Hipsters

Robin talks about them all the time. They're incredibly simple to spot on the street; however, they will never admit to being hipsters, they are hipsters. The pop culture movement that focuses on individuality, music, and most of all it is anti-pop culture. The hipsters I always knew in high school when the pop culture movement truly started were cigarette smokers, stoners, or else people who simply looked like lumberjacks. For about a year I absolutely could not stand hipsters, I felt as though they were pompous, especially in regards to music, and foolish, seeing as they smoked, had odd fashion senses and all seemed to want art history majors. I also felt as though their dislike of all mainstream music and films for being very overrated was very overrated. My subject position changed drastically when my older brother returned for winter break his freshman year of college. He was wearing a knit hat on the back third of his head, a plaid flannel, skinny jeans, and wide rimmed glasses. I had always idolized my brother and I realized on that day that I too would soon become a hipster. Within the next month or two, my best friend started smoking, American Spirits only of course, and he began to shop for all his clothes at thrift stores. As I began wearing skinny jeans, listening to Bon Iver (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWcyIpul8OE) and smoking, I realized I had this profound sense of community with others who shared my opinions. It was not because I hate mainstream music or culture, it was simply because I enjoyed the hipsters I knew, and the ones I did not particularly like, I loved to hate. As someone who has had his subject position shifted to become what he used to hate, the "bridge" I think everyone can take away from this post is "don't dis it 'till you've tried it." While a lot of hipsters can be pompous, and many fit a perfect stereotype, many of them are simply wonderful people.