Hipster buzzwords. Top words from the hipster vocabulary that can earn you cabbage soup on the outskirts
All Hipster, hipsters is a term derived from the slang “to be hip” (English), which roughly translates as “to be in the know” (hence the “hippie”). This word originally meant that these were representatives of a special subculture formed among fans jazz music. And already in our time this word is usually used in the sense of “wealthy urban youth interested in elite foreign modern culture and art, fashion, alternative music and indie rock, arthouse cinema, modern literature and so on.". Ancient folk wisdom says: “Everything new is a well-forgotten old…” everyday life is old,” says popular wisdom. Over time, this statement finds itself increasingly erased.
The history of the development of this informal youth movement.
I was very surprised to learn that the first hipsters appeared in the early 40s of the last century. These were guys and girls who preached ideas such as sexual liberation and a contemplative, disregardful attitude towards everyday life, spoke slang, were two hands in favor of soft drugs, made sarcastic jokes about the philistines around them and were proud of their poverty and inability to adapt to the socio-political foundations of society. Earning money hard was considered the lot of the good-for-nothing masses. Conducting conversations in human language on everyday topics was considered a crime for them. And spending money on anything philistine is incredible stupidity.
But it should be noted that all hipsters were united by jazz. But there is a strong suspicion that they listened to it not because it hooked them so well, but simply because at that time it was the only progressive music available. Of all jazz, hipsters cited its most recent style at that time - bebop. After the swing(*9) of the 30s, it was the next step away from academicism and cloying orchestral “correct” jazz. The artists experimented with rhythms, forms and harmonies; their jazz was more cacophony than music, that is, something as non-canonical and relevant as possible. Their musical heroes there were jazzmen like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bing Crosby. The latter can be taken as the standard of the hipster of that time. Bing Crosby was called the Huckleberry Finn of jazz. Slippery, boorish, always positive and relaxed, the actor and singer appeared on stage in striped suit, straw hat and with a cane. He sang cheerful couplets and preached the principle: “life should be lived easily and frivolously.” Without Crosby, by the way, there would be neither Frank Sinatra (*10) nor Dean Martin (*11) - he came up with the basic rules and model of behavior for all future generations of the same informals.
Initially, the “hipster” phenomenon arose among whites and, on top of everything else, the first hipsters copied the manners and habits of black artistic outsiders, adopted some slang words and facial expressions from them. Well, again - jazz. Hipsters of the 40s could be considered the first invaders musical subcultures blacks. Fifteen years before whites took rock and roll away from them, and almost half a century before they took on hip-hop(*12). In general, hipsters unwittingly provoked a clash between orthodox black jazzmen and modern white youth. The first were sure that jazz was the music of people with black skin. The latter imagined themselves as a popular avant-garde and tried not to react to the cries of the old people. The first hipsters existed somewhere until the 60s and didn’t really leave anything behind. They had bebop, but that music would probably have developed just fine without the hipsters. Dizzy Gillespie once made excuses to journalists about the fact that the public associated modern jazz at that time exclusively with slackers and drugs. He said that, firstly, there is no need to be prudes, and secondly, that really cool artists make music first and foremost and pay little attention to the crowd around them. Pianist Lenni Tristano stated that almost all those who came out of the hipster environment at that time were engaged in epigonism, and they were driven mainly by the desire to be fashionable guys who play fashionable jazz. On the other hand, bebop initially owed its popularity to hipsters. Average people learned about this music from newspaper articles that featured a new type of outsider.
There is some information about hipsters of that time, the most thorough of which is White Negro by Norman Mailer Norman Mailer " White Negro. Quick thoughts about a hipster." Questions of philosophy. No. 9, 1992, p. 131-145. Hipsters did not create any manifestos or any canonical texts about themselves. Cab Calloway released a bantering hipster-human dictionary, and Garry The Hipster Gibson wrote several songs about hipsters and included a short hipster phrasebook on the sleeve of one of his albums. From it you can learn that the expression “uniform in drapery” means a stylishly dressed person, and “like a motherless child” - calm and reasonable.
And then again the term “hipsters” surfaced in the late 90s. They designated that part of the youth who preferred a non-radical alternative popular culture. Declassed elements did not fall under the definition; rather, it was middle class. The new audience had little in common with Harry "The Hipster" Gibson's definition of classic hipsters (characters who were into hot jazz). What remains is demonstrative unsociability and an arrogant attitude towards others who do not belong to the caste. Hipsters have become something of a layer between the underground and mass culture. They don’t reach the first level due to the lack of ideology, that is, hipsters don’t protest against anything, don’t do anything creative, don’t believe in anything, don’t take anything seriously, except perhaps their own narcissism. But they don’t make it into pop culture because things that initially interested them, when they go into circulation, are immediately declared yesterday.
What's interesting about hipster culture is that it's endlessly sterile. Hipsters, in part, were also punks of the 90s. The hippies themselves were hipsters. Western newspapers of that time wrote that this is an entire nation - they are losers who do not care at all about objective reality. They took LSD and marijuana, wrote crazy and naive poems, made new, interesting music. They had their own journalism, their own stars, their own authorities. At the same time, Elvis Presley was also considered a hipster. All these subcultures organized their own environment, revolved in it closed, spoke only to them clear language, were full of contempt and creative anger towards pop culture. But hipsters don’t use this soil for anything creative. This is an excellent example of postmodernism, a movement that consists entirely of borrowings and ends with them. And I think it’s clear why they appeared again. Because the first hipsters were something of a reaction to the financial crisis, totalitarianism and a couple of world wars. The current ones are something like the heartburn of a society that has devoured information, brands, trends and consumer goods. Well, the eternal maximalist desire, no matter what, to be more fashionable than everyone else!
Analysis of the hipster subculture
In Russia, the word “hipster” came into wide use after an article by Yuri Saprykin in the Afisha magazine, where he proposed calling hipsters everyone who goes to the Moscow Solyanka club, sits on the Look at me website and reads the Afisha magazine " Yu. Saprykin accused hipsters of lack of ideas and compared this Russian subculture with the same unprincipled Russian glamor. Then his text caused widespread criticism and heated discussion on the Internet.
In the hipster community, it is very difficult to discern a structure. You can try to highlight stratification using P. Bourdieu’s concept of “socio-cultural capital” (knowledge acquired in the process of upbringing and education, providing social status) and interpret the concept of hipness (eng. - awareness) as a form of subcultural capital, the owner of which is well versed in the latest fashion trends, newest musical styles and so on. Looking West: cultural globalization and Russian youth cultures of Russia, then young people in the community will be divided into more “advanced” and less “advanced”.
Respect is enjoyed by those young people who read certain magazines, both domestic and foreign, attend certain series of parties, dress in certain stores, when choosing a computer and music player, give preference to Apple Macintosh products - Mac Book laptops and iPod players, watch on TV exclusively cartoons on the “2x2” TV channel.
Now it's getting hard to pick out certain places parties, if we talk about clubs. A series of parties that each time take place at different places, for example, such as Viva Party. From the announcements of some parties you can read: “We like the scale and the interior of Sochi, but the Basement is the place without which we can no longer imagine parties. There are only familiar faces here, the most correct system face control, the kindest and most understanding staff (including security), a friendly atmosphere and yes, of course, very cheap drinks here!” The location is most often dictated by the price of rent and alcohol, because the event is not aimed at wealthy young people. They are not trying to prove anything to anyone, they simply live the way they like, and, first of all, this concerns appearance. But if punks, rockers, goths and hippies dress based on the main idea of their subculture, then main idea hipsters - in general, there is a certain style of clothing.
The choice of clothing is dictated by the most latest trends, which are set by certain clothing brands and “current” designers. Well-known brands that are considered “hipster” include the American American Apparel, the British Topshop and the Japanese Uniqlo. But purchasing exclusively trendy clothes is not at all necessary. On the contrary, if an item was bought at a second-hand store, found in a “grandmother’s chest,” or made independently, it is valued much more. In the past, hipster culture presupposed an indie style (from the English individual - individual), do-it-yourself, non-commercial, non-consumer lifestyle. The main thing is that it fits into the trend. Among the distinctive details of hipster clothing, the following can be distinguished: tight-fitting jeans (usually black) - skinny jeans, which are also “ business card» performers of Britpop and emo subculture, black Leather Jacket, plaid flannel shirt, high-top sports sneakers that were popular in the 80s, Sunglasses RayBan Wayfarer and T-shirts with bright prints of a certain style.
The hipster listens only to the trendiest progressive music. In the 40s it was jazz, in the 60s it was very hard rock, and in the 90s it was trip-hop, and already in 2007-2008 it was nu-rave. It's hard to pick one Musical direction, which is given preference. Mainly Electonic music with impurities from different directions: electropop, synthypop, electrorock, techno, etc. Another principle of choice musical performers- his belonging to an independent recording studio (indie - from English, also stands for independent, independent). A hipster must know all the promising debutants and be well versed in new terms in order to be “in the know.” In that great benefit provided by LJ communities, social networks (Lastfm, Look at me), blogs, where information about all the most interesting releases appears almost daily. Among the representatives of the Western reference group, the following characters can be distinguished: Pete Doherty and Kate Moss - a couple whose news does not leave the tabloids not only in Britain, but throughout the world. He is the lead singer The group Babyshambles, a bully with a history of drug charges. She is a supermodel, an icon of the fashion world, the embodiment of the idea of “heroin chic”. A couple leading a bohemian lifestyle and being trendsetters. Corrie Kennedy is a young girl who has become popular thanks to her blog on the Internet. A striking example, what a correctly structured self-presentation can give in social network. Agyness Deyen is a top model with perhydrol hair. Eddie Slimane is a former designer of the Dior men's line, and now a fashion photographer. It is believed that it was he who brought skinny jeans to the catwalk. Hipster slang is "advanced" youth slang - borrowed from English word, which are distributed through the media. For example, “hoodie” (introduced by the magazine “Afisha”) is a sports jacket with a hood, “collaboration” (magazine “Hooligan”) is cooperation, collaboration, “look” / “street look” (LookAtMe website) - this means a photograph of a stylishly dressed person.
If the first hipsters were something of a reaction to the financial crisis, totalitarianism and a couple of world wars, then the current ones are something like heartburn of a society that has eaten up information, brands, trends and consumer goods. A constant maximalist desire, no matter what, to be more fashionable than everyone else. At first glance, these current ones have little in common with the classic hipsters of the 40s. But the essence remains the same: something like a layer between the underground and mass culture.
The description of the hipster subculture drew direct parallels in the development of today's youth culture and society as a whole - copying Western lifestyle models, constructing identity through consumption and the race for “modernity”, “relevance”.
Hipsters are a clear illustration of modern social consumption in general - the music and fashion industries being part of common system, which implements a special ideology, it is formed from an insatiable consumer, for whom consumption is the main content of his life. Individual consumption becomes a way of constructing one's identity. Due to this, complete satisfaction of even basic needs becomes impossible, since identity requires daily reproduction.
