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A remarkably American centric article, in which the author appears to see America as the origin of things instead of just a dot on a long line that has always b
by bowlofpetunias 13y ago
A remarkably American centric article, in which the author appears to see America as the origin of things instead of just a dot on a long line that has always been weaving back an forth between different cultures and countries.
A casual remark betrays this blind American-centrism: "the new American hipster ideal of Brooklyn is clumsily copied everywhere from Paris to Bangkok".
Seriously? Coming from Amsterdam I have a hard time seeing the American hipster culture as anything other than heavily copying Northern-European lifestyles in a way that strongly reminds me of how Japan so often imitates Western cultures. (Also the same pattern, stuff that is added or reshaped in America appears here again, which may confuse the author. But "clumsily copyied", are you f-ing kidding me?)
Interesting article, but the lack of perspective bothers me.
- justincormack 13y agoYes, the Japanese do not have a particular attachment to American culture. They also replicate Scotch whisky lovingly, for example. And there are kissa for all sorts of things.
- richliss 13y agoI agree... I visited Stockholm in the 90's and there were many many young people there that were defacto hipsters in they way they dressed, bought vinyl, used old film cameras like lomo's etc. etc. way before I saw the same in London or New York. I have this view that the individualist fashionistas all around the world are in realtime creating a movement like hipsterism without realising it, and for the most part people think they look like idiots, but every now and again the right person hits the right look at the right time and there's suddenly lots of people copying it, and validating the look creating a movement.