Hipsters

This photo is super indie.

One way that I think the media has impacted our culture in the past few years is the existence of the Hipster. (read the 1990s and 2000s section)

Hipsters are also defined here in the Urban Dictionary (I know... not the best source, but read definition number 2).

Actually, I'll just paste it here since definition #1 sucks:

2. hipster

people in thier teens to 20s who generally listen to indie rock, hang out in coffee shops, shop at the thrift store and talk about things like books, music, films and art.

I saw a bunch of hipsters hanging uot at the coffee shop today.

The stereotype of hipsters is that they are snobby, don't care about anything, and judge you with sneering remarks to their savvy cohorts from their comfy seat in the coffee shop window. However, having been called "hyper indie" and a hipster myself, I know that stereotype to not be true. (I don't even like coffee.)

The truth is that a large amount of young people, myself included, are simply immersed in our media and that of other countries (namely the United Kingdom) enough for it to change our manner of dress, music choice, and sometimes attitude to match what is popular. Out of this also arises the desire to not care about what the mainstream American media has going on because there is an entire "indie" subculture out there that offers music and movies of much greater interest to people of my age group. Hipsters often adopt these styles as their identity and reach out to other individuals that have done the same. This, I believe, is where the snobbiness (new word?) begins. These social groups become cliques and stop associating with people who aren't indie. Eventually, the situation I described above, where the hipsters are sitting in the coffee shop window judging people for their lack of cultural awareness, becomes a reality.

All of the guys in this band think they're better than you.

I don't really have any suggestions for changing this, because it cannot be changed. In a few years the next big thing will happen and everyone will switch to that. It has happened with every decade in America since the end of WWII and i believe it will continue to happen with every generation in increasing severity. (or maybe not...)

Either way, hipsters are being affected by many different media outlets, such as the following:

-Blogs, like the ones linked on the right side of this page, that share popular new music with their readers
-Music reviewing websites such as Pitchfork Media
-Albums released by bands (as well as merchandise and promotional items featuring images of the bands, which young people are constantly bombarded with and influenced by)
-TV shows and advertisements, which have recently become more involved in the Indie culture (an example being this commercial for car company Saturn, featuring the song "5 Years Time" by British band Noah & the Whale)

New York band Animal Collective wear masks in their photos in order to alienate their fans and make them feel inadequate.
(Not really, it's just their way of being different, something most indie bands try to do.)

All of these sources of media encourage the viewers to conform to what is acceptable to society. In this case, being hip and not caring about anything. The result is the modern hipster, a pseudo-bohemian, latte-sipping, internet-savvy individual who simply wants to be different than everyone else. The only problem is, everyone else wants to be different at the same time and ends up doing the same "different" things.
Doesn't make much sense, does it?


A few links to check out:
Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization
Hipster Olympics