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Anatomy of a Hipster Essay

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Over time, social group labels tend to mutate from their original interpretation, due to societal evolution. The hipster is no exception, as it originally referred to 1940s Bebop Jazz enthusiasts. Hipsters has since become the term referencing pretentious rich kids, attempting to recreate a sense of underground-ness; whether it be music or style-related. However, hipsters of today differ from the former in the sense that their actions are fueled solely by effort, rather than sheer interest of being outlandish and chic concurrently with music and style. The typical hipster is obsessed with trends before they were trendy- they wore American Apparel v-necks1 before Mitchell Davis2 came around, Vans before Warped Tour even existed, and …show more content…

Musically speaking, there is no definite “hipster” band. Indie kids will always be identified with Death Cab6, while the hipster will try to claim The Postal Service7 as their melodic saviors. Once again, a rip-off. Hipsters hugely identify with the phrase “Oh, I doubt you’ve heard of them,” when asked about their favorite bands. Anything offbeat or mildly controversial is loved by the hipster- YACHT8, the Shins9, The Strokes-any band, regardless of style that is lesser known. When it comes to music, hipsters also love to claim that they liked a particular band “before they sold out” or “before they gave in to the Man.” However, it presents another irony, as the excessive amounts of hipsters actually buying their music is what contributed to a band “selling out.” If Owl City has any B-Sides out there, a hipster has them and won’t feel like sharing them anytime soon, even if they did find it on Mediafire10. The most distinguishing feature of the hipster lies in their personalities. They can point out a fellow hipster quick and concise; while drowning in denial should the label be imposed on them. Hipsters all contain some superiority-based thought process when analyzing their own originality. However, if one is to be thinking extensively about whether or not they’re being different, they’re more than likely not. Such a

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