On the use of Birds as some kind of post-modern hip symbol
Hipsters, give it a rest already. Birds are very cool. I know that. I’m named after one, after all. But I’m really sick of the way birds are being used to hawk (ha ha) all manner of “indie” goods, from handmade felt iPod cases to totally made-in-China “distressed” t-shirts at Urban Outfitters. Have any of these people who rock the bird ever woken up at the crack of dawn, while its still dark & chilly-foggy out, gotten in the car while still plucking the sleep-crust from their eyes and driven to a wetlands for an Audobon Society Bird Count? Ok ok, I’m sure there are a few. But I cannot abide any longer the fashion abstraction of the avian. Many birds are ENDANGERED! You want to buy something with a bird on it? Buy an Audobon Society membership. Or buy the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine with the best best best article about birding by Jonathan Franzen.
I’m totally going to throw away all of my bird clothes this weekend. After I wear it to that party tomorrow night, of course.
posted by Robin at Friday, August 12, 2005
3 Comments:
You wanna fuckin fight, Robin? Huh? Do you?
I'm glad I didn't make you a
t-shirt. I cry easily.
--Eric.
(proud maker of birds saying stuff in foreign languages)
Yo I heard that power lines are the new birds...
-Richard Bird
Eric I'm sorry. Your bird shirt is cool. And also I do like bird stuff. I just want to say, tho, that it is funny/interesting how a whole set of the youth is all into birds for no apparent reason. Why are we so into birds? Or fawns, or bunnies, or that kind of innocence-iconography right now? I have theories. I mean, they are totally obvious theories, like the political situation is so foul in our land right now we all want to have wings to fly away on, or adulthood is so frightening/not what we expected that we revert to a childhood bliss through sporting too-small clothes with little baby animals on them. Just walking around in Wicker Park last weekend I saw so much of this stuff I was appalled. This is supposed to be "transgressive?" It is mainly regressive to me. Of course, I do own a handmade felt ipod case (that I made myself) and am enamored of baby animal imagery. But there is a war on, and shit's f-ed up in the minds of our American brethren (45% of the American population literally believes in creationism as FACT -- thank you New Yorker Magazine.) What is the next big thing? I just feel like ACTUAL birds are totally being used in this fashion-commerce. Like I said before, many birds are ENDANGERED.
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