解讀西方的非主流文化
They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing flannel and thick-rimmed glasses while listening to indie music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at second-hand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways.
在大學校園裏，有這樣一羣人變得越來越多——他們穿法蘭絨衣服，戴厚框眼鏡，聽獨立音樂。可能他們喜歡玩一些冷門樂器，喜歡去二手店購物，或是以特立獨行的方式來表達自我。
They call themselves hipsters. Being “hip” used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has evolved into a synonym for “cool”, “edgy” and “quirky”.
他們自稱“潮人”。“潮”一度意味着緊跟潮流步伐。但是漸漸地，這個詞已發展成“酷”、“前衛”以及“另類”的同義詞了。
Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony is central to their culture and offers an interesting paradox.
“潮人”看重獨立思考，信奉政治革新，崇拜創新與智慧。對於“潮人”來說，成爲“非主流”是件痛並快樂着的事情。然而，他們的文化已成爲一種時尚。這一令人啼笑皆非的局面對於他們文化卻有着至關重要的意義，因而形成了一個有趣的自相矛盾的現象。
“I do take things in the mainstream with a grain of salt,” says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University in the US. Polson describes himself as a hipster and says he often questions what determines popularity, especially regarding music.
“我對主流文化持保留意見。”就讀於美國布朗大學的本•波爾森表示。他自稱“潮人”，並表示自己經常質疑是什麼左右着流行趨勢，尤其是在音樂方面。
When lesser-known bands become popular they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster cliché that goes: I used to like that band before it got popular.
當一個小衆樂隊走紅時，他們常常會失去先前的粉絲陣營，而換來新的一批簇擁者。“潮人”們有句著名的老話兒是這樣說的：我曾喜歡過那支樂隊，在它還沒有走紅之前。According to Polson, bands’ music changes when they go mainstream. They become “less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly dwindle for the sake of popularity.”
波爾森表示，樂隊在走向主流後，音樂發生了變化。他們會變得“缺乏實驗精神，做事只是爲了留住粉絲和人氣。爲保持人氣，過去吸引我們的那種原創元素會慢慢減少。”
Many young adults have started to view hipsters’ outlook as cool and are adopting their counterculture mindset themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster niche. Ironically, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly diluted the anti-mainstream culture.
許多年輕人開始覺得“潮人”的外形很酷，並自發接受他們的反主流文化心態。這產生了一批“潮人”專屬的小衆品牌、商店以及音樂。然而出乎意料的是，包括服裝品牌Urban Outfitters和American Apparel在內的一些商店都受到了主流文化的歡迎。似乎這也沖淡了反主流文化。
“A lot of people that are self-defined hipsters aren’t really hipsters, they’re just trying to conform to the non-conformist to seem cooler,” says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unconventional tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster.
就讀於美國歐柏林學院的阿曼達•利奧波德認爲：“許多自稱‘潮人’的人其實名不副實。他們只是試圖通過追隨那些非主流人士，來讓自己看起來更酷。”儘管利奧波德的品味獨樹一幟，似乎是個十足的個人主義者，但她並不認爲自己是個“潮人”。
There is a conflict among hipsters about the very definition of the label. To some, to be a hipster is to be free from cultural constraints. To others, it means wearing a certain style and listening to a specific genre of music. The former constantly strives for uniqueness, while the latter strives not to be mainstream.
對於自身的定義，“潮人”族中間也存在爭論。對於一些人而言，成爲“潮人”意味着擺脫文化的束縛。對於其他人來說，這意味着要穿上特定款式的服裝，聽特定類型的音樂。前者一直努力爭取獨特性，後者則努力成爲非主流。
And yet, the movement is gaining mainstream popularity. “It’s kind of the trend these days; everyone wants to be hip so no one’s hip,” laments Leopold. “There have been hipsters since the seventies, it’s only become popular recently.”
然而，這種趨勢正在主流羣體中普及。利奧波德對此感到遺憾：“這是當下的一種潮流，每個人都想‘潮’，所以每個人都不‘潮’。自70年代以來，‘潮人’便不斷涌現出來，只是最近才大行其道而已。”
Hipsters reject materialism and mock mainstream culture. But are they really beyond material comforts? Do they have any ideas of their own if they despise mainstream so much?
“潮人”抗拒物質主義，嘲笑主流文化。然而他們真的超越了物質享受嗎？如果他們如此鄙視主流文化，那他們對自身又有什麼看法呢？
Christy Wampole, an associate professor of literature at Princeton University, US, is not so sure. She says the hipster is a contradiction in himself and an easy target of mockery. Writing in The New York Times, Wampole paints a less appreciative picture of a typical hipster:
美國普林斯頓大學文學系副教授克里斯蒂•維姆珀對此並不確定。她認爲，“潮人”本身就是個矛盾體，因此很容易成爲嘲笑的對象。維姆珀在寫給《紐約時報》的文章中，將典型的“潮人”描繪成一種並不受外界讚賞的形象。
“The hipster is a scholar of social forms, a student of cool. He studies relentlessly, foraging for what has yet to be found by the mainstream. He is a walking citation; his clothes refer to much more than themselves. He tries to negotiate the age-old problem of individuality, not with concepts, but with material things.”
“‘潮人’是研究社會形態的知識分子，是酷炫的學生。他孜孜不倦地學習，搜尋那些主流文化還未發現的角落。他是一個鮮活的例證，衣着並能體現他們的全部說明。他不是用概念，而是用實實在在的東西試圖探索由來已久的個性化問題。”
