Hipster Culture Part 2

Hipster culture – a philosophical take Part 2

Last time I ended up with the hipster's three choices after breaking out from the mainstream. He may (1) settle himself where he is, knowing that others will mimic him, and end up forming a new subculture. Another option for our newborn hipster is (2) to keep on distancing himself from not only the mainstream, but also the other newer hipsters, by continuingly ironizing against all others, as we saw in Kierkegaards esthete 'A', thus fighting for his own uniqueness. Lastly there is the possibility for the hipster (3) to dive right back into the mainstream he just barely escaped. We'll get back to this one later on. In short the hipster can stay where he is, move forward to something new, or go back to where he was...

The first choice is probably the most common, and this is where our average hipster ends up. But would this not be giving up on the hipster dream of alternativity? That depends on the subject in question, and the degree of his “alternat-omania” - ie. his hunger for the alternative. This is a driving force in pretty much all of mankind through all time (tho' we weren't always conscious of it), and it has become more clear and extreme in the postmodern age. In the most light degree this means that we all want to be just a tiny bit different from everyone else. After all, if we were completely similar, there would be no room for personality and individuality. So even if I would want to look like, talk like and in pretty much every single way be similar to some role-model, I would not want to become him. That would imply loosing myself and thereby becoming nothing in the process.

So the lightest degree of this mania only means the will to retain one's own existence. At higher degrees we see changes at first in music, clothing and hobbies growing into new social circles, personality and morals.

We find our average hipster in the middle of this, where style, music and more of the outer characteristics have been alternated from the mainstream, while the deeper constitutions (religion and morals etc.) remain pretty much the same as the mainstream's.

Others however can not be satisfied by settling with a smaller group of supposed like-mindeds, they are constantly driven towards the point of ultimate, absolute, cultural solitude and alternativeness. Their styles will change as soon as they discover someone else with a similar style as their current. However with the great diversity we find in our modern culture(s), this will lead to a never ending evolution, that does not aim towards a 'better' or 'higher' state, but only a different one. And this may very well lead to any kind of degeneration (ex. a moral one). It is curious that these individuals tend to become trendsetters, due to the sole fact that they are truly unique – or at least as close as it gets. Hereby not having said, that the truly “alternat-omaniacs” necessarily become evil, degenerated demagogs, but they are however more exposed to this risk.

Enough for now. I will bring my explanation of the third possibility next time.

Comment away!