Comments on: Streaming Pick: “Slacker” (1991)

By: Lost Hillbilly

Lost Hillbilly — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 03:49:00 +0000

I LOVED this film! It always struck me that the lady selling the Madonna pap smear was the Slacker because she graced the cover of the disc I bought and she was the only one “slacking” by using her creativity and energy to try to make money. Just my 2 cents.

By: Guillaume

Guillaume — Mon, 28 May 2012 16:25:59 +0000

In reply to Scott.

Hi Scott, thanks for the comment. I would second what James said. Hipsters have certainly made a comeback in the new millenium ("irony" being their defining attribute) but they have been around since at least the 1940s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(contemporary_subculture). I use the term loosely in my review to designate a group of (young) people who live on the periphery of mainstream culture. They may not value irony as much as today's hipsters but I think they share a similar desire to be "hip."

By: James Frazier

James Frazier — Mon, 28 May 2012 15:35:07 +0000

They could still qualify for the term retroactively, couldn't they? I confess I'm not the best person to discuss the semantics of the word with but when I hear the term I think of a type that one can even find in depictions of American life from the 50s. Is interest in irony a defining trait of the hipster? The people I know personally that I might associate that term with seem more interested in pedantic obsessions with trendy or at least unconventional hobbies.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 28 May 2012 15:21:40 +0000

SLACKER is a wonderful movie, but none of the people in it could be described as "hipsters." In fact, the term didn't even exist 22 years ago when it was filmed. Most of the characters are aimless, Generation X twentysomethings with little interest in irony.