this picture

okay, let's discuss this picture. this is a band picture of Via Audio. There are many themes going on here.

First, the most obvious: hipsters in nature. Young-urban-stylish-people-who-identify-with-the-independent-music-scene love nature! Similar themes to this are discussed in the blog/book "Stuff White People Like."

My personal theory on hipsters loving nature is as follows: according to Myers-Briggs, people who like music tend to really like nature too (so that's cool); nature is pretty hip right now - going green, organic food, farming, etc.; it provides a nice extreme contrast to hyper-technologized lives - balance; being urban yet having specialized knowledge of nature-y things can make other urbanites feel bad about their suburban roots (points!).

Second, the hipsters are holding very modern-looking shapes, providing a stark contrast between the shapes and nature. Hipsters love irony. Postmodernism loves 'jokes' like this. In some ways, the contrast between the two things/ideas is absurd, which kind of makes it funny (follow me?). In the current cultural climate, we "know" everything (from the internet), so sophisticated jokes are made when two discordant ideas are referenced next to each other. An example of this is the idea of re-doing Jane Austen books so that they include sea monsters and ninjas. The absurdity is funny, in a postmodern way.

I could go into the symbolism of the hipsters providing the bridge between the shapes and the nature (feet in nature, hands - almost worshiping - the modern shapes), but whatever. I DO think the contrast looks cool. Basically there are so many popular themes going on in the picture that it makes it archetypal (and kind of old, and amusing in its unoriginality).

Third, the outfits. From left to right: first dude, the comic relief of a three-piece Goodwill suit on a twenty-something. With the added touch of the cowboy boots. Cute. Next, the girl...snore. Classic female hipster*. Next dude, same comments as the chick. Last dude, same comments as the first dude.

*I went to one of my first real hipster club events this past weekend. I was gleeful. I loved the music. Most of my joy came from the knowledge that St. Louis is up-to-date enough to have such an event. Yay! However, what made me sad is the same thing I saw at Pitchfork this past summer. Most of the outfits were classic American Apparel hipster. Boring.