Topics include, but are not limited to: synthetic and systems biology, urban planning and economics, politics, craft beer, and bicycles. Caveat lector.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
5. Many people argue that Hipsterdom is long since dead and lacks originality. Would you agree with this statement?
Hipsterism is failed attempts at originality, almost by definition. If not referring to awkward attempts at cool, then it is a term used by one group to convey their exclusion from the “hipster” group they want to demonize. The mentality of trying to be original and cool is, if anything, so prevalent that it doesn’t need a term. It’s simply a matter of participating in culture in a certain contemporary way. Anyone trying to make a successful Facebook page is running the risk of hipsterism. Anyone trying to self-consciously express a “unique” identity through the way they consume is potentially in the hipster camp. All they have to do is try and fail, and almost all of us try now. No one belongs to the generic mainstream anymore.
6. Do you think that stores that capitalize on the hipster image like Urban Outfitters and American Apparel are helping or hurting the subculture?
I don’t think there is a subculture to hurt or help. Hipsterism is always closely connected to commercialism because it is a phenomenon related to expressing identity through goods that take on “cool” connotations. Hipsterism isn’t possible without brands like American Apparel. And likewise, hipsterism calls into being such retailers. Something always has to occupy that spot—when they become too “hipster” something else will have creeped into position to be “genuinely hip” for a little while. And they use up their cool capital, and so the cycle continues.
…and other choice quotes, from Marginal Utility: Hipster Expertise. Awesome.
