Cool
18 October 2003
Am I obsessed with a critique of the trucker hat aesthetic? If so, what untold anxieties does this make manifest? I'm not sure. All I can say at this point is -- I rather enjoy this quote from a former colleague of mine:
"In case anyone hadn't noticed, a sort of flat, de-historicized
'aesthetics' of working class has become quite hip over the last few
years. Everything from 'Elvis Studies' in academia (no, not
the Don Delillo fiction -- the reality of academia), to 'white trash
parties',
to hipsters at the Cha Cha lounge wearing styrofoam truck driver caps,
and
gas station attendant shirts functioning as fashion on the cover of
the
Spring '03 Push -- working class is 'cool.' Of course, the
reality of
having your electricity turned off or not having enough money to pay for
food
or your rent is magically detached from this celebration of
'working-class
cool.'