Cultural Implications of a Mid-20's NYC Life

What does it mean - if anything - to be in my mid-20's and living in NYC?? To partake of many of the cultural events and institutions of the city? Does that classify me as hipster, does it mean I am more inclined to have a certain affinity for culture, money, hustle-and-bustle, nightlife, challenge? Yes, I have chosen to live in this urban jungle come playground, to root myself here over the past five years and develop friendships and networks, despite my lack of economic security over the years.

Yet again, for the umpteenth time, I am without a full-time job and will, at the end of the month, again be without health insurance. I plan on continuing to live here for some time, despite my rekindled appreciation for smaller, mellower cities, and despite the glaring state of our economic situation that is predicted to decline far more before it improves. What do these decisions say about what kind of person I am? My actions may suggest nothing less than an addiction perhaps, a love-hate relationship I have grown dependent on, to the hectic anything-is-possible vibe of NYC.

A recent article pointed out to me by a friend in Adbusters really sparked my inner-dialog about this relationship between culture and identity. Entitled "Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization," the piece is a scathing account of how youth culture has been commercialized, commodified and stripped of any meaning or cultural optimism. The article claims that the hipster image is so bleak at its core that no one will admit to actually being one (a phenomenon which I have acutely observed myself) and yet everyone has a similar white-washed image and even lifestyle, from the American Apparel look to the drinking of cheap beer and - yes - blogging.

To say that every remotely hipster generality is necessarily destructive and devoid of meaning is an oversimplification and stereotype that fails to acknowledge the diversity of this "hipster" culture and the varying lifestyles, political bents, education and general level of consciousness of the people who may be categorized as hipsters. As one commenter pointed out, the label of hipster, first and foremost, is about image; yes, it may be affiliated with an interest/involvement in the arts and some level of has sparked a serious commotion and even controversy among the readers, and a glaring question is whether the writer is himself a so-called hipster, which seems to be the case. While I think the article is too inflammatory and reductive, it does give a thoughtful critical analysis of a certain youth culture that while purportedly not mainstream, also feeds into and depends on mass media, cultural appropriation and homogenization. And I will realize and admit that I am not excluded from these trends, yet while remaining conscious that culture and counter-culture are inextricablysocio-political consciousness, and it may have influenced a certain sector of society to look infuriatingly similar, but to believe that anyone who can be labeled hipster is devoid of a meaningful ethos is downright wrong and defeatist.

So I will admit that I have some qualities that may be considered hipster: I live in Williamsburg, I will drink cheap beer from time to time, I blog, I see a lot of live music shows, I even - yes - dress in a sort of hipster fashion much of the time. This doesn't mean I am a brainwashed zombie who desperately feels the need to fit in. I love fashion, and I don't feel constrained to fit or follow a certain image. Likewise, I love dancing and am not afraid to let loose on the dance floor. I blog to hone my writing skills and impart my cultural reflections; sure, it may be a hipster quality, but it's also me. I was hardly a hipster when I was in elementary school, yet my habits were similar: I drew and wrote constantly, I was always dancing and singing at home, and I loved to play outdoors. I was much more shy and more of a loner then, and I didn't drink, but I was always artsy and free-spirited. I think I still remain too free-spirited to really be a hipster, but I do not agree that the label necessarily merits such scathing.