The Sycamore Fall 2014

THE SYCAMORE WELLS COLLEGE’S STUDENT MAGAZINE / FALL 2014

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CONT features 9 41 A TRENDY TRAVEL GUIDE

North America’s culturally influential cities.

INSTAGRAM 101 The art of the selfie.

12 49 I TOOK THESE PHOTOS FIRST Hipsters for real

HOW TO BE COOL By not being cool.

19 55 TOP 10

Things hipsters love.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER FRIEND Doesn’t everyone have one?

21 63 TOMS

How a business reinvented the way we think about footwear.

THE TASTE OF INK

Body art versus identity establishment

24 77 I WEAR YOUR GRANDDAD’S CLOTHES

Pumped about some shit from the thirft shop.

THE VINYL COUNTDOWN Where’s your moms record player?

36 82 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Or cultural appropriation?

22 COVER DESIGN BY KEEGAN EVANS

FASHION STATEMENT SEASON Fall, duh.

TENTS constants 6 40 EDITORS' NOTES A few opening remarks

DINNER AT A CELEB’S HOUSE Zooey Deschanel.

80 90 LETTERS TO THE PUBLIC

ACADEMIC PAPER CONTEST

Melanie Canales’ “The Marriage of Man’s Core Contradictions”

89 96 “FETCH” NEVER HAPPENED An analytical journey in word history.

DEAR MINERVA

Advice from Wells’s resident goddess

95 100 CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST

Carson Jordan’s “Daddy and Jaqueline”

VISUAL ARTS CONTEST Stephen Armstrong’s "Art Show."

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THE SYCAMORE is Wells College’s student magazine.

This is our thirteenth biannual issue.

In keeping with our mission, we print on sustainably harvested paper and use nontoxic ink.

FSC BOX

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staff JULIE HUANG MISSY BREWER MICHELLE LEE GABRIELLE UHRIG MINERVA PAIGE FRALICK SKYLAR MANN ATIYA JORDAN TAYLOR BABB KATIE LAMANA KAREN KRAMARSYCK KEEGAN EVANS RAEA BENJAMIN

CATHERINE BURROUGHS

Editor in Chief Assistant to Editor in Chief Staff Writer Chief Copy Editor Staff Writer Chief Design Editor Staff Photographer Advice Columnist Staff Writer Staff Designer Staff Photographer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Photographer Staff Designer Staff Writer

Advisor

contributors MELISSA HENDRICKSON KAREN KRAMARSYCK MICHELLE LEE MISSY BREWER KAILIN KUCEWICZ CARSON JORDAN OLIVE TOURON SARAH UHRIG HAILEY URIBE

Model Model Model Model Model Model Model Model Model

contact E-MAIL

WellsSycamore@gmail.com

WEB

WellsSycamore.tumblr.com

ADDRESS

Wells College 170 Main Street Mailbox Number 255 Aurora, NY 13026 THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 5

Editor’s NOTE

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n my second semester as editor-in-chief, I was ecstatic to get to work on a new issue. Now that I’ve learned the ropes and have answers to frequently asked questions, running this magazine has been less intimidating and become a part of me. I’ve grown to love the on-going process of drafting, creating, and designing in order to, in the end, hold in my hands a polished and glossy printed publication.

This semester, we had plenty of interesting themes for the staff to choose from. When we narrowed it down to just a few, I knew that whatever the staff chose, I would enjoy working on this issue. While the competition was close (I was very sure “style” was going to win), the theme “hispter” came out on top.

With the narrow and concrete images in our minds of what a hipster is, you might think that “hipster” is too narrow of a theme to print on 100 pages. Our staff rose to the challenge and talked about cultural issues embedded in hipster trends like in Raea Benajmin’s “Freedom of Expression or Cultural Appropriation?” (p.36). Taylor Babb explored some of the epicenters of hipster culture in her “A Trendy Travel Guide: North America’s Culturally Influential Cities” (p.9). Our chief copy editor, Michelle Lee, includes an eye opening satire in her piece in “An Open Letter to My Peers” (p.80) on how millennials are ruining everything. Hipsters aren’t all about fashion trends, hipsters encompass an entire subsulture, which our staff does a thorough job exploring.

I’m also excited to introduce this issue as one of the first photo centered issues we’ve ever published. Not only have our graphics been more photo-based than in past issues, but we’ve also included more photo spreads in general.

Some of our readers have been intimidated by some of our text heavy volumes of the past, but we’ve decided that it would be more accessible to the reader to include some shorter, funnier pieces, and more photo spreads to help break up some of the longer, analytical, and informational articles.

Also, in Fall 2014, I’m proud to introduce our newest staff members: Skylar Mann ‘18, Raea Benjamin ‘17, and Taylor Babb ‘16. Without a staff, we have no publication.

I’m sure that their insight and talents will bring us far into the future long after I graduate.

Lastly, I want to congratulate our new chief copy editor, Michelle Lee ‘16, and our new chief design editor, Gabrielle Uhrig ‘16, on their first, and very successful, semester on our editorial board. Thank you two so much for all your hard work and cooperation. You both are hilarious.

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Copy Editor's NOTE

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his issue’s theme came after a fierce battle between hipsters and young Harrison Ford where both sides presented solid arguments. In case it isn’t obvious, hipsters prevailed, and while I worried about if we could produce an entire magazine about them, our writers and photographers took the theme and ran.

Missy’s satirical article (pg. 49) about achieving coolness by vehemently denying coolness is the must-read for those looking to start their journey into hipsterdom. Karen’s “The Vinyl Countdown” (pg. 77) provides a great look on how the hipster community’s interest of the past keeps relics alive. Katie’s article, chronicling the success of the brand Toms (pg. 21), further demonstrates how powerful niche markets can be. Our staff writers have, once again, written insightful and thought-provoking pieces (both humorous and serious). As with every semester, they prove that any worry about generating enough worthy content is unwarranted.

On a personal note, my deepest gratitude to our previous Chief Copy Editor, Rebekkah McKalsen-Frisch, whose faith in me means the world. It has been nothing but a privilege to work with everyone on The Sycamore staff, and my only hope is that I can give back what they have given me.

So put on an ironic T-shirt, drink from your mason jar, and enjoy.

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Design Editor's NOTE s the first semester that I am Chief design editor, it A has been a huge learning curve… uphill… through a blizzard… and an earthquake, there might have been

aliens also but we don’t talk about that. Working with InDesign is a process of experimentation, discovery, forgetting everything you have discovered and then having to relearn it all over again. The design process involveds a lot of trial and error. We always come up with great ideas that end up looking terrible in print, so we scrap it, and come up with something new. In the end, we always have a beautiful product that we are all proud of no matter now many times we have to hit command+Z. That being said, the hard work of the staff this semester has made up for it. It was a joy to first hear the great ideas that people came up with for their articles and then seeing how they developed those ideas into a cohesive product. These finished pieces on their own are great but when we brought them together, it formed a magazine that fully embodies the theme of hipster.

Keegan’s photo spread (pg. 12) on what a hipster looks like is one of the smoothest photo spreads I have ever seen. Skylar’s spread on the art of the selfie (pg. 41) is the perfect way to showcase photography in the hipster community and on social media.

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I could never have gotten through this semester without the help of the other members of the editorial board. The support that I received from Assistant editor in Chief Melissa Brewer and Copy Editor Michelle Lee were crucial to completing this magazine. The humor that they brought along with their articles really made the process run smoother. It was a pleasure to work on The Sycamore with them and I look forward to working with them on Sycamore issues to come. Editor in Chief Julie Huang is a joy to work with...even though I've plotted her death a million times. Just kidding! We work closely together and sometimes we get frustrated with each other, but afterall we make a good team.

After a long semester of sharing ideas, it feels good to finally put all those ideas on paper.

A Trendy Travel Guide: North America’s Culturally Influential Cities

By Taylor Babb

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any millennials are engaging in the hipster culture, finding themselves migrating into different cities, not only to find better employment in the economic state we’re currently in but trying to find a new social scene. From word of mouth and 6o social media outlets, it’s getting out there that major cities such as San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York City, Toronto, and Seattle are turning into the melting pot for the arts, music, and employment.. Here are three major cities that are facing the culture impact today which ranges in a different environments; from a small, intimate city to a huge melting pot full of hipster fashionistas.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada Toronto, known as the “cleaner nyc,” has a population of 2.5 million Torontonians! Toronto is now put on the map as one of the most multicultural cities in the world, and its diversity is shown throughout popular parts. Spadina Avenue is a prime example of accomodating to hipster culture. The Spadina Avenue “hipster makeover” shows a display of various street signs with beards and Ray Bans, welcoming the modern culture with the diverse eatery from different cultural backgrounds. Tourist spots are opened to the art and fashion world, and nightlife.

Recommended spots in Toronto • Spadina Avenue: Different international cuisines you can choose from. Prices may range, depending on eatery that is popular by demand.

• Queen Street West: Queen Street is usually popular in the summer time for small businesses, cafés, and bakeries.

• Graffiti Alley: Only area in Toronto where graffiti is legal!

• Art Gallery of Toronto: Famously known museum in Canada ranging in different art mediums.

• tiff (Toronto International Film Festival): Screen viewing of documentaries and independent films from across the globe.

• Varities of bars and nightlife: Includes Ossington, The Black Hoof and Cold Tea.

Websites to visit for further information about Toronto: • • • •

BlogTO I (Heart) Toronto Visit Toronto Torontoist THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 9

New York City, New York Known as most popular for their hipster fashion scene, it is necessary that New York City is on this hipster travel guide! With a whopping population of 8.4 million people, New York City is the fashion capital, ranging in different categories of styles and culture that diffuse with one another. Many artists look at New York City as a creative outlet, exploring different career paths while working on their crafts simultaneously. Currently, the most popular borough to do so is Brooklyn, with Manhattan being approximately 30 minutes away! The scenic area is also symbolic, especially within neighborhoods, which shows the historical and cultural aspects that are aspiring to several photographers. Since New

Recommended spots in New York City • Big Restaurant City: Try different eateries and bars, while taking a casual walk Downtown!

• SoHo: A huge shopping area that transforms into social nightlife!

• Popular neighborhoods within New York City: East Village, Tribeca, Lower East Side, the Village, and Williamsburg are huge scenes for

nightlife throughout the week.

Websites to Visit about further information about New York City: • • • •

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Bowery Boogie (Manhattan) Free Williamsburg (Brooklyn) We Heart Astoria (Queens) BoogieDowner (The Bronx)

York City is known as a huge tourist area, it can be on the expensive side for residents. However, the living expenses do not stop young adults from living it up!

Seattle, Washington Seattle is informally known as the birthplace of hipsters, and honestly, I’m not surprised because their minimum wage is $15 per hour. With a population of only 652,000 people, the city of Seattle is relatively small compared to other “hipster-booming” cities. However, the birthplace of Starbucks is thriving in their coffee, and the franchise does not stop other small cafes from getting in on the industry’s profit. Popular areas such as Capitol Hill and Ballard Hill are predominantly known for their hipster population. Ballard Hill, specifically, has a combination of hipster and lgbtq culture, bringing in many festivals and events. The best part about Seattle is you can visit majority of the tourist spots in just one day!

Recommended Spots in Seattle • Ballard Hill and Capitol Hill: Festivals and block parties which mostly takes place in the summer time. Good scenes during nightlife and nice theater pubs.

• Bauhaus Coffee Works, Cafe Besalv and Vivace: Small coffee spots, just in case you’re tired of Starbucks.

• Chop Suey and Nuemos: Good clubs for nightlife.

• The Garage: Serves up a combination of restaurants, bars, and parties in Capitol Hill

Websites to Visit about further information about Seattle • Seattle Times • No Umbrella—The Blog of Everything Seattle •

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i took these photos first

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HIPSTERS FOR REAL

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Hipsterism

By Atiya Jordan “Part of growing up is not waiting in line at a hipster breakfast restaurant. The eggs taste the same across the street.I promise.” ~Jason Segel

HISTORY

wouldn’t be a surprise if your parents or even your great grandItermtparents once said the word “hip.” It was known to be another for cool or trendy. The origins of the word are not exactly

known, but its relevance dates back to the 30’s and 40’s as jazz became more popular. Being a “hipster” was someone who spent most of their time smoking pot, calling each other “hepcats,” and loving the music scene. Hipsters enjoyed nothing else but their music at the jazz clubs and differentiating themselves from the upper classes, despite how wealthy they actually were. Members of this subculture chose to isolate themselves from the mainstream society or any sign of normalcy, which included the traditional family and social life. The hipsters of the 1940s were mostly young adults who latched onto anything that was artistic and unusual, especially during the time of war and uncertainty.

MODERN-DAY HIPSTERS

Other than the hipsters of the 40’s, modern hipsters would rarely claim that they are hipsters. They are subcultural figures emerged by 1999, who are middle and upper class young adults who focused more on music, art, literature, food, fashion, and everything ironic.

They intentionally steer away from anything mainstream, sharing some of the same bonds of the older generations. Their attitudes reflected on their interests in vintage clothing and a certain type of music that screamed irony.

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Top 10 Things That Hipsters

Love

1. Cold Brew Coffee

Taking a walk through the streets of Brooklyn on a warm day, that’s when the mason jars come out.

Hipsters loved their jars filled to the top with cold brew coffee because thats just the “hipster way.” Do not confuse cold brew with iced coffee. Cold brew requires a different extraction method. In fact, the secrets are a mason jar, cold water, a filter. The process involves steeping ground coffee in cold water for an extended period of time.

2. Anything From a Food Truck

Hipsters love their food. Food trucks are just cool to them, no matter where. Just imagine the dirty iconic hotdog stands on every corner of New York City’s parks and street corners, and hipsters demand for change. They would rather eat at expensive organic gourmet food trucks that New Yorkers definitely stay away from (every Hipster’s dream). Hipsters love food trucks so much that they would even have a few them at their wedding, or any special occasion for that matter.

3. Education

Believe it or not, hipsters tend to be very well educated in the liberal arts. Their aim is to get a higher education to revolve themselves around music, art, or fashion. They surprisingly read a lot of books, particularly in a local book store or library, taking up space without even purchasing or borrowing. This is normal.

4. Social Media & Blogging

When you see hipsters typing away on their sleek computer, they are checking updates on their favorite bands or tweeting about all of the fashion and music around them. Hipsters love taking artsy photos whether it is on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or Blogspot. They take coffee selfies and post them with deep philosophical quotes.

5. Ironic Places

Other than the local book store or coffee shop, hipsters flock to “ironic” places such as aquariums, the zoo, or the planetarium. Funny thing is, hipsters don’t understand irony, but they would clearly say how much these places might be bad, and that is why it is so good. Hipster irony. Besides, wherever you have gone in your childhood, that is where hipsters hang out, depending on the age of the hipster, of course.

6. Indie Music

Hipster love rocking out to new independent music, until they’re not new anymore. Browsing amateur videos on youtube means they don’t have to worry about coming across the most popular artists that are on the radio. To them, good music is hard to find. Areas such as independent rap, garage rock, punk rock, techno, and classic rock are a huge part of what being a hipster is all about. If no one else has heard of these artists and their songs, you are a hipster.

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7. Wear ironic clothing

Hipsters couldn’t care less about name brands, instead they stick to local independent retailers. Just dress vintage! Only a hipster would wear a t-shirt that reads “I am not a Hipster” or “Hipsters Suck.”

Grunge is the way to go in hipster fashion, such as lumberjack tees. Hipsters feature clothing referencing hipster slang and music festivals, as wells as over-sized framed glasses no matter how great their eyesight is. Now anyone can wear skinny jeans, but hipster men wear them more while the women prefer leggings with a pair of combat boots.

8. The Environment: Cycling & Tote Bags

Cars?! Never. Hipsters are the happiest riding their bikes everywhere to help the environment. So, it is not a surprise how much hipsters spend for the parts of their bike, no matter how expensive. Surely they can afford it. They carry whatever they need in the “Go Green” tote bags and go about their day.

9. Hipster Health

Grocery stores sell priced poison. Buy Organic! Hipsters would rather grow their own food. Most of them are even vegetarians. One of the most exciting things that could happen is a Whole Foods opening up in the neighborhood. Hipsters couldn’t care any less how it got there, who lost their houses in the process, as long as its finally there. All they do is consume overpriced organic food because eating meat is just not “hip,” unlike fruits, coffee, pickles, tacos, and anything served in a mason jar or gourmet.

10. Dating Other Hipsters Hipsters would rather date someone who they can easily connect with. Someone who they could share their clothes with, who loves cats, is also a vegan or vegetarian, who loves to read and hold hours-long discussions about theories and feminism. •

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sources “The 35 Greatest Quotes About Hipsters.” Thought Catalog. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

“28 Signs You’re a Hipster.” Thought Catalog. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

“Top 10 Things Hipsters Love.” Latest and Greatest from Chicagoans. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

“Don’t You Dare Call Me A Hipster! I, Sir, Am A ‘Hep Cat’ ” npr. npr. Web. 17 Oct. 2014 “What Is the Origin of the Hipster Subculture? | The Classroom | Synonym.” The Classroom. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.

“A Hipster’s Take on Social Media.” The Wartburg Circuit. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

“Hipster1.” Hipster: Definition of Hipster in Oxford Dictionary (American English) (US). Web. 7 Nov. 2014 “A Brief History of Hipsters.” How to Act Like a Rock Music Buff. Web. 16 Oct. 2014

TOMS: How a Business Model Reinvented the Way we Think About our Footwear

By Kathleen Lamanna

oms—they’re a fashion trend that helps children in T need. These shoes aren’t just a comfy canvas slip on; they are a part of an intricate and one of a kind business

model that connects consumerism with charity.

Toms was created in 2006 after Blake Mycoskie took a trip to Argentina following his third place finish in “The Amazing Race,” which he participated in with his sister (“One for One”). Mycoskie was subject to the fact that many children suffered every time they walked to school or went out to get water because they couldn’t afford a pair of shoes; while in Argentina, Mycoskie realized he could solve this problem. “Complicated lives and heaps of possessions don’t necessarily bring happiness; in fact, they can bring the opposite,” said Mycoskie in his book Start Something That Matters.

Mycoskie believed that he could create a company that would bridge the gap between commercialism and relief.

With influences from his extensive experience as a successful entrepreneur, Mycoskie knew that he wanted to create a business that provided profit for himself and his future employees, while also helping the people who needed help the most, such as the children without shoes in Argentina. He began to brainstorm and work with others to experiment on how to efficiently make

shoes for a consumer. He then had to develop a pair of shoes that would be adequate for a child who only had this one pair of shoes for all aspects of life. Mycoskie was troubled with the burden of forming a shoe that was light, easy to move in, and durable. The original plan was that if you bought a pair of shoes today, a child in need would receive a pair of shoes tomorrow; however, “tomorrow” could not fit on the tag, so it was shortened to Toms (Mycoskie).

Toms Shoes was launched in 2006 with a one for one business plan. The idea was to provide the consumer with a product while bettering the livelihood of a child in need: one for one. According to Mycoskie’s biography on the Toms website, the company gave away over thirty five million pairs of shoes in their first five years of business. This, of course, meant that they sold over thirty-five million pairs of shoes to the everyday consumer. According to the website, in 2014, Toms has given away more than ten million pairs of shoes, restored over 25,000 people’s vision, and given away an innumerable amount of fresh water.

The company, which is for-profit, is run very similarly to a social movement. Members of the Toms Team travel around the nation lecturing to high school and THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 21

college students about the message of Toms; Toms Shoes’ business model is sell a pair, give a pair away.

The company is full of charismatic employees who are passionate about the one for one mission. The Toms Headquarters, in Santa Monica, California, acts as the home base for the company; this location assists in the customer service aspect of the company, as well as serving as the base of operations for planning the extended giving trips that the company periodically takes.

Toms has expanded their products from solely shoes in 2006, to eyewear in 2011, and to coffee in 2014. They have expanded their one for one mission, thus expanding their charitable footprint. The consumer shoes, as well as the charitable shoes, are made in China, Argentina, Kenya, Ethiopia, and, starting next year, Haiti. This shift of manufacturing to Haiti will help to employ over one hundred locals, as well as creating a sustainable Haitian shoe industry (“One for One”). The decision to add a factory in Haiti was not made without controversy; Mycoskie and other Toms executives decided to move to Haiti in attempts to quiet the voices who point out some of the flaws of the company.

One of the main issues that critics have with Toms is that they are addressing a problem, not a solution; Toms doesn’t address the root source of shoelessness: poverty (Otto). Instead of giving these people a means for a better life, Toms is simply giving them a pair of 22

shoes. Critics believe that this is, essentially, unnecessary (Otto). Toms attempted to combat this criticism with their move to Haiti. By putting a shoe factory in Haiti, Toms is able to employ local people, thus giving locals a source of income. This will also assist Mycoskie in his pledge to produce a minimum of one-third of all the given shoes where those shoes are given, further broadening the company’s commitment to create local jobs across the globe.

p Hipsters, at least how they are widely recognized, are against mainstream movements. Toms, though they have become mainstream with their incredible success in the past years, have a strong hipster following. One of the largest draws of buying Toms shoes is the idea that your purchase will be helping someone in need. This allows for the hipster to enhance their own style while assisting in someone else’s podiatric wellbeing. Keeping this in mind, Toms make the perfect product for hipsters. They combine low key fashion with the ability to help others, a concept that is outside of mainstream culture. As Mycoskie stated in an interview with the L.A. Times, “The goal isn’t how much you make, but how much you help people” (Moore). By combining charitable donation and consumerism, Toms are the quintessential hipster choice for footwear. •

Works Cited Mycoskie, Blake. Start Something That Matters.

New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2011. Print.

“Blake’s Bio.” Toms, Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

“One for One.” Toms, Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Otto, Isaac. “Toms Shoes Responds to Critics, But it May not be Enough.” Global Envision. 24 July, 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Moore, Booth. “Toms Shoe’s Model is Sell a Pair, Give a Pair Away.” L.A. Times. 19 April, 2009. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

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I wear your Granddad's Clothes

By Gabrielle Uhrig

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Freedom of Expression

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e live in a society where it is perceived to be socially unacceptable to degrade people based on their race alone. However, racism has evolved into a popular running joke among educated, middle- class, white people, with a helping hand from hipster culture. Through “hipster racism” ( the use of irony and satire to mask racism), racist remarks have become more acceptable as they are being viewed through an ironic light that makes them seem playful and harmless, which they are not. Racism, no matter how it is being used, whether it is meant to be funny, light hearted, or ironic, is never okay. Commonly made comments about how much white people suck being made by white people, for example, just add to the implication that black people, or people of any other race for that matter, dislike the things white people like This is just another way that people who feel powerful take advantage of people they see as being less powerful than themselves, using irony to be subtly racist. By making racism out to be acceptable in certain situations, we, as a culture are further supporting racism reinforcing it as a normal and acceptable part of life, which it never should be. The bottom line is that racism hinders the success 36

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of people of color. For someone to make an ironically racist statement (such as the ever popular introduction of their black friend as “their black friend”) and then be offended and personally hurt if someone else calls them out on it doesn’t make sense for one main reason: if an individual is not racist, then he or she must believe that all people are born equal. How can one believe in equality while mocking it? In including someone’s race in their title while being introduced, you are immediately putting up a wall between that individual and anyone in the room of differing race. This is not to say that anyone who has ever made a joke or an ironic statement geared towards race is a racist, but our culture has become desensitized to these statements which leaves a lot of people clueless as to the effects of their actions and words.

Hipster racism takes place in many forms, ironically racist remarks or jokes being just one of them. Within the hipster culture is the act of “Columbusing” (discovering something that is not new) which plays a big part in contributing to racism. Through Columbusing, hipsters take ownership over concepts native to other cultures and make them out to be a new, modern way of thinking. A recent example of this can be seen in social media, where an article was posted all about a “new kind of pie that’s all the rage” called hand pie. “Hand pies, like their more traditional pie cousins, have flaky crusts and nice, juicy fillings... But these are tiny, teeny, eensie-weensie pies... They can be sweet, or savory... You can fold them into little half moons.” It turns out that hand pies are really just empanadas, a Spanish and Latin American pastry, being renamed. In doing this, specific races and cultures are oppressed because new and hip trends in society take credit for what is not theirs to begin with. Another culture that white individuals commonly Columbus’ from is the Native American culture.

How many white teen girls do you see a week wearing

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Cultural appropriation?

By Raea Benjamin

moccasins? Probably more than you used to. This is because white Americans latched on to moccasin wearing as a trend and acted as if they themselves invented a new style, despite the fact that moccasins have been traditional footwear for Native Americans for years and years. Even more interesting, the term “hipster” itself has been Columbused from the 1940’s, when it was used to describe connoisseurs of jazz in the time period.

Hipster racism takes place through style as well.

With the hipster culture comes hipster style and fashion which, often times, gives way to racism. Hipster racism through fashion can be seen in numerous ways, some of which include:

Headdresses and feathers

Headdresses and feathers are commonly sported by women within the hipster community as a fashion statement. The wearing of headdresses and feathers within certain Native cultures, where headdresses (where it originated) is not a fashion choice at all, however. In Native cultures, headdresses are traditionally worn by men who have earned them by exhibiting great amounts of strength and power in combat. Feathers are similarly rewarded to warriors (men) of Native nations each time he has done something that the rest of the tribe feels is exceptionally brave. This goes to show that women who wear headdresses or feathers as a fashion statement are disrespecting the culture while knowing nothing of the traditions linked to the custom.

Tribal Symbols

Tribal symbols can be seen on lots of trendy hipster clothing as well. Symbols coming from both Native American and African tribes have been sold at popular

stores among the hipster community. These articles of clothing, ranging from dresses to underwear are then worn as a fashion trend though the owner of the apparel usually has no clue what the significance of the symbol is or even what culture it comes from. The people who wear clothing with printed tribal symbols are most likely not familiar with the fact that the symbols all have specific meanings and were often used to communicate secret messages within tribes. The hipster culture takes hold of the common geometric patterns in tribal symbols and turns them into a hip, “new” fashion statement, draining the symbols of their cultural significance.

Bindis

Bindis have become a popular accessory among the hipster culture as well. Bindis are often seen on the heads of “fashionable” women and even in magazines or on television, worn by celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, and Katy Perry. Bindis however, like headdresses are not meant to be a fashion statement; they have cultural significance. In the Indian culture, where the wearing of bindis originated, both men THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 37

and women wear the jewels on their foreheads in order to signify status, spirituality, and during traditional ceremonies. In India, a married woman often wears a red bindi on her head signifying that she is married, for example. Bindis carry spiritual significance in that they originally represented the “third eye” and self realization

Keffiyehs

Keffiyehs, face coverings traditionally worn within the Palestinian culture, have become a popular trend within hipster fashion. Originally, keffiyehs were worn

by Palestinians in order to protect their faces from sun exposure as well as dirt and sand. The garments were also worn to represent the support of revolution. In today’s society, keffiyehs are worn by whomever and are sold to people who usually don’t know where they originated from or why they were worn in the first place.

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Hipster racism can be seen on a daily basis through styles and trends as well as other influential sources such as media. Through the use of ironic racism within popular or trending television shows, movies, and internet videos, the issue is enforced. These everyday parts of our lives supporting and reinforcing racist acts, makes them seem acceptable in society. Scenes in which stereotypes are supported are common in media and are way more prevalent than you’d expect. An example of this can be seen a newer show on television, first airing in 2011, cbs’s 2 Broke Girls, a sitcom starring two white women in their twenties doing their best to make it on their own after starting a business together. A leading character in the show is the women’s business manager, a short, Korean American man. The man’s character is portrayed as a stereotypical Asian workaholic and numerous stereotypical and racist jokes are made at his expense throughout the show. One of the main characters even states “You can’t tell an Asian he made a mistake.

He’ll go in back and throw himself on a sword.” This television show justifies its racism and reinforcement of negative stereotypes by making them comedic which 38

only further relays the message that racism, when used ironically or jokingly is okay. Furthermore, film has pushed the envelope with racism on numerous occasions. Examples of this can be seen in the 2008 film The Love Guru, directed by Marco Schnabel and starring Michael Myers and reinforces negative stereotypes of Hindus and their spiritual customs and leaders. In the film Michael Myers portrays an American Indian who is working to bring together two other characters in the film romantically. Although the film may seem innocent enough, it pushes the envelope with its stereotypical portrayal of Hindu spiritual leaders. Although the film was not outwardly mean spirited, it did nothing to promote tolerance towards Hinduism in that it portrayed Hindus as individuals who have extreme difficulty operating in American society. This can be seen specifically when Myers decides to use an elephant as his main form of transportation (because apparently Hindus aren’t aware of the invention of the automobile?).

In recent years, internet videos have become a huge source of media as well. Entire channels on websites like YouTube are dedicated to comedians, gamers, fashionistas, etc. who can post videos all about themselves and their thoughts, feelings, and interests. Shane Dawson, a well known YouTube actor, has been very successful in making comedic internet videos geared toward teens in which he features many recurring characters and impersonations. Although Dawson has come to be somewhat successful, a lot of his videos rely on racism alone for their comedic effect. The YouTube actor often makes videos in which he portrays black people based on negative stereotypes alone. Some of these videos even feature Dawson in blackface. These specific types of videos lead to a lot of negative feedback toward Dawson. Although it was wrong to make such racist, stereotypical videos geared at African Americans, even the Hollywood film industry does it, sometimes with barely any backlash, which is one of the main reasons people don’t see the harm in doing it themselves. For example, in the hit 2008 film Tropic Thunder, mainstream actor Robert Downey Jr. wore blackface for his portrayal of

the character of Kirk Lazarus and was nominated for an Oscar afterward. In allowing blackface to still be an acceptable part of the film industry and even encouraging it with positive recognition, society is further enforcing the idea that this form of racism is okay. It isn’t.

Racism has transformed into more than the segregation and lessening of individuals. Racism has become an accepted part of today’s society through the act of using it ironically, as a joke, to make our friends laugh.

Racism within the hipster culture through conversation, style, media, and numerous other outlets is becoming a part of our every day lives whether we like to admit or not. Racism is, without a doubt, becoming more accepted in today’s society because we use it in a way that creates positive reinforcement: making it casual, funny, and fashionable. I myself am even guilty in doing this, I have more than one pair of moccasins in my closet and I like a lot of the films mentioned above for example. That doesn’t make me, or anyone else a bad person.

However, we all should still be aware of ironic racism and the harmful effects it has on all of us as individuals.

We need to understand the consequences of our actions and stop our generation from enforcing racism in a way that sets us back. •

Sources Aqel, Ryah. “lead.” Editorial. Lead Magazine. Lead Magazine, University of Michigan, 16 Mar. 2010.

Web. Complex Magazine. “The 50 Most Racist Movies.”

Editorial. Complex. Complex Magazine, 9 May 2012. Web. Complex Magazine. “The 50 Most Racist tv Shows All Time.” Editorial. Complex. Complex Magazine, 3 June 2013. Web ”Indian Headdress.” The Symbolic Meaning of an Indian Headdress. The American Indian Heritage Foundation, 2014. Web. Lim, Thea. “A Historical Guide to Hipster Racism.”

Web log post. Racialicious. 2 May 2012. Web. Salinas, Brenda. “’Columbusing’: The Art Of Discover ing Something That Is Not New.” Weblog post. npr. npr, 6 July 2014. Web. Sanders, Rachel. “Hand Pies Are The Best And Cutest Pies.” Web log post. BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. West, Lindy. “A Complete Guide to ‘Hipster Racism’” Web log post. Jezebel. 26 Apr. 2012. Web. ”What Does the Bindi Signify?” What Does the Bindi Signify? Innovateus, 2013. Web. THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 39

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Appetizer

Forage for nuts and berries in your backyard and nearby forest.

Soup Course

Blend the vegetable and fruit scraps from the other parts of your meal. Heat over an open fire using dirt to season and add texture.

Salad Course

A base of kale with crispy baked kale chips with a dressing made from puréed kale and organic honey.

Main Course

Miniature tacos are always a hit. Go for an unconventional soy filling instead of your standard tofu. If you have meat-eaters coming, try to uninvite them.

Dessert

Fancy donuts have been cropping up, small bakeries creating unique and unconventional donuts that challenge our notion of what donuts are. Fill them with dragon fruit jam. Make a hibiscus flower glaze. Or serve a piece of raw dough and call it deconstructed. Your postmodernist friends will love it.

A After Dessert Coffee

Offer cold brew coffee and kombucha.

*In between each course, each guest should be given a shot of kale juice as a palate cleanser. **In order to destroy conventionally courses created by mainstream society, rearrange the order completely. ***All hot food should be extremely hot so that by the time the guests have finished Instagramming their food, it will be at an edible temperature. ***Swap vegetables with what you csa box has made available to you. ****If cooking is too stressful to deal with, get a food truck.

Preferably one that has kimchi tacos. *****Claim that most of the food came from the farmer’s market, even if it came from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. ******Don’t forget to send off your guests with a gift! Send them home with a mason jar filled with something fun like homemade pickles or homemade ketchup so they can display it at home while eating mass-produced, store-bought items. •

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Dinner At Zooey Deschanel’s House as Imaginged by Michelle Lee

INSTAGRAM 101: THE ART OF THE SELFIE

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HowNottoBeing be CoolCoolby

By Missy Brewer

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on’t touch the mainstream. Don’t look at the mainstream. Don’t even think about the mainstream. If you think about the mainstream, you will want to be a part of it. Yes, the mainstream can be enticing with its Starbucks specialty drinks and empowering Beyoncé albums, but you must resist. If you fall into the mainstream you are just like everyone else. You will have lost your individuality and fallen in with the cookie-cutter, faceless swarm of people who follow the latest Cosmo trends without thought. Keep your mainstream urges pushed deep down so that no one will ever suspect your secret longings beneath your many layers of scarves, cardigans, ironic socks, and beanies. Don’t follow the mainstream and you will find in yourself a new sense of belonging, fulfillment, and identity. You will be cool. (But don’t let anyone know that you’re cool.

Because you’re not. Cool is the mainstream and you are not the mainstream.)

The best way to avoid the mainstream is to subvert it. Rebellion is in your blood—we are the generation spawned from the earth-loving, student-protesting, sex-driven youth after all—so use it. Rebelling against the mainstream involves embracing these keywords: unknown, obscure, vintage, reusable, and indie. All of these take the mainstream culture’s love for the trending and popular and directly opposes them. By basing all of your entertainment and lifestyle choices on these words you will find yourself at the center of hipster culture. For your easy reading convenience, the common forms of entertainment* have been divided and suggested titles have been provided. While a large part of the hipster lifestyle is knowing about movies, music, TV series, and books before anyone else, a short section on features of the hipster lifestyle is included in this guide.

Follow with care, and you’ll have transcended the dangers of mainstream right into the arms of hipsterdom. *While these are the “common forms,” hipsters maintain their mysterious status by experiencing entertainment through more inconvenient mediums. The best way to do this is to either go vintage or extremely modern. Music may best be played on records or be stored digitally. Books must be bought from small, used book stores that are barely making a profit or on the latest

kindle. Movies can be viewed at obscure dollar theatres that appear as if they may house a couple of fugitives and their mothers. Netflix is really too mainstream, so you should really own the complete sets of TV shows to watch them on an outdated TV screen that is not connected to cable. No HD because the vintage set balances out the modern discs. If you do want to stream movies or TV shows, find obscure online sites. You can then spend your savings on more mason jars rather than buying into Netflix’s consumerist, capitalist scheme (Sure, they may seem like a worthy company, but you have to have a stance against it for some reason).

Visual Entertainment NonBasics for the

In order to obtain hipster cred, you have to maintain a tricky balance between knowing the current, popular movies and TV shows (so that you can avoid them), making sure that you have a vault of obscure movie and TV show references that you use (so that absolutely no one else will understand and you can come out victorious in your obscure knowledge), watching slightly more well-known movies and TV shows (so that you can discuss these in intricate analysis with your hipsters compatriots), and being the first to see low-budget independent films that are mostly shot with shaky cam (attending independent film festivals are preferable, but aim for the ones with less media coverage. Then you will undoubtedly have “seen it first”). If you end up trapped in the mainstream film industry, backtrack and pretend that you’ve never seen it. It doesn’t matter if you loved Olaf ’s heart-warming dreams or feel that “Let it Go” is your personal anthem. That’s the mainstream and you are not allowed to be there. So banish those catchy tunes, pronounce Idina Menzel’s name wrong (but not John Travolta’s flub—that would mean that you watched the Oscars and that is about as mainstream as you can get), and retreat to your incensed room where you can watch your vintage films and ironic TV shows in peace.

There is a wide array of movies in the world, and if you find yourself referencing one that everyone has seen—or not understanding a reference that a fellow THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 49

hipster is making—your reputation could be in serious trouble. Start with movies that are commonly referenced in hipster circles, such as Donnie Darko, Being John Malkovich, Amélie, Trainspotting, The Big Lebowski, Blade Runner, and Adventureland. While mainstreamers may have seen or heard of these, you will know them more intimately and intensely. Dark, psychological movies of the ‘80s and ‘90s are perhaps the most valued among hipster companions, and they will solidify your knowledge of what is “hipster cool.” You may also need to reach the surface-level, well-known but often-referenced movies—Edward Scissorhands, Heathers, and Pulp Fiction. Be very careful of relying on these too much and instead use these to impress if you find yourself in a mainstream setting (Of course avoid these social situations by hiding in dirty coffee houses and record stores, but it does happen in this terrifying world we live in).

A prime example of mainstream-impressive movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This Jim Carrey/ Kate Winslet mind-bender is far too cliché and wellknown in the hipster community, but whip out your extensive analysis of this 2004 film and mainstreamers will revere you as their hipster god.

Being impressive in hipster circles is more difficult, but with confidence and digging through dusty bins in shady video rental stores you will find what you need.

Some recommendations: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, A Clockwork Orange (also a book, which, of course, is better), Melancholia, and C.O.G. Broader categories to explore would be Sophia Coppola movies (she is the queen of hipster directing), esoteric re-makes of Shakespeare’s plays (the more interpretation needed the better), and documentaries of all shapes and sizes (aim for ones about the environment and social change to impress in hipster circles).

Watching TV shows while maintaining your hipster reputation may be more difficult, but an indication of a series to reference is if it was cancelled before its time.

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If the ending is left unfinished than you will have to watch it and speculate its possibilities as well as lament its premature death. A prime example: Freaks and Geeks.

This 1999 series about marginalized high school groups only ran for one season, but will allow you to claim that you knew about James Franco and Seth Rogen before they were stars. Flight of the Concords—a 2 season series based on a real-life comedy-duo—is another discontinued show packed with humor to reference. For an introspective look at your hipster tendencies, Fred Armisen’s satirical sketch comedy Portlandia is modern and crucial. While never labelling yourself as a hipster and always denying the title when someone calls you it, you have to watch Portlandia as an ironic act of viewing and criticizing satirized hipster culture while recognizing that you are a part of that culture because you are viewing and criticizing it. If you intend to gain any credibility as an obscure TV master, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks is essential. The early ‘90s murder mystery was cancelled before its conclusion, but also boasts some of the strangest characters and scenes in the realm of TV. Really, you could become a master of the eccentric and vintage by watching all of Lynch’s work. Even if you don’t understand it—which you probably won’t— put on your best poker face and make it up.

Watching cartoons that seem to be made for children, but ultimately have a larger adult viewership will give you the ironic flair to complete your TV reputability. Current series to watch and keep up with are Adventure Time (Take care. Many people know and love Adventure Time. Be better than them by watching every single episode and referencing the lesser-known ones), Gravity Falls, and Steven Universe. Young adult-based, animated shows to have extensive knowledge of are Daria (a nice, vintage show to add to your repertoire) and Bob’s Burgers (heed the same advice as with Adventure Time).

Audio Pleasure for the Musically Educated

If you own the following, you must get rid of it immediately (preferably by recycling, because, you know, the environment): A modern radio that can access all stations, Apple headphones, Beats headphones, CDs, and surround sound systems. Radios must look as if one of fdr’s fireside chats just came out of it, and it is really only used for decoration. If you have a vintage, functioning radio, npr is to only acceptable program to broadcast. Headphones will serve as a listening device as well as a fashion accessory. They must be oversized and distinguished from mainstream, Beats-inspired headphones. Wear your headphones even if they are not connected to a listening device so that you can bypass mainstreamers trying to get your attention on the sidewalk. Occasionally moving your head to the imaginary beat will add to the illusion while also implying that you understand the music on a deep, harmonic level. Your music should be kept digitally—although not through iTunes—or on cassettes and records. Live, instrumental renditions on piano or guitar are far preferable to playing music on a sound system. If you must have a sound system, make sure its off-brand.

Your music choices will distinguish you amongst the mainstream music snobs. One option is the indie route.

Artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Daughter, Andrew Bird, Ben Howard, Birdy, Clock Opera, Banks, Chvrches, Haim, and Andrew Belle will give you a good range and solidify your space in the indie music scene. More basic versions of indie music would be songs by Bastille, Mumford and Sons, Of Monsters and Men, Lana Del Ray, and Bon Iver. Everyone else will likely have heard of these singers, so while they have the breathy and instrumental elements that are key to the indie genre, do not rely on them to give you the refined taste that you will need. Typical artists to reference in hipster circles that vary from indie would be Foxygen, Charli

xcx (Careful. She has gotten more attention since collaborating with Iggy Azalea), Mac Demarco, Childish Gambino, Arcade Fire, Yung Lean, and Arctic Monkeys (for their vintage flair). Being well-versed in underground, extremely alternative music will allow you to ascend into music-hipster royalty. Try listening to singers such as Chelsea Wolf, Xiu Xiu (older, therefore even more credible), Wildbirds and Peacedrums, Baths, Julia Holter, iamamwhoaim (just the name will be enough for hipster legitimacy), Evangalista, Sea Oleena, Claire Diterzi, Fever Ray, and White Hinterland. The deeper you can delve into obscure music, the closer you will be to achieving virtuosity in hipsterdom.

Printed Amusement for the Pretentious at Heart

You would not be revered as a hipster buff if you didn’t read, reference, and carry around pretentious and/ or remote literature. Find the best of these by frequenting locally-owned, and probably struggling, used book stores. If you buy a book for its full price, you’ve made a grave mistake. Barnes & Noble stores are unnecessary for your existence. Go for the books that are faded and falling apart so that it looks like you were the one who has read it an indistinguishable amount of times. Borrowing books from libraries is also an acceptable way of getting new reading material, proving that you love to read, but just don’t have the extra money to spend on buying books in our destructive market economy. Don’t be afraid to explore different genres, especially the ones that scream academia, no matter how dry they are. Biographies and the anthropology and sociology sections are well-advised places to start for these grievously under-appreciated genres.

However, to have a well-versed knowledge of books often referenced by hipsters, dive into classic literature first. Coming of age/rebellion, psychological, alternative universe and existential books are advisable guideTHE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 51

lines to follow when choosing books. Anything from the Beat or Counterculture generations are ideal. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road is essential to read if you ever hope to have respect as a hipster. Don’t be too afraid to read common classics such as George Orwell’s 1984, J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye or Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.

With an appropriate amount of in-depth analysis you will quickly rise above any high school student who thinks that the book “really gets them” (because we all know that the truth is that the book gets you. And no one else). Modern starters are Stephen Chbosky’s Perks of Being a Wallflower, and John Green’s Looking for Alaska. Read with care, however—Perks hit a wave of recent popularity in 2012 when a movie adaptation was released and Green has been in the media spotlight frequently for The Fault in our Stars. Extensive knowledge of these novels would be relevant in mainstream circles only, so avoid flaunting them in front of your hipster friends.

Kurt Vonnegut will be your guide through the pretentious and satirical literature of the mid-20th century. Slaughterhouse-Five is an adequate introduction, but also commonly taught in schools. To be more obscure, read Cat’s Cradle, Sirens of Titan, or Welcome to the Monkey House. Chuck Palahniuk will also serve as a role model author. Though Fight Club has gained popularity and a cult following that consists mostly of angst-ridden teens, don’t be ashamed to read this book as an exploration of where much of hipster culture begins.

Reference some of his other works, such as Choke, to display your comprehensive knowledge of his writing.

Other obscure books to reference with frequency are If on a Winter’s Night by Italo Calvino (Calvino is the ideal pretentious author, so quote his works regularly), A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Neuromancer

by William Gibson (for the ‘80s, cyber-punk crowd), 52

and Howl by Allen Ginsberg (it’s very impressive if you can quote long sections of this lengthy poem).

An alternative way to showcase your knowledge in books is by reading tomb-like novels that are overwhelmingly dry, but easy to use as examples of your reading prowess. Grab bricks such as Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, and James Joyce’s Ulysses. Even if you don’t make it through the dense pages, pretend and keep pretending. Of course you will have to be able to say when you’ve read a book before anyone else, so keep up-to-date with alternative books. Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto will practically be a handbook for your life, Dave Eggers’s A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius will be the proof of your staggering genius, and Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting will be your guide to the punk, druggy scene that you should not go near (because punk is the early 2000s and that is an era that does not exist in your hipster mind), but with which you must be familiar (because the drugs could be relevant to your recreational living).

If reading long stretches of text becomes too much of a burden—because let’s face it, there is not enough coldbrewed coffee in the world to get you through some of the required, dense readings—graphic novels are an acceptable, relatively unexplored territory. You can start with Alan Moore’s Watchmen and V for Vendetta (Don’t watch the movie adaptations or else they will influence your pure analyses with mainstream adorations). Continue then to delve deeper into lesser-known graphic novels such as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim Series (go far beyond the movie adaption by reading and referencing small moments in the series).

Reading and quoting poetry is an integral part of having a literature-based expertise in the hipster community. Unlike novels, most poetry is acceptable to consume because of its expressive and dramatic nature. As with literature, any works from the Beat generation are a basic foundation. It’s also very easy to go classic or modern with poetry and still remain relevant. Try your hand at writing to really become a connoisseur of literature.

Start with a blog where you can express your anxieties about your bike repair, progress to poems with unreadable forms, and then graduate to short stories and novels with a misunderstood protagonist who is described with such an abundance of adjectives that make it look as if a thesaurus has thrown up on the page.

Superior Aesthetic Living

Knowing what you can and cannot watch, listen to and read is only a part of the grand scheme of the hipster lifestyle. You must spend time and energy in developing the right kind of taste in these recreational activities, but you cannot appear to have tried. Hone a particular brand of sarcasm of irony to use as your humor. Everything comes naturally to a true hipster and an overall sense of superior knowledge, understanding, and ease is core to the hipster personality. If you must interact with mainstreamers maintain your loftier sense of self and you will not be brought down by their common obsessions.

Style yourself as if it is perpetually October and you can’t pay your heating bills. Scarves are appropriate for all times of year, warm colors and jewel tones are preferable, and wear so many layers that you gain five pounds.

Either don’t accessorize at all or wear so much jewelry that you shine when sunlight hits you and you jingle

like its Christmas (which, by the way, is a holiday you should pretend not to care about because of its reliance on consumerism, but is nonetheless irresistible because of the persistence of the aesthetic that you live by). Wear patterns, flannels, uncommonly-shaped hats and shoes.

Of course, everything must be bought at a thrift shop and never be touched by an iron.

Your hair must be similarly unkempt. Long hair is often wild and natural; do not shower daily or brush your hair regularly. Short hair is best in outlandish styles, varieties on Mohawks and shaved heads being acceptable. Facial hair can be similarly unique, kept in stylized moustaches or goatees, or in impressively full beards. Only dye your hair in unnatural colors, the more intricate the better. All haircuts and dye jobs should be done by yourself or trusted friends with similar tastes.

Coffee is going to run through your veins, so you better develop a taste for it. Cold-brew coffee drunk in mason jars are typical hipster, but you can surpass that by drinking it out of creative, oddly-shaped mugs. pbr is going to make up the other half of your internal system. Don’t even look at higher quality brands, because pbr is the only acceptable one in the hipster community. A refined taste and criticism in wine is advisable to be truly pretentious. As you are a lover of all things natural, be disposed to purchase organic, vegetarian, or vegan options that are way overpriced but you somehow find the money for. Kale will be the basis of your every meal, or else you will disintegrate into a shameful mess.

Keep with these natural food choices and you can consider yourself of a higher caliber than the mainstream ordinaries.

Rather than buying and driving gas-guzzling cars like your baby boomer parents did, invest in an endurable bike to get you around town. Make sure that the THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 53

bike is in the same vintage, rustic style as all of your other earthly possessions. Because of its probable age and extended use, you will have to spend an insane amount of money to keep it in working order. But unlike the dish-washer or laundry machine that you obviously don’t need, your bike is important. It is simpler to live in a hipster-ridden city, such as Portland because you will be able to travel and purchase goods the ways you prefer. Dating other hipsters will be easier here and there will be less of a risk of beginning a relationship with a mainstreamer.

Above all, remember the following: You heard of it first. You know it best. You are more invested. And you are not a hipster. •

works cited “The 50 Coolest Books Ever.” ShortList.com. ShortList Magazine. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.

Cramer, Rob. “You’re Probably A Hipster If You Watch These 7 TV Shows.” TheRichest. TheRichest.com, 8 May 2014. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.

“How to Be a Hipster.” WikiHow. MediaWiki. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

“Popular Graphic Novels Books.” Goodreads. Goodreads Inc. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.

“Popular Hipster Books.” Goodreads. Goodreads Inc. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. **And a shout-out to Aaron Pedrone for being the biggest music hipster I know and giving me those lists of musicians.

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THE PHOTOGRAPHER FRIEND: The One That Takes Strangely Artful Pictures of you For No Reason

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the Taste of Ink Body Art Versus Identity Establishment

By Missy Brewer

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round the globe, a growing community of artists are expressing themselves through various mediums and styles, effectively generating a whirlwind of creative outpouring. Swirling around in this whirlwind—alongside outlets such as interactive theatre, art exhibitions that incorporate videography, performance pieces as political statements, and more—is the practice of tattooing. Tattoos have become a legitimate form of artistic expression that uses ink as its medium and the body as a canvas. The rise in the popularity of tattoos over recent years is incredible. According to Nina Jablonski, an anthropology professor at Penn State who wrote Skin: a Natural History, “Tattoos are more common now than they ever have been before,” and she’s talking globally. People of all ages and nationalities are adorning their bodies with words, symbols, pictures—pretty much anything you could imagine and then some. The reasoning behind this sudden interest in tattooing could be as simple as the growing need to confirm identity. With the milieu of social issues that permeate our modern world, we struggle in solidifying identity and getting tattoos that represent our chosen identities is one solution to the struggle.

Typically in Western culture, tattoos were reserved for the overtly masculine (sailors, bikers, war vets etc.) and people who lived “alternative” lifestyles (punks, goths, musicians, etc.). Tattoos marked the outsiders, those who strayed from the cultural norms. Today tattoos can still mark those who intend to defy the prescribed rules, but it is also fairly common to see “normal” people (suburban mothers, business men, sorority girls, etc.) with at least one tattoo. The number and placement of tattoos is now what defines those who live outside the norm. A collection of tattoos on the arms, legs, and upper torso—pretty much anywhere that is typically visible—separates potential hipsters from mainstreamers who may want a “casual” tattoo, such as a simple star. A

sleeve of tattoos indicate an intense dedication to both the art and the expense (a large tattoo may cost upwards of $500). Simply getting tattoos in a spot that is not usually covered by clothing is an act of nonconformity—hipsters’ favorite acts, of course—because although tattoos have become more common, there are still strong negative associations with them. Most entry-level jobs, such as fast food restaurants and grocery stores, require their workers to cover up tattoos if they have them or else they cannot work. When adults see members of younger generations getting tattoos, a common “concern” of theirs is that the millennials will not get jobs because of the marks they have chosen to put on their bodies. The job-eligibility concern is commonly paired with the “but-it-won’t-look-good-when-you-wrinkle” one. When four out of ten millennials have tattoos (according to Pew Research, based in Washington), that means that there are a lot of young adults being told what to do with their chosen identity expression by a lot of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.

Certainly the designs of tattoos indicate the identity of the wearer. “Normals” may get a single tattoo that indicates family or friendship. Memorial tattoos are becoming popular, according to Australian-based tattoo artist Tony Cohen. People have come into Cohen’s shop to get words, numbers, symbols or portraits of love ones—including pets—who have passed. There is also, of course, the ever-popular name of a partner written in cursive that may or may not need to be removed if/when the relationship flops. Hipsters tend to get tattoos that are vague and probably pretentious, requiring onlookers to understand obscure allusions and deep symbolism.

Popular culture tattoos are also prevalent, with customers getting portraits of characters from and references to beloved and quote-ridden series such as Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. Hipsters’ tattoo choices solidify their identities by permanently advertising what they

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like, their aesthetic, and their lifestyles to the general public. Based on tattoo choices alone, people choose with whom they socialize, whether its mainstreamers indicated by their “basic” tattoos, or the more stylized tattoos of hipsters.

Some people—both hipster and mainstream—have “ethnic” tattoos that they find beautiful because they are “exotic” and “foreign.” Even if the wearer had celebratory intentions, these designs and images are culturally appropriative and therefore problematic. “Tribal” tattoos are common among men and are often displayed on their upper arms and/or chest. This style and placement has been taken namely from peoples in the Polynesian region, which includes the Samoan, Maori (in New Zealand), and Hawaiian peoples. In these cultures the intricate tattoos represent the placement of the wearer within their social hierarchy, their character, and their skill. It could also function as a visual capture for their life force, or “mana.” Aztec and Mayan designs are also popular in today’s tattoos without the wearers knowing their original significance or meanings. Native American culture is often appropriated through tattoos when people of non-native descent decide to tattoo feathers, dream catchers, headdresses, or portraits of indigenous people onto their bodies. All of these are disrespectful when taken out of their important cultural contexts and worn by white people who, in the majority of instances, oppressed the original cultures. Unfortunately, people with these problematic tattoos regard them as part of their identity and personal aesthetic and fail to realize the extreme disservice they are doing to indigenous cultures.

The origins of tattooing should also be considered when tattoos constitute a large part of identity.

Throughout history tattooing has been used to mark captured prisoners, slaves, and marginalized populations. Ancient Romans branded and marked criminals

and outcasts. During the Nazi regime, concentration camp prisoners were marked with a combination of numbers and letters so that they could be kept track of, like animals often were when they were branded. Those at the top of the hierarchy used tattooing and branding to create binaries between the socially acceptable people and those who were not to be talked to. Hipsters today also use tattoos to create binaries between themselves and everyone else, but they have somehow taken this form of oppression and made it artistic expression that defines them as unique. It’s hard to say whether or not this inversion of meaning is an indication of humanity’s potential to turn the negative into positive, or if it is a disrespect to the populations who were forced to be tattooed as “other.”

Tattooing’s history is not limited to use by oppressive forces. Ancient Egyptian female dancers would have tattoos in abstract dot-dash patterns and in later periods they would have images of the goddess of fertility and revelry, Bes. Peoples of the South Central and Pacific Islands had been using tattoos for centuries before the European sailors arrived—Tahitian girls would have their whole buttocks covered in black ink to mark sexual maturity, Hawaiians tattooed three dots on their tongues to mark that they were grieving, and the Dayak of Borneo had eyes tattooed to their palms as spiritual guides to the next life. In Japan, tattoos had been used for marking criminals as well as artistic expression since the 5thcentury BC. Rebellious merchants and members of the lower-classes were outraged when the wearing of kimonos was banned, so they decided to tattoo body suits of intricate, elaborate designs onto themselves.

The government outlawed this in 1870 because of its eccentricity, which resulted in an underground tattooing community flourishing throughout Japan. Across the globe people have decided to permanently mark their skin as indications of emotional states, life events, and

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means of defiance, altering the Western idea that tattooing is an art that belongs wholly unto them and their cultural identity.

Tattooing is an exciting, older art form that millennials, and even their preceding generations, have popularized. Its inherent defiance of Western social norms in displaying artwork on flesh appeals to anyone who does not fit into the molds created by the hegemony. As an artistic form, tattooing is an insanely beautiful and detailed practice that takes expertise and talent. Positive identities formed by exquisite tattoos are unique to this age because humanity—namely white people—has a disastrous tendency to oppress groups they feel are different and marking skin has been a part of this. Continued disrespect of marginalized groups through the appropriation of indigenous traditions and customs is just as oppressive and is not the kind of artistic expression that new-age artists should be seeking. Identity is partially based on outward appearance, and as cultures across the globe have somehow all chosen tattoos as a valid form of expression, inking skin has become integral to identity and the representation of culture.

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 Works Cited Bearup, Greg. “Generation Ink Is Marked for Tattoo Regret.” TheAustralian.com. The Australian, 29 June 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Brean, Joseph. “From Counter-culture to Mainstream.” NationalPost.com. National Post, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

CyndzaReveur. “Tribal Tattoo Meanings.” HubPages Hub Page Inc, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

Franklin-Barbajosa, Cassandra. “Tattoo: Pigments of Imagination.” NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic Society, Dec. 2004. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

“Introduction of Polynesian Tattoo History.” APolyne sianTattoo.com. A Polynesian Tattoo, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

Rohrer, Finlo. “So Why Do “Normal” People Get Tat toos?” bbc News. bbc, 10 Sept. 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

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The Taste of Ink Body Art Versus Identity Establishment

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the vinyl countdown:

Old School records make a comeback

By Karen Kramarsyck

“Y

ou know, I don’t know why they don’t just put record players in cars.” When Kitty Foreman made this exclamation on That 70’s Show, the laugh track going wild indicated how preposterous such an idea would be. Record players were too big and too fragile to go in a car, thus decreasing their portability which allowed the emergence of cassette tapes, Compact Discs, and mp3 players to become the new way of listening to music. As we push forward, we devise new ways to make our technology even smaller and more convenient. In the 1980s and 1990s, record sales dropped so low it threatened the existence of the industry. Artists of the day ceased to release their albums on vinyl, believing that CDs were more profitable. However, since the early 2000s, the archaic form of entertainment has reemerged on store shelves.

This vinyl revival can be seen in part the doing of a collective group that has been known to push against mainstream society and reach back toward a more retro lifestyle: hipsters.

A vinyl record is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat polyvinyl chloride disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove, which usually starts near the periphery and ends near the center of the disc.

Records are generally described by their diameter in inches, the rotational speed in revolution per minute (rpm) at which they are played, and their time capacity resulting from a combination of those parameters. The phonograph disc record was the primary medium used for music reproduction until late in the 20th century, replacing the phonograph cylinder record, by the 1920s.

By the late 1980s, digital media, through the Compact

Disc, had gained a larger market share, and the vinyl record left the mainstream in 1991, though they continue to be manufactured and sold. In 2009, 3.5 million units shipped in the United States, including 3.2 million albums, the highest number since 1998.

The phonautograph, patented by Léon Scott in 1857, used a vibrating diaphragm and stylus to graphically record sound waves as tracings on sheets of paper, purely for visual analysis and without any idea of playing them back. These tracings can now be scanned and digitally converted in audible sound. Phonautograms of singing and speech made by Scott in 1860 were played back as sound for the first time in 2008. Along with a tuning fork tone and unintelligible snippets recorded as early as 1857, these are the earliest known recordings of sound.

In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.

Unlike the phonautograph, it was capable of both recording and reproducing sound. Edison first tried recording sound on a wax-impregnated paper tabe, with the idea of creating a telephone repeater analogous to the telegraph repeater he had been working on. Although the visible results made him confident that sound could be physically recorded and reproduced, his notes do not indicate that he reproduced sound before his first experiment using tinfoil as a recording medium. The tinfoil was wrapped around a grooved metal cylinder and a sound-vibrated stylus indented the tinfoil while the cylinder was rotated. The recording could be played back immediately. Numerous applications for the phonograph were envisioned, but although it enjoyed a brief vogue as a startling novelty at public demonstrations, the tinfoil phonograph proved too THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 77

crude to be put to any practical use. A decade later, Edison developed a greatly improved phonograph that employed a hollow wax cylinder instead of a foil sheet, which proved to be both a better-sounding and far more useful device. The wax phonograph cylinder created the recorded sound market at the end of the 1880s and dominated it through the early years of the 20th century.

Emile Berliner developed lateral-cut disc records in the United States and named his system the gramophone, distinguishing it from Edison’s wax cylinder phonograph. Berliner’s earliest discs, first marketed in 1889 only in Europe, were five inches in diameter, and were played with a small hand-propelled machine. Both the records and the machine were adequate only for use as toys or curiosities. In the United States in 1894, under the Berliner Gramophone trademark, Berliner started marketing records with somewhat more substantial entertainment value, along with somewhat more substantial gramophones to play them. In 1901 Berliner’s and his manufacturing associate Eldridge R. Johnson’s separate companies reorganized to form the Victor Talking Machine Company, whose products would come to dominate the market for many years. In 1901, ten-inch disc records were introduced, followed by twelve-inch records in 1903. These could play for more than three and four minutes respectively, while contemporary cylinders could only play for about two minutes. Despite Edison’s attempts to compete with the growing popularity of disc records, discs decisively won this early format war during the 1910s. By 1919 the basic patents for the manufacture of lateral-cut disc 78

records had expired, opening the field for countless companies to produce them. Analog disc records would dominate the home entertainment market until they were gradually supplanted by the digital compact disc, introduced in 1983.

Audiophiles have differed over the relative merits of the LP versus the CD since the digital disc was introduced. Vinyl records are still prized for their reproduction of analog recordings; however, the LP’s drawbacks include surface noise, tracking error, pitch variations, and greater sensitivity to handling. While vinyl records do not break easily, the soft material is easily scratched. Vinyl readily acquires a static charge, attracting dust that is difficult to remove completely.

Dust and scratches cause audio clicks and pops. In extreme cases, they can cause the needle to skip over a series of grooves, or worse yet, cause the needle to skip backwards, creating a “locked groove” that repeats over and over—the origin of the phrase “like a broken record.”

Vinyl records can also be warped by heat, improper storage, exposure to sunlight, or manufacturing defects such as excessively tight plastic shrinkwrap on the album cover.

In this day and age, when we are always on the go, it makes sense that we would be relying more and more on digital recordings given their portability. Progress is the American way, and if you cannot put it in your pocket then it is time to leave it behind. What, then, is the meaning of this new wave of vinyl revival?

The term is being used by the media and listeners of music to describe the renewed interest and increased sales of vinyl records that has been taking place in the

Western world since 2006. Since the early 2000s, even as CDs have been largely replaced by digital downloads, vinyl sales have begun growing. Along with steadily increasing vinyl sales, the vinyl revival is evident in the renewed interest in the record shop, the implementation of music charts dedicated solely to vinyl, and an increased output of films dedicated to the vinyl record and culture. Though many sales in vinyl are of modern artists with modern styles or genres of music, the revival has been considered to be a part of the greater revival of retro style, since many vinyl buyers are too young to remember vinyl being a primary music format.

Vinyl record sales have been gradually increasing, with the global trade value going from $55 million in 2007, to $66 million in 2008, to $73 million in 2009, to $89 million in 2010, to $116 million in 2011, and to $171 million in 2012. Number one on the U.S. Top 10 for 2012 vinyl LP charts was Blunderbuss by Jack White, followed by Abbey Road by The Beatles. Mumford & Sons made two appearances on the chart, with Babel at number three and Sigh No More at number five. The amount of sales made by this “hipster” band might speak to just why the vinyl industry is making a comeback.

When you type “vinyl records” into your Google search bar, the third link to appear is for the Urban Outfitters website. This is due in part to the fact that Urban Outfitters is no longer simply the purveyor of provocative clothing for the 18 to 28 year-old hipster demographic. It is also now the leading seller of vinyl albums in the world, according to a Buzzfeed report. “Music is very, very important to the Urban customer,” said Calvin Hollinger, the company’s chief administrative officer, at a meeting with analysts, as

reported by Buzzfeed. “In fact, we are the world’s number one vinyl seller.” While older vinyl lovers have cited their love of the sound quality and album art, it has been speculated that vinyl is now being purchased as a fashion accessory by Millennials who grew up with Spotify and Pandora. Joe Veix of Death and Taxes says that vinyl is now “bought not for the music it contains, but for the lifestyle it conveys.” In her article on the International Business Times website, Barbara Herman asks “Is ‘get out of my record store’ the new ‘get off my lawn?’” She may have a point. If this vinyl revival that Urban Outfitters is helping to spur is simply a trend for hipsters, then older generations may have reason to be offended and defensive of what they valued as they grew up.

While the vinyl industry appears to be making a comeback, vinyl records still make up only a marginal percentage of overall music sales. When pirating free music for your iPod is just a mouse-click away, spending on average forty dollars for one record—that will most likely sit on your shelf because you do not have the time to devote to the whole process of listening to a vinyl—seems almost absurd. Despite the pleasure such a process can bring, many would argue that spending ten dollars on iTunes for music you can take with you anywhere you ago is far more practical. Although record sales have been increasing every year since 2006, who knows if this trend will continue? If vinyl reemerges in the mainstream, its novelty lost once again, will it become off-putting to hipsters-the very group fueling its revival? Record stores may become a thing of the past again, and you will need to dust off your parents’ old records. • THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 79

An OPen letter to my peers: Dear Fellow Millennials,

L

et’s have a talk. Put down your phone, the salad you’re Instagramming can wait.

It’s time we stop lazing about, expecting handouts everywhere we go. An estimated 59% of us are in college. That 41% of you who aren’t in college, well why not?

Our parents told us that the best way to succeed in life is to go to college and get an education, and how arrogant would we be if we just ignored their advice?

Don’t know what you want to study? That’s fine. Still go to college. Know you don’t want to go to college?

That’s fine, but still go to college. Instead of ignoring their advice, ignore the fact that tuition has increased 538% over the last 28 years.

Don’t let that price tag turn you off. Pay no attention to the continued privatization of a college education.

Join the rest of us who decided a mountain of debt is definitely worth the college experience. The average student loan debt is about $27,000 with the national total being $1.1 trillion (and growing). But isn’t that worth it to join the College Club? What else will you talk about with your friends if not about your inability to make loan payments? Anyway, worst comes to worst, you can always go to grad school to defer those government loans for just a little it bit longer.

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that Millennials read more than those who are over-30.

To which I respond, what are we doing? Reading? In this economy? Are we so lazy that we would rather read than be contributing members to society? We are just wasting our time to words on a page. When has reading ever helped anybody?

If you’re unemployed, maybe you should apply to some jobs instead of complaining. And after realizing you need 2+ years of experience to even be considered for an entry-level job, pull up your boots just a little bit higher and apply to those unpaid internships that everyone else is competing for. I mean, who cares if it isn’t your area of interest or relevant to your career. It’s like that old motto: An unpaid internship is better than no unpaid internship.

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At this point in your life, you might be disillusioned about employment and the job market and the economy, but what else are you going to do? Live in the woods?

Well, Sallie Mae can find you in the woods. You could shoot yourself into space, and Sallie Mae would still find you. But on the plus side, if you were ever kidnapped, Sallie Mae would find you before the police do.

If we just put down our phones and turned off our computers and really applied ourselves, I just know we can make our parents proud of us. Then we too could contribute to Baby Boomer and Gen-X hobbies like deforestation, crashing the housing market, causing an economic recession, corporate bailouts, over-depending on fossil fuels, and blaming the younger generation for all of our problems. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

And enough with our “slacktivism.” Since when has tweeting changed anything? (Ignoring #YesAllWomen, #BringBackO urGirls, # NotYourAsianSidekick, #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, #HandsUpDon’tShoot, and countless others that brought attention to events and experiences not covered by mainstream media.) We all know Twitter is for airing our grievances about that one girl in the office who won’t stop stealing other people’s lunches not for creating solidarity between marginalized groups who otherwise wouldn’t have a platform to be heard.

It is so like us to think that something like tweeting could change the world. What ever happened to good old fashioned riots and protests? Setting a car on fire isn’t just a post-football/baseball/soccer game activity.

What’s that? What if you get arrested during a protest and then can’t find work because of a criminal record so you default on your college loans? Or you get injured when picketing and can’t go to the hospital because you don’t have health insurance? Well, these all sound like personal problems that you could prevent by having jobs. And if you do have jobs that don’t let you take time off to go to events like this, well that’s okay.

Because at least you’re doing something productive that contributes to the perpetuation of a broken economy created by the older generations’ choices.

Fellow Millennials, it’s time we grew up and realized we aren’t entitled to a living wage, a roof over our heads, and food to eat. How selfish and lazy of us to think that basic human necessities like food and shelter are a given, it’s no wonder newspapers and magazines love to publish thinkpieces speculating about the future because we aren’t contributing. We simply aren’t pulling our weight! And let’s face it with all the student loans we carry, it’s a lot of weight.

We need to stop blaming our problems on the generation that came before us. It’s not their fault that their reckless behavior when young had detrimental consequences on the next generation. They had no idea. So find a Generation Xer (someone born between 1960 and 1980) and apologize for being self-absorbed, narcissistic, lazy, whiny, and entitled. Even though they created the social and economic situation we were born into, that’s just another one of our silly excuses to place the responsibility elsewhere.

We might be overworked and underpaid but not having things like the student debt crisis, rising housing costs, and the complete lack of jobs solved is just another example of us being lazy. Do we really think other people (you know, like people in Congress and other political offices and bankers who also happen to be the very people who put us in this situation) are going to clean up this mess for us? Ugh, we’re the worst.

I don’t know how many of you have made it to the end of this letter. Because it’s not in list form with accompanying cat pictures, I understand that it can be difficult to fully comprehend. Even I lost track of what I was trying to say a couple times.

Signed, Michelle Lee •

Sources Donegan, Ryan. “The Numbers Behind Why Millennials Are ‘Generation Frustration’” Huffington Post 24 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

Jamrisko, Michelle, and Ilan Kolet. “College CostsSurge 500% in U.S. Since 1985: Chart of the Day.”Bloomberg 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

Malcolm, Hadley. “Millennials’ Ball-and-chain: Student Loan Debt.” usa Today 1 July 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

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fashion statement season by gabrielle uhrig

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“Fetch” never happened: How Words Evolve Courtesy of Michelle lee

q

hipster (n) 1941

hip (ajd) + ster (suffix)

one who is hip came from hepster (n) 1938 US slang

hip (adj.) 1904/hep (adj) 1908

well-informed, knowledgeable, “wise to,” up-

to-date; smart, stylish US slang

hepster , equivalent of hep-cat (n.)

1938, hip-cat (n.) 1959 hep-cat

an addict of jazz, swing music, one who is ‘hep’

US slang

cat (n) (other than whiny domesticated felines) 1922

an expert in, or one expertly appreciative of jazz US slang

he word “hipster” came around in 1941, with the T first mention of it being in J. Smiley’s Hash House Lingo. Definition: a know-it-all. Hipster, as a word

and concept, is pretty UScentric. Maybe because if you dressed and acted like a hipster in Europe, you would just be European. The breakdown of the word is predictable-from hep to hip, -cat to -ster as the connection to jazz decreased. The suffix -ster is the only word that doesn’t have roots in US slang. Rather, it dates back to Middle Low German, (Middle) Dutch, and modern Frisian. •

q

Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2014. Web. THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 89

P

“Channel Firing”

by Thomas Hardy (1914)

P

That night your great guns, unawares, Shook all our coffins as we lay, And broke the chancel window-squares, We thought it was the Judgment-day And sat upright. While drearisome Arose the howl of wakened hounds: The mouse let fall the altar-crumb, The worms drew back into the mounds, The glebe cow drooled. Till God called, “No; It’s gunnery practice out at sea Just as before you went below; The world is as it used to be: “All nations striving strong to make Red war yet redder. Mad as hatters They do no more for Christés sake Than you who are helpless in such matters.

“That this is not the judgment-hour For some of them’s a blessed thing, For if it were they’d have to scour Hell’s floor for so much threatening....

“Ha, ha. It will be warmer when I blow the trumpet (if indeed I ever do; for you are men, And rest eternal sorely need).”

So down we lay again. “I wonder, Will the world ever saner be,” Said one, “than when He sent us under In our indifferent century!”

And many a skeleton shook his head.

“Instead of preaching forty year,” My neighbour Parson Thirdly said, “I wish I had stuck to pipes and beer.”

P

Again the guns disturbed the hour, Roaring their readiness to avenge, As far inland as Stourton Tower, And Camelot, and starlit Stonehenge.

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The Marriage of Man’s Core Contradictions: An Analysis of Thomas Hardy’s “Channel Firing”

By Melanie Canales

U homas Hardy’s “Channel Firing” precedes the deT struction and carnage of World War i by illustrating the balance of man’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. Though he was of the Victorian era, Hardy heralds the modernist movement with the shift in poetic thought. More than Victorian sorrow, he observed the world with a stern eye and described it with accompanying brutal honesty. Much of his poetry is an observation of memory and the metaphysical. In “Channel Firing,” the poem itself embodies the balance of destruction and creation, man’s core struggle. Though humans tend toward entropy in a manner which God and the generations of long ago pity, Hardy illustrates with his poignant final stanza that the darkest aspects of man are balanced by their ability to create. Man crafts religious doctrine, mythology, literature, poetry, and entire civilizations which then are torn down and reborn constantly. However, scraps always remain to recall to

life what can get buried beneath cannon blasts of human nature careening forward. With “Channel Firing,” Hardy reflects upon human nature’s destructive tendencies and reconciles it with its ability to create vessels of meaning able to withstand time’s erosive force, asserting that this balance is what defines humanity above all else.

The God figure in “Channel Firing” expresses the flaws of using religion as an excuse to destroy, suggesting that it is not for the love of a deity man fights, but to expel the darkness in themselves. In characteristic Hardy fashion, he establishes a setting fraught with the minutest details. These details become progressively smaller, transitioning from “hounds” to “mouse” to “worms,” all responding to earth’s quaking at man’s cannons. Hardy introduces God into the poem after this catalog of animals which, in comparison, pale in light of a deity. The juxtaposition commenced by the catalog peaks with the THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 91

line, “the glebe cow drooled” (9). God immediately follows, speaking to dead men of ages long past to inform them of what awakened them. This build-up to grandiosity from the mundane suggests that everything in creation builds upon itself, thus everything has significance in relation to each other. God booms throughout the following four stanzas, illuminating the darkness of human nature that remains consistent with the proceeding generations of those buried in the tombs. He declares, “Just as before you went below; The world is as it used to be” (11-12), emphasizing that the mayhem, the cannons foreshadowing the atrocities of World War i, have not, and most likely will never, change. He alludes to religion as the purpose for making ‘red war yet redder,’ saying, “They do no more for Christes sake/ Than you who are helpless in such matters” (15-16). God highlights the gap between belief and bloodshed, proclaiming the banality of destroying what Christ died to protect and save. By rendering religion useless as an excuse for war and chaos, Hardy suggests that what men die for, in truth, is the destructiveness of their own nature.

The dead men who narrate “Channel Firing” ponder the purposes of their existences and ever looming Judgment Day, and in doing so, exhibits humanity’s ability for creation, and the force of that creation in affecting even those no longer living. The only cadaver who receives a name, Parson Thirdly, laments a forty year remorse which harkens back to A.E Housman’s “Terrence, This is Stupid Stuff.” Religion shares with poetry the desire to provide solace with faith, to create meaning through deity or turn of phrase, respectively. Parson 92

Thirdly reflects upon his life as harbinger of God’s word and considers it wasted in lieu of a life led more simply, with “pipes and beer” (32). Hardy echoes Housman’s assertion that poetry feeds the soul by expanding further upon that assertion, suggesting that human nature feeds itself not just with destruction, but also with creation.

The final stanza indicates why religion, when expressed with creative force rather than destructive, can evoke something just as powerful as war and chaos. The cannons continue to resound, “Again the guns disturbed the hour,/ Roaring their readiness to avenge” (37-38).

“Roaring” and “avenge” carry violent connotations, suggesting that these cannons embody the very base of man’s destructiveness. However, they are juxtaposed in the last two lines, “As far inland as Stourton Tower,/ And Camelot, and starlit Stonehenge” (39-40). Hardy replicates the funneling catalog imposed earlier in the poem, but instead pans outward with these monuments to history, mythology and religion. The cannons echo back not just to geographical places, but to the places in time those monuments represent. These man-made structures symbolize the culture created around the stories men told, the deities they worshiped, and the battles they fought to preserve themselves. Man, through creation and destruction, has the capacity to reach a poignant level of self-awareness, wherein civilizations and individuals rise and fall, yet the essences of what they create remain, to witness the earth’s revolutions. This syntactic panning out encapsulates “Channel Firing” as well; Hardy recognizes the human flaws which will bring about World War I, and he does the only thing THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 93

N 1. he can to reconcile it: create. Thus, Hardy showcases the marriage of man’s core juxtaposition, his tendency for creation when he so often destroys himself and those around him. Rather than condemn man, this saves him, rendering the fear of God’s postponed Judgment Day irrelevant in the lieu of man’s ability to live with himself.

With “Channel Firing,” Hardy emphasizes the merit in being a flawed human being capable of creating and destroying entire empires. He asserts that though destructiveness may be an inextricable part of human nature, it is also counteracted by man’s need to create, more specifically, to create meaning. Without this meaning, there would be no cadaver in tombs awaiting judgment day, because there would be nothing to judge.

Humans live their lives to the fringe of their nature, and attempt as best they can to balance the contradictions of being. Therein lay World War i, as Hardy foresaw, and “Channel Firing,” a brick of a tower, a cannon blast bringing with it meaning. According to Hardy, it is in these contradictions that men find their salvation or their downfall. •

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N. f Daddy and Jacquline

By Carson Jordan

Daddy tells me that her name is Jacquline, as he bounces back and forth in skinny jeans on the concrete palace, where tiny wheels woosh by, clicking over the cracks.

Jacquline is six feet tall and green, fine hairs, crystalized, thc.

Her hands reach towards the sky begging for the sun, unable to rest at her sides.

Daddy tells me one day, he’ll be able to make money off of edibles that he’ll sell to college drop outs, and people at the concrete palace.

Jacquline, to be blunt, is a six foot tall sister that I have, that can be trimmed, and dried, and smoked, and to be quite honest, I resent her for it.

THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 95

WELLS’S RESIDENT GODDESS ANSWERS YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS.

96 96 DEAR MINERVA

DEAR MINERVA,

I do not know what to do about how short I am. I always feel like a little kid and it bothers me. Help, please?

Sincerely, Short and Bothered Dear Height Conscientious, You could go through tried (and mostly failed) methods of magic beans, a taffy puller, and insane amounts of milk. But those only work in fairy tales and myths, which I admit I had a hand in and I apologize. The best way to go about this is to participate in some serious self-loving. There are millions of different body types around the world and all of them are valid and beautiful. Loving your body is a process and takes time, but with positive thoughts, complimenting yourself daily, and reflection in your beauty, you’ll soon come to realize that your tiny bod is perfect.

DEAR MINERVA,

What is the longest word in the dictionary?

Sincerely, Word-Oriented Dear Word Searcher, The longest word of any major English dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. It is a mouth full, but it refers to a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very small particles, specifically from a volcano. Avoid volcanoes and you can avoid this word as well!

DEAR MINERVA,

How can I exercise better will power when I’m constantly surrounded by delicious food and fun distractions?

Sincerely, Craving Excitement Dear Weak-Willed Soul, If you have responsibilities and assignments to do rather than all of those fun distractions, make a comprehensive to-do list for yourself. Write down everything that needs to get done, check them off when you do them, and then move on to the fun stuff ! If you have too many fun things to do, include those in your to-do list and sprinkle them in with your boring activities. There’s no harm in taking small breaks from your stuffy routine.

THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 97

DEAR MINERVA,

DEAR MINERVA,

How do I tell my roommate to not hang up his wet laundry all the time?

Can we have more garden gnomes on campus?

Sincerely, Mold Preventer Dear Roommate Blues, The easiest and most efficient way to overcome any problem with your roommate is to just talk to him.

Although not hanging up wet laundry may seem an obvious choice to you, he may have a different thought process. Approach him in a respectful manner and tell him that his wet laundry strung around the room is problematic. If he refuses to accommodate to your request, talk to your ra or the Resident Life directors.

It could be time for a roommate switch.

98 98 DEAR MINERVA

Sincerely, Gnome Enthusiast Dear Campus Decorator, I don’t see why not! We could even have a garden full of garden gnomes if that’s your heart’s desire. Talk to Building & Grounds about beautifying the Wells Campus with tiny, bearded men in colorful clothing and they may jump on board. Alternatively, get together a group of eager students, make your own gnomes and place them around campus in a scavenger hunt fashion. It could be the new Wells craze!

DEAR MINERVA,

DEAR MINERVA,

How can I get people to stop talking to me about their problems so I can finish my thesis?

Why do people with blonde hair use black eyeliner to draw on their eyebrows?

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

I Need to Graduate

Color Coordinated

Dear Secluded Senior,

Dear Makeup Expert,

Intentionally isolating yourself from the outside world may the best way to go about this. Find and use the carrel in the library that is in a dark, dusty corner. The harder to find the better, because then your pursuers will get lost and give up. Unfortunately, you will also have to turn off your social media to get away from other people’s drama. Turn off Facebook Messenger, become inactive on twitter and stop answering your phone.

That is a very good question. I don’t personally do this, so I’m not sure I have a definite answer for your curious soul, but I can speculate. These people must like the contrast between the color of their hair and the color of their eyebrows. Opposites can be appealing, especially light and dark, so to their eyes the combination looks nice. We should all be respectful of one another’s makeup choice, but if you want to give people makeup advice, do so in a constructive and positive manner, and then you can see the makeup change you want on campus.

THE SYCAMORE / FALL 2014 99

100

STEPHEN ARMSTRONG '16

“ART SHOW”

VISUAL ARTS CONTEST WINNER