Monday, October 31, 2011

A senior in the city.





"Have you ever heard the term hipster?"

"A what? A hip-sta?"

"Yes, a hipster."
"Hip. Ster. H-I-P-S-T-E-R? No, I've never heard of that before. What's a hipster?"

This was the conversation I had in an on-camera interview with Connie and Maria, two young ladies of Brooklyn, New York. Okay, so they are young at heart; Connie is in her 80s and Maria is 91! These women had a lot to say about my generation and gave some insight to the recent hipster movement.


My senior thesis film is an exploration of the term "hipster." To vaguely define the term, a hipster is a subculture of creative and artistic 20-30 year-olds, that accept vintage and individual ideas in lieu of mainstream trends. Again, very vague. The image associated with the word "hipster": skinny jeans, scarves, bicycles, think rimmed glasses, TOMS shoes and anything vintage/purchased at a thrift store.


When I say the word "hipster" I get the following reactions:

a). "What's a hipster?"

b). "Oh, yeah, hipster." (With a slightly confused look on their face)

c). "Ugh. Hipsters."

d). "I know what it is, I'm definitely not one."


These reactions tell me that people either don't know the meaning behind the word "hipster" or really don't want to be associated with it.


I have decided to make a documentary that takes a look at the hipster sub culture. My crew and I went to New York City last weekend to ask some locals and tourists what they thought about "hipsterdom." We also had a great interview with a talented hair stylist and youth leader, Edgar. He welcomed us into his super creative apartment and talked about the importance of truly loving on people.


Of course, we took a day to be tourists in the city, too. Here are some pictures from the trip. Photo creds to Jordan Imhoff and Justin Fugett.



Shea, the Director of Photography (photo credit: Jordan Imhoff)


Justin and I in Time Square (photo credit: Jordan Imhoff)




Grand Central Station (photo credit: Justin Fugett)




Shea and Justin (photo credit: Jordan Imhoff)



Edgar (photo credit: Jordan Imhoff)



Time Square!


Oh, and here's a picture of Maria from Jordan's blog.