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U-M AMCULT 208 - What is Hip?
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AMCULT 208 1st Edition Lecture 2Current LectureAll cultures have this bohemian idea to their cultures, living on the edgeTo start out a discussion of subcultures we really have to start with the concept of “hip”Because whatever hip is, or however you describe its qualities, it seems to be something that not everybody can have or be.• you cannot strive to be hip, you cannot wake up and decide to be hip• if everyone is hip, then hip is mainstream and no one is hip, not everyone can be hipIf you’re really truly hip, you just got it. Mainstream culture is not “hip”, without mainstream culture, the idea of hipness cannot exist. Hipness can only exist in opposition to something else.It can’t be.. it’s mainstream: “that which is common; the norm”, to conform with society,has vested interest in keeping things smooth, not rocking boatBeing “hip”-as opposed to being a “hipster” which is something entirely different-is a quality that seems to be universally understood, as well as being universally subjective. Hip is one of those things that even if you can’t adequately describe it in words, you’d know it if you saw it. When you see someone who is obviously cool, you just know it. “Dick Cheney is never going to be cool”.Hipness is the blatant element that you can tell just by looking at them, that they have got itSo from what was originally a collision of cultures, a racial clash, a context of apparent conflict, there was also, from the very beginning, the rots of a multicultural creation of hipness… and that was through popular cultureHip’s Double Edged Sword: gaining access to the world of hip was not, however, a guarantee of actually becoming hipPopular culture is where change in America begins… unpopular opinions will show up in popular culture before they do in mainstream outletsthe american revolution was fueled by ideas expressed in songs and in broadsidepublications, spread through popular culture• but there’s the risk of thinking that just because you have this stuff, that makes you hip• here we might get the current definition of hipsterAmerica has always been propagated by the important contradiction: only country in theworld that holds the idea of the pursuit of happiness, originally: life, liberty and property• paradox bc “individualism vs conformity”, dichotemy between individualism and conformity, we are building a brand new nation, creating a democracy unlike anything that has ever been created before, so we needed conformity• incredible contradiction: american is propagated by schizophrenia◦ be an individual, but not too much of an individual◦ if u don’t conform the way we conform, you become an outcastThe Pattern of American Myth-hip-ology• America exists within a conflict over romanticism and realism • cognitive dissonance: awareness of the difference between reality and expectation, america exists in the space between reality and expectation• hipness is a way to overcome cognitive dissonance, i understand the difference between my expectations and reality, so i am going to take control and “knowing” this, i am allowed to cope with it in ways that other people cant• The hero in american literature, film, and song, is usually someone who although standing or certain “ideals” still exists outside “real” society▪ from frontiersman though Dirty Harry to the Big Lebowski, we have love affair with people who have values, but still stand outside “real” (as we ordinary people experience it) life◦ we love these characters bc they are living in ways that we cannot live• these are people for whom rebellion is not a choice, it just is.The comedian Groucho Marx (of the Marx Brothers) is credited with the oft-quoted lune (frequently by Woody Allen- a late 20th century paragon of hip contradiction): “I would not join any club that would accept someone like me as a member”That is perhaps a perfect hip mantra.If you’re truly hip, you don’t need to belong to a club because whatever you do, wherever you are, is the place to be and the thing to be doingHip is the romanticism of having it all while living in the realism of not being able to haveit all.Hip has had at least several convergences in American history.1. 19th century convergence of blacks and whites◦ The minstrel show◦ The Original gangstas (pioneers o’ pioneers)◦ The blues2. Early 20th century convergence of country and city◦ blacks moving north◦ ex-pats went to europe◦ jazz began3. Post WWII music (bop) and literature (beat) combine4. Urban decay and the DIY movement◦ punk, hip hop, zones5. The 80s technology/internet6. NowHip offers an alternative status system: The romance of self as enduring and noble• the hip person doesn’t have many frills, they are who they are, beautiful in their simplicity“Do you know what a nerd is? A nerd is a human being without enough Africa in him or her. You know why music was he center of our lives for such a long time? Because it was a way go allowing Africa in”- Brian


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