In the 1960s, the social movement known as the hippie
movement took the United States and the world by storm. We all have an idea of
what a hippie looks like: bellbottom jeans and a t-shirt with long hair and
probably some illegal drugs. Hippies grew out of the anti-Vietnam War movement
and represented the explosion of counterculture. Our ideal of suburban
conformity was shattered and replaced with a new style, fads, experimental rock
music, and, as I’m sure some would argue, hedonism and debauchery. The youth of
America would never be the same.
In the early 2010s, the hipster movement began to spread
through the United States. We all have an idea of what a hipster looks like: a
plaid long sleeve shirt and jeans, probably sipping some Starbucks while
browsing Facebook on his Macbook. What does the hipster trend stem from? Clever
marketing. In an age of technology, the marketer is not trying to reach out to
some sort of American ideal. He’s trying to sell to the people that are more
likely to buy expensive electronics. The person that felt a bit left out in
high school and liked to play computer games as a kid is the new target of the ‘hipster
movement’. As a result, the hipster theme is used to appeal to the former
social outcast’s dollar.
The hipster image created by marketers is a
self-replicating and self-spreading phenomenon. The process behind it is
simple: create a counterculture and market to it. For years, people were
ostracized for being weird, unathletic, or nerdy. The social outcast was
doomed. Instead of continuing to market to the ideal or the promise of the
ideal, modern marketers are directly aiming for those that used to be left out.
As a result, their efforts have paid off more than they could imagine. Rather
than embracing the old ways, marketers have developed a second socially
acceptable group outside of the athletes. Suddenly, it’s good to be a ‘gamer’,
or a ‘nerd’. Owning and using expensive electronics, especially the recognized
brands, implies wealth, success, and even intelligence. This new path to popularity
has some interesting effects on our culture.
The interesting thing about turning the tables and making
nerdiness the new ‘cool’ is that the movement it creates contradicts itself.
Being different is now accepted, and in fact encouraged, but only if you’re different
in the right ways. If you buy the new different brands and listen to the new
different music and like the same different things, then you can all be
different together! We’re being pressured by our peers to break the mold so
that we can fit into the new one. The new mold is being shaped by influential
corporations, such as Apple, to market to a group of people not before
targeted, and making a great deal of money in the process.
How does this apply to our daily lives? I believe that it
is important that these things don’t take too much sway over our lives and the
way that we relate to others as Christians. While it is necessary to recognize
when we are being sold something, it is also unhealthy to act as if we are
enlightened when we see through the smoke and mirrors. We can’t let squabbles
over name brands distract us from the goal of living a Christlike life and
displaying that for others to see. I know that I have a tendency to disregard
others when they have a differing opinion from mine on subjects like music, but
I’m increasingly trying to let others have their own way. I think that we can
sometimes get too caught up in experiencing the culture of Christianity and we
often fail to dig deeper into the real issues that we face. Isn’t the purpose
of being a Christian to spread the Word of God? If so, we have to avoid elitism
and eliminate disregard for those that have other opinions on entertainment and
products. As Christians we have to read culture but not get too tied into its brands.
That’s what I think it means to be in the world and not of the world.
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