Redux

So that video was briefly up here on Sunday morning (?) because I accidentally posted it. The Internet and Scotch can be a bad combination. At least I didn't go on some sort of facebook wall-writing spree. But at the time I thought it would make hazy sense to post that video along with this link: Hipster: The dead end of Western Civilization. Because that is a hipster band? I don't know.

What I do know is that that an article talking about how terrible hipsters are appearing in AdBusters is a bit counter intuitive. This is a publication that uses terms like "culture jamming" in complete seriousness. I remember some quote in Naomi Klein's anti-brand bestseller No Logo in which one of these so-called jammers talks about how his work is like cultural jujitsu, taking the momentum of advertising campaigns and spinning the message to something counter of what the company intended. Thus does graffiti supposedly instill social change.


The problem with that article is it uses a broad brush to paint what should be a narrow subject. Yes, kids with trust funds who ride fixed gear bikes, wear skinny jeans and glasses with no lenses are stupid. But what about those that drink PBR and shop at thrift stores and cut their own hair because of genuine financial hardship? Where does one draw the line between manufactured image and reality? And does a cultural group exist if no one self-identifies with it?

I may be raising more questions than I have the ability or desire to answer. It is difficult to determine where the line between genuine and fake lies these days. As if it ever was easy. But with marketing groups and cool-hunting consultants seeking out and co-opting the next big thing instantaneously, it's impossible to sell out when everything has already been bought. Maybe it's better to just party in the streets and not worry about what it looks like.