The Indifferent Hipster
How does the hipster culture affect college art students?
Background Information
Hipster stereotypes are often associated with artists and other creative individuals in today’s society. As young artists are instructed to be culturally and politically aware of their environment, (as well as refined in their chosen crafts), they are not only skilled, but incredibly educated in a modernized, free-thinking way. This research should support the argument that young visual artists, in particular, are aware of these conventionalized ideals and negative perceptions regarding hipster culture, and accordingly manipulate their identity to transcend these stereotypes, or ignore them completely.
The term hipster was coined during the jazz age (1940s), when the term hip emerged as an adjective to describe enthusiasts of the growing music scene. The modern hipster is a composite of individuals with a certain bohemian, new-thinking lifestyle, as he or she rejects mainstream norms, and embraces and contributes to unconventional culture. Hipsters are a subculture of people that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and music, creativity, and intelligence. There are two sects of hipster: the authentic, indifferent hipster and the consumeristic hipster. One of the most prevalent ways of analyzing hipster, bohemian, and artistic identities is through consumeristic habits and ideologies.
“Research shows that consumeristic hipsters use food as a mechanism for resistance through a series of insider strategies to preserve their identity. There is additional evidence to show that food is an inconspicuous yet intimate, authentic and social aspect of hipsters’ indie lifestyle.” ...
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... (e.g. Nakkula, Toshalis, 2006). The research regarding hipster culture compounds many of Erikson’s theories about identity development, which continue to evolve and mature throughout the course of life, but also emphasizes the importance on an adolescent formation of identity development (during the primary years of an student artist’s most intense training). Overall, the research confirms the belief that creative adolescents develop identities based on their specific choices, and who they choose to be. Although genetic factors play some role in artfulness, creativity is a skilled that is continually honed and refined — much like any other ability in life. The artistic identity is one that is carefully composed and considered, and continually cultivated throughout the course of a lifetime, though this identity formation takes place from a young age in adolescence.
They flaunt it at the American public just to prove their identity is genuine. But can’t something be similarly said for people who desperately don’t want to be known as hipsters? Nobody wants to be called a hipster because the term is almost inherently negative. It’s always an insult, so people will go to great lengths to prove that they don’t fit the description. Hipsters may take the ironic route in order to protect themselves from criticism, but people who are so anxious about avoiding the label are very conscious of what other people think and want to make sure their identity isn’t being misconstrued.
During this stage, Erikson believes that the individual’s successful identity formation relies on social, cognitive and physical maturation (Pittman, Keiley, Kerpelman, & Vaughn, 2011). The individual tries out different roles for who they see in themselves and who they portray to others, eventually committing to their own personal role and occupational choice. Pittman et al. (2011) describe the identity formation as “consisting of decisions, investments, and commitments tied to current and future roles, goals, and relationships.” Additional considerations for identity formation include the context of the culture which is available to the adolescent during this time. After successful resolution of this stage during adolescence, individuals will typically progress into Erikson’s Intimacy versus Isolation stage during young
The government and the older generations could not understand their way of life. Hippies were often portrayed as criminals, subversive to the morals and best interest of the public. Although misunderstood, the hippie had a great impact throughout the country, still surviving today in American culture. The term “hippie” itself became a universal term in the late sixties. It originated in a 1967 article in Ramparts, entitled “The Social History of the Hippies.” Afterward, the name was captured by the mass media as a label for the people of the new movement. (Yablonsky 28) Even before this, the word “hip” described someone who was “in” and “down”, wise to what was going on around him. By the 1960s, some of America’s youth created a gap between themselves and their parents. They grew their hair long because it was natural and therefore considered beautiful.
In this paper I will present the numerous theories built around the process of establishing one’s identity and provide examples of how this identity shapes a students involvement and actions while in school. I will also reflect on the importance for systems that foster identity formation that is equal for both inner-city and suburban children. It is crucial to the success of America’s schools to understand that a mixture of cultures creates a mixture of identi...
These cultural strictures come in a number of forms. First, the artist attacks intellectual conformity, choosing art over all other means of self-expression even though it is not widespread in his or her society. Though it is not explicitly stated - and is perhaps even subconscious - the artist chooses art over either academe or high society. The artist questions society's customs, making this choice explicit in their daily actions. The artist rejects ostentatious displays of wealth and the cultural emphasis on money, replacing it with a frugal simplicity more conducive to authentic experience. Finally, the artist calls into question the cultural construct most important to any understanding of human interaction - the binary conception of gender.
Many philosophers and psychologist from Jean Piaget to William James have theorized what makes a person who they are, their identity. Jean Piaget believed that the identity is formed in the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage. This means that a child is forming his identity as late to the age of seven (Schellenberg, 29) However, identity is strongly impacted by society such as school, church, government,and other institutions. Through our interactions with different situations our personality develops (Schellenberg 34). "In most situations there is a more diversified opportunity for the development of social identities, reflecting what the individual wants to put forth to define the self as well as what others want to accept,"(Schellenberg 35). Therefore, humans, much like animals, adapt to different situations based on who they are with. Individuals are always changi...
Shenkman, M. (2011). Bourdieu’s Theory and the Hipster in Society . Available: https://www.academia.edu/2007795/Bourdieus_Theory_and_the_Hipster_in_Society. Last accessed 12 April 2014.
When the word “hippie” comes to mind, images of men with long hair and colorful clothing, women with peace-sign necklaces and fringed vests, vans with “flower power” and rainbows arrive with it. For many people, colorful clothing and peace-signs were the legacy of the hippies. In fact, the definition of a hippie is a person from the 1960s with an unconventional appearance. However, the real legacy of the “hippie movement” is forgotten completely. As Timothy Miller writes, “There is at least some ongoing impact in the three most renowned centers of the hip revolution: "sex, dope, and rock and roll” (Miller 133). The actual legacy of the movement had very little to do with appearance and fashion. Instead, the legacy has more to do with rebellion and challenging societal norms - the acceptance of, dope, premarital sex, and rock and roll.
Human development is a highly complex lifelong process. Identity is a self-definition or sense of who one is, where one is going, and how one fits into society. It relates to our basic values that dictates the choices we make in life. It is considered that identity formation is a means of finding oneself, by matching one’s talent with available social roles. Crisis is a vital part in one’s development. It occurs in every stage of finding one’s self and without resolution, may lead to tension and role confusion. Dedicated and influential theorists such as Erik Erikson and James Marcia have contributed significantly to the broadening and understanding
Art has always been a large part of my life. As a young girl, I always looked forward to receiving kits for watercoloring or a new set of colored pencils. I’d doodle on my papers in class to pass the time. I yearned for opportunities to express my creativity even doing so on poster board projects where I’d spend hours creating borders and framing my information with various colored papers. However, it was not until I began to take art courses at the high school did I recognize the value that creativity and art hold as a means of learning and expression. Through this recognition, it also occurred to me that not many outside the art room view art in the same light. If I brought up the topic, I usually received mixed reactions. For the most part,
The term hippie is derived from "hip" or "hipster" used by the beats to describe someone who was part of their scene. It literally means to know, so someone who's "hip" is wise. Hippies never adopted this term for themselves. They preferred to be called the "beautiful people". However the media played up "hippy" as the catch-all phrase to describe the masses of young people growing their hair long, listening to rock music, doing drugs, practising free love, going to various gatherings and concerts, demonstrating and rejecting the popular culture of the early 60's. Hippies were the adults of the baby boom post-World War II. They wanted to test and enjoy the limits of life adopting a motto of - “Being alive should be Ecstasy”.
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
The sixties was a decade of liberation and revolution, a time of great change and exciting exploration for the generations to come. It was a time of anti-war protests, free love, sit-ins, naked hippie chicks and mind-altering drugs. In big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, there was a passionate exchange of ideas, fiery protests against the Vietnam War, and a time for love, peace and equality. The coming together of like-minded people from around the world was spontaneous and unstoppable. This group of people, which included writers, musicians, thinkers and tokers, came to be known as the popular counterculture, better known as hippies. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius in the late sixties was more than just a musical orgy. It was a time of spiritual missions to fight for change and everything they believed in. Freedom, love, justice, equality and peace were at the very forefront of this movement (West, 2008). Some wore beads. Some had long hair. Some wore tie-dye and others wore turtle-neck sweaters. The Hippie generation was a wild bunch, to say the least, that opened the cookie jar of possibilities politically, sexually, spiritually and socially to forever be known as one of the most memorable social movements of all time (Hippie Generation, 2003).
It is important that we stay true to ourselves and not fall into the labels that intellectuals have disvalued and throw around. This occupation that Picasso, Matisse and many art fathers worked so hard to get started, society is now handing it out to every soul that has enough paper to pay for it.
In Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion stage, I thought, “Who am I?” countless times like many other adolescents. I occupied much of my time trying to construct a firm identity of myself, which I now realized did more harm than good. Letting myself explore different interests would have helped me find my identity than me trying to fake some firm identity.