Essay --

What exactly is a hipster? Dictionary.com defines one as "a person, especially during the 1950s, characterized by a particularly strong sense of alienation from most established social activities and relationships". Throughout history, there have always been droves of individuals who choose to be nonconformists. This is a lifestyle that labels such people as outcasts, hippies and beatniks. Those who are labeled as such endure a rough lifestyle, whether it is living in nature or perhaps walking the streets as a vagabond. These people live by complex philosophies, but to what purpose? I’m fascinated by the fact that they experience discrimination and ridicule, but choose to keep living with it. So exactly what is the appeal to counterculture? What is it about modern society and the mainstream that causes these people to ostracize themselves and announce their individualism? That’s what I hope to find out. I decided to track back to the roots of counter culturist movements. I discovered that after World War II, the nation’s economy boomed and fear began to grow over the growing nuclear arms race. Concern about the future led many young people to become more active in social causes, from the civil rights movement to President Kennedys Peace Corps. This generation was known as the beat movement, it defined an ideology for disaffected, rebellious youth of that decade. Due to the economic boom, many people could afford to go to college and enrollment rose from 3.1 million to almost 5 million. Protest began to rage across the country. The beat movement led to many new youth culture movement in the coming years, such as hippie culture. The hippies represented a rebellion against mass culture in the U.S. They rejected traditional values an... ...ed to hold their own place in history and be known for fixing an issue or perhaps toppling the government in their own obscure fashion. I believe that growing numbers of non-conformists happens to be ironic and an entirely different situation on its own, but perhaps it’s for a more personal reason. Looking at history up to now, one would address my earlier conjecture, who would want to put themselves through hell and ridicule, most likely knowing that they cannot cause upheaval alone? I believe that it is due to the fact that none of these people are comfortable being mixed into a crowd. They strongly look towards transcendentalism to individualize themselves. The youth doesn’t want to be labeled as a just another number. They want to feel important and be their own person. Riots and violent protests might not be the most orthodox solution, but it sure is effective.