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mofo said:
I think the article was a little overly harsh on the hipsters.  It is true that many of these people tend to be shallow, but when you think about it, every cultural trend had that aspect.  The article did allude to something I find a little more alarming however.  That is the ever further reachng feedback loop that has been constructed by the now massive and conglomerated entity that is the media and advertising indusry.

I saw a program on PBS about it once, and it said it really began back in the late 90's with the Jackass culture.  The media/advertisers actually identified and named a young male prototype (I forget what they called it)but it was basically an approximation of they guys on Jackass.  For the young woman, they called it the waif or the midriff and it was characterized by the skinny pretty girls with the tight clothes (I think they used Britney Spears as an example, not exactly relevant now tho).  Ever since then, the media/advertising complex has been tweaking this concept, reading the blogs, surveilling our youth culture in pursuit of ever more of the spending power of the youth.

This phenomenon has, I believe, done quite a bit of damage to culture.  It has commodified culture, and by so doing has stripped out the the original purpose of culture; a meeting of minds, a venue to express and exchange ideas, a means to get to know our fellow man better.

I believe in capitalism as generally the most efficient means to exchange goods and services, but it seems to me Marx hit the nail on the head when he warned of the ever expanding, ever more encompassing nature of capitalism.  Fortunately, I think the internet will also be a means of sustenance for true culture as little oases (like the Shroomery) continue to pop up.  Will it be enough?  I don't know.  People should try to focus on building community rather than trying to rule it.

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