Saturday, February 7, 2009

Saturation

In science, a saturation point is reached when a given space can contain no more mass without either reaching a point of equilibrium between the space and the mass, or the complete annihilation of said space.

Here in L.A., the hipster douchebag population has achieved saturation. The question is now whether they will reach equilibrium, or be destroyed in a hail of mutton-chops and non-prescription vintage glasses.

Of course, like other calamities upon society, they will not go quietly. Hippies had their summer of love morph into a winter of disco and velvet. Yuppies bravely clung to relevance until roughly September of 2001. Hipsters, by contrast, are still waiting for their Charlie Manson, the one person or event that will blow open their PBR-addled brains and force them to get jobs that don't involve a coffeeshop, a record store, or an Econoline van.

As much as I would love to see them all flying through the air like a trailer in a tornado, my prediction is that equilibrium will be reached, and they will be absorbed into the society at large, much like hippies and yuppies before them.

It will be interesting, then, to see them in the future. Somehow I don't think the sobriquet "aging hipster" will have quite the genteel cache it has when applied to an old hippie. No one bats an eye if Tommy Chong throws on some CSNY and lights up a joint. But imagine a 57 year-old bike messenger in keds lugging his turntable out to the rooftop party? Believe me, if you are unlucky enough to be in this space when that occurs, you will wish for its destruction.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

i love this! i am a hipster, but i thought it was hilarious lol