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Alana Brooke Weiss Nydorf Theory of the Interior—Prof. Noah Chasin May 16, 2016
American Mythos and Performative Authenticity—
The Contemporary Speakeasy and the Role of Hipster Ethos in Revising and
Aestheticizing a Moment in United States History
From 1919 to 1932, America subjected its citizens to the “noble
experiment”—thirteen years of attempted alcohol prohibition. While Prohibition
was unanimously regarded as a failed attempt at alcohol reform, the majority of
Americans publically supported the “dry” agenda. The “wet” minority was
characterized as immoral and un-American by their wholesome dry constituents.1
However, despite thirteen years of dry opposition, the wet counterculture
movement succeeded in their quest for repeal of the 18th Amendment. A
counterculture invents means of differentiation to challenge values or norms of
the common culture.2 Arguably, the most significant differentiation between a
wet American and a dry American was participation in illegal alcohol
consumption within the realm of the speakeasy. The speakeasy served as a setting
for acts of opposition to the 18th Amendment for wet America’s counterculture
movement against Prohibition. Despite Prohibition’s repeal over eighty years ago,
1 John J. Rumbarger. Profits, Power, and Prohibition: Alcohol Reform and the Industrializing of America, 1800-1930. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989. 2 Lauren M. Alfrey. The Search for Authenticity How Hipsters Transformed from a Local Subculture to a Global Consumption Collective. Master's thesis, 2010. Washington, DC. 3.
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“speakeasies” continue to exist in New York City, and continue to exist within the
realm of counterculture. However, there is an enormous disparity between the
original speakeasy and the contemporary incarnation. The contemporary
speakeasy appropriates core elements from its predecessor to capitalize on its
status as a site of opposition to societal norms, and offer a vicarious (not to
mention risk-free) experience of rebellion to those who identify with a reductive
amalgamation of modern counterculture movements—the hipster.3
Today’s counterculture movements, as well as their consumption habits,
are shaped by acts of divergence from a perceived dominant class. The mutant
unification of global and historical countercultures into an identifiable consumer
group is evident in the creation of the modern hipster. The defining characteristic
of the hipster consumer group is “the claim to authenticity, uniqueness, and
individuality.”4 However, their consumption practices focus primarily on
derivatives of past symbols of counterculture throughout history, focusing on an
aestheticized interpretation of the past and unable to create new meaning from
this simulacrum. This appropriation-based redefinition of symbols associated
with historical opposition to the mainstream, ironically, not a unique feature of
today’s hipster.
3Douglas Haddow. "Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization." Adbusters #79. July 29, 2008. http://www.adbusters.org/article/hipster-the-dead-end-of-western-civilization/. 4IcoMaly, and Piia Varis. "The 21st-century Hipster: On Micro-populations in times of Superdiversity." European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2015, 1-17. Accessed May 10, 2016. 8.
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Nixon’s V, as in “victory,” signs.5
5Andy Rosen and Jeremiah Manion. "Political Use of Hands: An Illustrated Guide." Boston Globe. October 19, 2014.
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Historically, those who exist at the margins of society are later considered
to be forerunners of social, cultural, and even political change. These outsider
groups are often reviled by their contemporaries and later celebrated by their
successors.6 The subsequent appreciation for counterculture movements within
mainstream discourses is the driving point at the core of the hipster ethos—“I
liked it before it was cool.”7 By identifying oneself as an original supporter, being
an ardent fan years prior to the subject’s mainstream popularity, the hipster
distinguishes himself from the common man under the spell of the inauthentic
consumerist-driven dominant culture. The hipster differentiates himself from
the mainstreamer by consumption of symbolic opposition.
The hipster, however, exists within a globalized, consumer society. While
hipster consumption habits have roots in the appropriation and fetishization of
oppositional cultural zeitgeists of the past, they still exist under the umbrella of
capitalism and neoliberal economic ideals. Within this regard, the consumption
habits and the core values of hipsters become muddled. While striving to
consume products that identify one’s authenticity and individuality in relation to
the dominant culture, the hipster embraces the most mainstream expression of
identification possible—active and passionate participation within the dominant
capitalist, consumer-driven society they aim to oppose.
Hipsters, a generalized transgressive-identity consumer group, are
contextually detached from the symbols they consumer. This leads to either a
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/18/political-use-hands-illustrated-guide/rBAjklG7jH9mixg9yWsOpM/story.html. 6Alfrey,16.7MalyandVaris,9.
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disinterest in, or a lack of regard for the historical subjectivities of these
counterculture reductions. Additionally, the hypocrisy of hipster consumption
and the fetishization of authenticity can only be illuminated in relation to the
inherent inauthenticity of these consumer productions. Aristotle wrote, “things
are called relative, which, being either said to be of something else or related to
something else, are explained by reference to that other thing.”8 Essentially, the
authentic production is deemed authentic due to the existence of an inauthentic
option. With regards to bars in New York City, the inauthentic option is anything
conspicuously popular, where the true roots of the space is lost. An authentic bar
emphasizes “the quality of the ingredients, the expertise of the bartender as a
mixologist and as a provider of personalized service, the intimate experience of
drinking and talking without the bullshit that you see at other bars, like
sickeningly sweet cocktails that cover the taste of cheap liquor, and loud groups
of drunk tourists stumbling and spilling their drinks.”9 In essence, the authentic
bar experience gets back to the basics and avoids all elements that might
associate it with “the sports bar, the nightclub, or the bars people just go to so
they can get laid…all these bars that allow things to [obscure their primary
purpose] of serving cocktails and existing as a space for socialization.”10
The conceptual authenticity of the contemporary speakeasy speaks
strongly to these return-to-roots hipster ideals. The Blind Barber (339 E. 10th
Street, between Avenues A and B) identifies itself as a speakeasy. The front of the
space is a fully functioning barbershop, with an unmarked door on the back wall
8Alfrey,10.9Bartender,TheBlindBarber.May13,2016.10Bartender,TheBlindBarber.May13,2016.
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which slides open to reveal a hidden room. The hidden room is about twelve
times the size of its barbershop façade, and includes an expansive bar with
seating, tables, booths, and even a “back room” (complete with couches,
comfortable seats, coffee tables, numerous framed antique photographs, and two
floor to ceiling bookshelves full of real books) which patrons may reserve for
private events. The Blind Barber also emphasizes its commitment to hipster-
influenced authenticity through a statement on its homepage,
“The barbershop used to be more than just a place to get a haircut or
shave; it was a hub of the community where people came together to
bond, to socialize and to exchange ideas. With the goal of bringing
this camaraderie back in style, Blind Barber, a barber shop and
parlor with locations in New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA and
Brooklyn, NY, has created a concept that goes well beyond cuts and
shaves. By cultivating a men’s grooming line, an influential voice, and
multiple destinations, Blind Barber has expanded into all realms of
the modern man: grooming, cocktails, fashion, and lifestyle.”11
The Blind Barber capitalizes on the desires of the hipster consumer
group, not only through offering classically inspired cocktails with artisanal
ingredients, but also through offering the authentic art of the hand shave.
The bar/ barbershop/ grooming product company/ fashion influencer is a
modern combination—catering to the contemporary consumer as a pseudo-
modern Diderot unity of hipster lifestyle needs. However, before asserting
The Blind Barber’s (in)authenticity as a speakeasy (or even, perhaps, as a
11 Meet Blind Barber. Accessed May 14, 2016. https://www.blindbarber.com.
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barbershop), its emphasis on what once was in defining its present incarnation
must be thoroughly analyzed within a historical context. Additionally, on the
night of Friday, May 13th the bartender [who shall remain unnamed, at his
request] at The Blind Barber, explained that “the website emphasizes the old-
school community value of the barbershop as a hub of social life or whatever to
sell our hair pomade and combs…[however] the emphasis on that throwback
community feel is really equally [applicable to us at] the bar in the back.”
Contemporary speakeasies, like The Blind Barber, have an insidious
existence because their present representation of inconspicuous exclusivity
depends on the erasure of the historical reasons for that sense of secrecy.
Speakeasies, a colossal pillar of Prohibition-era Greenwich Village nightlife,
utilized fake storefronts and hidden bars as well as back room to avoid discovery
and arrest by Prohibition agents. Prohibition enforcement inordinately targeted
the immigrant population, and legal prosecution mainly affected those living in
ethnically dense neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, Harlem, and Astoria.12
However, within the realm of the contemporary speakeasy, the class-based
enforcement of the Volstead Act is invisible. Dry Americans, publically dry
(privately wet) Americans, and the wealthy (and, often, wet), did not need to visit
speakeasies in order to get drunk because they were not targets of Prohibition
(and many had their own alcohol delivered straight to their door).13
12Michael Aloysius Lerner. Dry Manhattan: Class, Culture, and Politics in Prohibition-era New York City, 1919-1933. New York: New York University, 1999.13Ellen NicKenzie Lawson. Smugglers, Bootleggers, and Scofflaws: Prohibition and New York City. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2013.
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To the drys, the absolute absence of alcohol in New York City represented
Prohibition’s success. However, Prohibition was a city and statewide failure.
Many New York politicians, including Fiorello LaGuardia, famously opposed the
18th Amendment for being “impossible to enforce” and “targeting the foreign
element” of urban areas, written by Middle Americans who were detached from
the urban setting.14 LaGuardia was not wrong. The enforcement of Prohibition
law within immigrant and minority populations had devastating effects on
communities. The proliferation of organized crime within various ethnic groups
was another effect of the 18th Amendment on minority communities, as was the
destabilization of community support networks created through years of
tradition. Prohibition’s role in the erasure of the ethnic saloon destroyed a pillar
of tradition and community support within immigrant communities.15
In contrast to the social domination imposed by Prohibition’s
enforcement, Prohibition’s speakeasies democratized drinking by ushering in an
era of unprecedented interracial and co-educational socialization through the
common interest of consuming illegal alcohol.16 Social norms at the turn of the
century dictated women’s primary existence be within the private sphere, limiting
female representation in the public arena to immoral women, or notable
exceptions. Prior to the ratification of the 18th Amendment, women’s presence
was prohibited in saloons (of course, with exceptions made for prostitutes), and
drinking was seen as unladylike. Additionally, the role of female activism within
the Temperance Movement was invaluable for the ratification of both the 18th and
14Lerner,365. 15Lerner,216.16Lerner,347.
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19th Amendments. However, as the “noble experiment” proved to be a failure all
genders in New York City, the norms that had previously dictated heavy drinking
as a white male activity were pushed aside. George Schuyler asserted that
Prohibition in Harlem created a social environment that opened up ore
opportunities for interracial socialization than ever before—possibly more than
have existed since.17 In theory, the speakeasy set a precedent for our
contemporary urban socialization settings. However, the temporally and
geographically specific characteristics of these speakeasies defined their
progressive social function and radical nonconformity.
The vein of speakeasy that inspired The Blind Barber’s (and Please Don’t
Tell, Angel Share, etc.) modern appropriation only existed for a specific
population for whom the law was enforced most strictly—the working-class
immigrant poor. Today, the speakeasy revises United States history by
aestheticizing the backdrop of early twentieth century ethnic rebellion against
discriminatory alcohol reform laws (disguised as desperate laws to help a morally
bankrupt society), which served to destabilize immigrant communities.18 The
contemporary speakeasy does not address the class-based prejudice that led to
the creation of its predecessors, but rather presents Prohibition as an era of
underground clubs for Gatsby-esque frivolity and camaraderie. The xenophobia
that fueled Temperance movements is all but lost in our contemporary public
17Lerner,347.18John J. Rumbarger. Profits, Power, and Prohibition: Alcohol Reform and the Industrializing of America, 1800-1930. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989. 187.
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memory of the era—a collective recollection that is reinforced by the absence of
ethnic struggle in contemporary speakeasy representation.
Generation loss refers to the reduction in quality of a copy or reproduction
of something. One can regard the disparity between the speakeasy and its
contemporary imitations/ incarnations as a product of generation loss. The
contemporary speakeasy simulacrum subjects itself to a qualitative reduction in
ideological representation.19 Contemporary speakeasies, unlike the authentic
Prohibition-era speakeasy, operate within legal parameters with regards to
selling alcoholic beverages. The socio-temporal defining characteristic of these
spaces cannot exist within a contemporary setting. In a sense, the contemporary
speakeasy is an aesthetic reduction of its original representation. Just as
Prohibition-era speakeasies were characterized by loss—loss of the ethnic saloon
as a pillar of stability and community, loss of individual freedom, loss of tradition
within Jewish, Catholic, and immigrant communities—the contemporary
speakeasy is also wrought with absence (though mainly thematic and legal).
Collective memory plays a significant role in the constitution of individual
and group identities, and to the cohesion of nations, religious, and ethnic groups.
Its widespread reach and commodification raises important questions about the
cultural politics of memory.20 National memory is materially manifest in the
streets of the city. Whereas cultural institutions like museums, archives, heritage
19Chris Brown. Scenes, Semiotics and the New Real: Exploring the Value of Originality and Difference. New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2016. 20Chris Weedon. "Place, Space, and the Politics of Memory." In Culture, Space, and Power: Blurred Lines, edited by David Walton and Juan A. Suárez, 1-18. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2016. 2.
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sites, etc. serve cultural political purposes regarding identities, social values,
norms, and practices on a somewhat conspicuous level, non-institutional spaces
function along the same lines, though arguably less transparently. Derivatives of
our collective memory have materialized throughout the city as consumer spaces
like “classic” barbershops, “throwback” delis and diners, and contemporary
“speakeasies.” The bastardization and subsequent commodification of the past
has been a significant theme in material culture throughout history—even
Napoleon’s throne room was aesthetically derivative of Roman emperors’
neoclassical originals. In an age of unprecedented globalization, memory has
played a part in the increased awareness of historical appropriations,
implications, and origins of what constitutes our modern lives. This
contemporary emphasis on historical transparency (via alternate histories and
counter memories that challenge hegemonic narratives) coincides with the
emergence of a consumer group whose primary values include authenticity and
opposition to mainstream narratives—the hipster.
Because the speakeasy, at its core, represents a moment of civil
disobedience and opposition to an oppressive mainstream cultural movement, it
has been repackaged for an alternative consumer base. Much like punk's torn
clothing, safety pins, and leather jackets, or, drag queen's creation of contouring
with makeup, the speakeasy has been forcibly revised as a consumer product
through nullifying the roots of its transgressive nature. Through exploiting our
modern thirst for authenticity and departure from what is commonly referred to
as "mainstream", the contemporary speakeasy is reduced to an alternative
aesthetic. The consumerist speakeasy is counterculture in origin but devoid of the
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threat of rebellion. It allows its contemporary patrons a vicarious experience of
civil opposition and indignation, without the dangers historically associated with
reactionary movements, or the struggles experienced by those for whom these
movements existed. The contemporary speakeasy presents itself as an
embodiment of rebellion without demanding its patrons commitment to the
cause, or even alluding to the cause at all. Empty rebellion is produced, and then
consumed by a modern audience—detached from the original context. This
contextual distance allows for the redefinition of past reactionary movements as
"cool" and commodification of the temporally and culturally specific anger as
generalized opposition to the mainstream.
The contemporary speakeasy is a boiled down simulacrum of its original
ancestor, exploiting its specific role as a site of secrecy and collective protest
against the 18th Amendment’s infringement upon individual freedoms, and
repackaging it for consumption as a symbol of “authenticity” and opposition to
the dominant social norms. Ironically, this incarnation of the speakeasy promotes
an inauthentic, revisionary narrative. The performative authenticity of the
contemporary speakeasy presents a fragmented, ahistorical collective memory of
Prohibition, exploiting the #alt desires of the consumer for capital gain.
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