According to Zana Faulkner, from DivineCaroline.com, the ’40s was a decade that birthed the iconic “hipsters” with the idea of non-conformity on their minds and free-thinking in their souls.   Spurred by jazz music and the freedom that leaked from the smooth new taste of relaxation begot a lack of definition and an abundance of meaning. These “hipsters” began dressing, living, socializing, even talking in a light that was “hip” rather than the monotonous or “square” way of living they had inherited from the generation before. This “it” crowd of the ’40s primed the walls of a new world of acceptance for generations to come simply by seeing no difference in people based on color, religion, social status, looks, wealth, etcetera. The only differentiation found in this generation was if you ran with the hipsters or were stuck in the tar of segregation you were finding all personal worth and security in materialistic things – rather than the acceptance of one another.
Faulkner continued her exploration of countercultures by describing this next group: the “beatniks.” While the ideas of the “hipsters” involving acceptance to all and open-mindedness ran free for some; in the late ’40s and ’50s a new mold was formed.  This new group threw out the old “it” crowd mold and injected in a deep love of the arts, a passion for learning and a drive for new ideas along with a betterment of politics and the government. While the hipsters of the ’40s tried to forget the troubles of politics, this new generation scraped at the opportunity to change politics in a radical way. The new “it” crowd danced to a much different beat than any other generation before, bringing about its deemed nickname, “beats” or, as the media marketed it, the “beatniks.” The “beatniks” introduced a more sophisticated wardrobe of thick, black-framed glasses, turtlenecks, spiffier pants, (basically clothes reeking color neutrality) and intelligence of style. Diving into jazz music, heart-felt poetry reading, marijuana, politics and sophisticated literature marked the age of the “beats” as an intellectual crowd seemingly lacking only in financial status and normalcy.
The next stand-out generation is that little generational mold of the “hippie.”  The hippies aimed to stray away from convention as much as possible and hand out love and sex on a “come one, come all” basis. Hippies, the generation that introduced the public world to psychedelic drugs, alternative music, tie-dye, Woodstock, prolonged lengths of time without tending to one’s personal hygiene, women’s rights, bell-bottoms, “flower-power,” civil rights, acceptance and love of all, tinkering with the limits of one’s mind and sanity, saving the world from violence and the businessman alike and, of course, peace. This generation stood on the ground of rebellion against “the man” and his tyrannical ways and replaced violence with an abundance of drugs, sex, std’s and that “free love” we have all heard about.
If we hit fast-forward on the generational spectrum and resume play in current day, it seems as though we find ourselves in a case of cultural irony. We find ourselves staring at a generational mold that seems to have taken a bit from each previous one, kindly/hopefully leaving out the fashion sense of the ’90s and personal hygiene of the ’60s. Is this new generation a group of modern day hipster/beatnik/hippie morphs or is that a flattery of our own egoism? Do we resist conformity to make a stand for what we believe or is it just the style we are looking to replicate? Do we have anything new to offer or are we generational copy-cats trying desperately to look as if we don’t care?
I think there is plenty left to offer from this new “hip” generation. There is still an abundance of hatred, judgement, segregation of classes, racism, crime, prejudices, inequality and closed-mindedness  to stray away from and abolish. The question is will the new generation of “hipsters” button up their plaid shirt, adopt a dog, look over their thick, black-rimmed glasses, hop out of their Eno and make a stand? I guess only time will tell.  It’s fun to look the part and “carpe diem” but when it comes down to it, do we stand up to “the man” or give into the judgement?