Hipsters (2015)

Ended

How did fixed gear bikes, artisanal cheese, craft beer and long beards evolve from being niche trends to cliches and commodities? The charming but not particularly hip Samuel Johnson digs into the past to find the origins of the cultural stereotype. Acknowledging that the word has now taken on a distinctively negative connotation and that the peak of the contemporary hipster is actually behind us, the six-part series is a light-hearted look back at the cultural phenomenon that was. Johnson sets off on an international odyssey that takes him from Melbourne to New York, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Detroit, Sydney, Tokyo and Shanghai to unpack how and why the now instantly recognisable hipster archetype grew from a localised street subculture to a global commodity, and ultimately a figure of ridicule, within the space of a few short years.