them, hipsters represent Nietzche's Last Man: they stand for nothing and believe in nothing, so their ironic sneer is [[https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/hipster.html a harbinger of the downfall of Western civilization]]. ''Right...''

They were predominantly middle-class, urban, white 20-something-year-olds interested in alternative culture: left-of-center politics, [[AlternativeRock alternative music]], independent films, thrift-store or vintage fashion, and a diet of locally-grown, organic and/or vegetarian food.

They were predominantly middle-class, urban, white 20-something-year-olds interested in alternative culture: [[DirtyCommunists left-of-center politics]], [[AlternativeRock alternative music]], independent films, thrift-store or vintage fashion, and a diet of locally-grown, organic and/or vegetarian food.

-->--'''FrankZappa and the Mothers of Invention''', ''Medium Cool''

[[caption-width-right:320:Written by [[http://dieselsweeties.com/archive/1762 a fictional hipster]]. Is it ironic self-parody, or dead serious? [[PoesLaw Who knows]]]]

[[caption-width-right:320:Written by [[http://dieselsweeties.com/archive/1762 a fictional hipster]]. Is it ironic self-parody, or dead serious? [[PoesLaw I can't tell, either.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:320:Written by [[http://dieselsweeties.com/archive/1762 a fictional hipster]]. Is it ironic self-parody, or dead serious? [[Poe'sLaw I can't tell, either.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:320:Written by [[http://dieselsweeties.com/archive/1762 a fictional hipster]]. Is it ironic self-parody, or dead serious? [[PoesLawI can't tell, either.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:320:Written by [[http://dieselsweeties.com/archive/1762 a fictional hipster]]. Is it ironic self-parody, or dead serious? I can't tell, either.]]

[[/fo.lder]]

* [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/540 "I am of the opinion that the word hipster means absolutely nothing anymore. People seem to use it to refer to people younger than 40 who wear clothes."]]
[[/folder]]

They were predominantly middle-class, urban, white 20-something-year-olds interested in alternative culture: left-of-center politics, [[AlternativeRock alternative music]], independent films, thrift-store or vintage fashion, and a diet of locally-grown, organic and/or vegetarian food.