Hipster (1940s subculture)

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Hipster, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, and it eventually described many members of the Beat Generation. As it is used today, it may be considered a frequently recycled media created stereotype, which is often considered a derogative term[1], labeled upon a growing mass of younger individuals who take it upon themselves to appreciate and divulge their taste into hype and trends. The term ‘’hipster’’ was created to market upon individuals who were seemingly unmarketable[2], because of their varying eclectic tastes, which have been able to diverge too far off stream due to modern technologies or philosophies of the times; such as the internet[3], racial diversity, or exploratory sex.

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[edit] History

Etymologically, the words "hep" and “hip” derived from the African Wolof tribe’s word “hipi” meaning; “to see”.[4] The word was used in many African communities of the Diaspora since their time of transplantation from their original locale. In the early days of jazz, musicians were using the "hep" variant to describe anybody who was "in the know" about an emerging culture, mostly black, which revolved around jazz. They and their fans were known as "hepcats." By the late 1930's, jazz and its variant Swing, had become popular among squares, and the jazz culture became watered down, and "hip" rose in popularity among jazz musicians, to replace "hep." It was mostly the emerging be-bop culture that made the switch from hep to hip. Subsequently, around 1940, the word "hipster" was coined to replace "hepcat," and hipsters were more interested in be-bop and hot jazz that they were in the older Swing music, which by the late 40's was becoming old-fashioned and watered down by squares like Lawrence Welk and Guy Lombardo. The word hipster was underappreciated and unknown to the mass culture, until the Beat Generation during the 1940s began to frequent African communities for their music and dance. These first youths diverged from mainstream due to their new philosophies of racial diversity and their exploratory sexual nature and drug habits.

[edit] In Print

Probably the first printed dictionary to list the word hipster is the short glossary "For Characters Who Don't Dig Jive Talk," published in 1944 with Harry Gibson's first album, "Boogie Woogie In Blue." The entry for "hipsters" defined it as, "characters who like hot jazz." This short glossary of jive expressions was also printed on playbills handed out at Gibson's concerts for a few years. It was not a complete glossary of jive, as it only included jive expressions that were found in the lyrics to his songs.

Tirro defines the 1940's hipster in his book, "Jazz."

To the hipster, Bird was a living justification of their philosophy. The hipster is an underground man. He is to the Second World War what the dadaist was to the first. He is amoral, anarchistic, gentle, and overcivilized to the point of decadence. He is always ten steps ahead of the game because of his awareness, and example of which might be meeting a girl and rejecting her, because he knows they will date, hold hands, kiss, neck, pet, fornicate, perhaps marry, divorce-so why start the whole thing? He knows the hypocrisy of bureaucracy, the hatred implicit in religions-so what values are left for him?-except to go through life avoiding pain, keep his emotions in check, and after that, "be cool," and look for kicks. He is looking for something that transcends all this bullshit and finds it in jazz.

[edit] New Philosophies of Racial Diversity

The new philosophy of racial diversity was probably best theorized by Norman Mailer’s 1957 essay, entitled “The White Negro”. [5].

[edit] Exploring New Forms of Sexuality

Some scholars, such as Eric Lott, describe this new philosophy as based on "the twentieth century reinvention of [the] ... homosocial and homosexual fascinations".[6]. In the Gay communities it is widely regarded as fact, that gay culture was popularized, especially among men during this period.

‘’“A complex pattern of sexual relations emerged among the men--which, in a rather self-consciously literary fashion, they sometimes regarded as resembling the affair of Rimbaud and Verlaine. Like Rimbaud, they endorsed "the systematic derangement of the senses"--through intoxicants, meditation, and other forms of intense experience ("kicks")--as a means to reach states of expanded awareness.”’’ [7]

[edit] Term Revisited

Camel cigarettes logo

The word ‘’hipster’’ was revisited when marketers started to have trouble marketing to the infamous 18 to 24 demographic because of their eclectic tastes, which is most likely a direct correlation to the internet. The first appearance of a marketer using the word hipster was in April 14, 1994 Camel Cigarettes Confidential Internal Report.[8] In this report, Camel created the stereotype that is applied to today’s modern “hipster”: "These “hipsters” entire social lives revolve around nightclubs, cafes, fashion, and music."

See Hipster (contemporary subculture) for the revised usage of the term

[edit] Blipster

Although etmologically speaking the word hipster is derived from an African source. Recently, the word blipster has been used to describe black individuals who are in the recently formulated market demographic of hipster. [9] The New York Times was the first to publicly use the word, although was quickly ridiculed by many other media outlets such as the Village Voice. [10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/how_to/the_nonexpert_hipster.php
  2. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_28/b3942030.htm
  3. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/maney/2004-12-21-maney_x.htm
  4. ^ http://aprendizdetodo.com/language/?item=20040926
  5. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2278/is_2_28/ai_108114700
  6. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2278/is_2_28/ai_108114700
  7. ^ http://www.glbtq.com/literature/beat_gen.html
  8. ^ http://www.tobaccofreedom.org/issues/documents/landman/trend/
  9. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/fashion/28Blipsters.html?ex=1327640400&en=31d7e7e3b0fe7ad1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
  10. ^ http://www.hitchaser.com/village-voice-makes-fun-of-new-york-times-for-recent-blipster-story/
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