Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this episode, Samuel Johnson travels to China to meet the wenyi qingnian: the so-called cultured youth, or Chinese hipsters. Like their Japanese counterparts, they are influenced by Western aesthetics and value individual expression. But in a society shaped by old values and rigid hierarchies, living an alternative lifestyle comes with higher stakes. Many see them as superficial or out of touch. They don’t understand the mainstream, and the mainstream doesn’t understand them.
But isn't the hipster now the mainstream? Back in the US and Australia, Johnson reflects on the rise and fall of hipster non-conformity, its massification, and explores what is next in the world of subcultures.
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Chapters
▷ 00:00 - Intro
▷ 00:05 - Are you a hipster?
▷ 02:03 - Shanghai, China
▷ 08:05 - Eastern fixies
▷ 11:48 - Rise and fall of the hipster
▷ 17:11 - Normcore
▷ 20:22 - Conclusion
▷ 23:58 - Credits
#documentary #fulldocumentary #hipster #shanghai #style #wenyiqingnian #fashion #lifestyle #mainstream #nonconformity
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Watch the full series: bit.ly/hipsters-series
Subscribe to wocomoHUMANITY: goo.gl/5Sp36B
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/wocomo
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The six-part series embarks on a global quest to understand the origins, meaning and future of the cultural stereotype that has become known as the hipster. It looks at how artisan cheese, craft beer, tattoos, and beards evolve from being niche trends to hipster clichés. And asks why no hipster will ever, ever admit to being one.
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 takes a light hearted look back at the cultural phenomenon that was. Johnson sets off on an international odyssey 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.
Original title: Next Big Thing | Hipsters (6/6)
A series by Seth Larney and Richard Kelly
Presented by Samuel Johnson
© 2015, Licensed by Jambika Docs
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Documentaries about people and cultures from around the globe: wocomoHUMANITY offers high-quality content which is produced by leading production companies.
Check out our other channels to watch high quality documentaries:
▷ wocomoDOCS: youtube.com/wocomoDOCS
▷ wocomoWILDLIFE: youtube.com/wocomoWILDLIFE
▷ wocomoHISTORY: youtube.com/wocomoHISTORY
▷ wocomoTRAVEL: youtube.com/wocomoTRAVEL
▷ wocomoCOOK: youtube.com/wocomoCOOK
Wocomo HUMANITY is part of the Wocomo channel network by NIKITA VENTURES. Wocomo - wonderful content in motion.
In this episode, Samuel Johnson travels to China to meet the wenyi qingnian: the so-called cultured youth, or Chinese hipsters. Like their Japanese counterparts, they are influenced by Western aesthetics and value individual expression. But in a society shaped by old values and rigid hierarchies, living an alternative lifestyle comes with higher stakes. Many see them as superficial or out of touch. They don’t understand the mainstream, and the mainstream doesn’t understand them.
But isn't the hipster now the mainstream? Back in the US and Australia, Johnson reflects on the rise and fall of hipster non-conformity, its massification, and explores what is next in the world of subcultures.
-------
Chapters
▷ 00:00 - Intro
▷ 00:05 - Are you a hipster?
▷ 02:03 - Shanghai, China
▷ 08:05 - Eastern fixies
▷ 11:48 - Rise and fall of the hipster
▷ 17:11 - Normcore
▷ 20:22 - Conclusion
▷ 23:58 - Credits
#documentary #fulldocumentary #hipster #shanghai #style #wenyiqingnian #fashion #lifestyle #mainstream #nonconformity
-------
Watch the full series: bit.ly/hipsters-series
Subscribe to wocomoHUMANITY: goo.gl/5Sp36B
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/wocomo
-------
The six-part series embarks on a global quest to understand the origins, meaning and future of the cultural stereotype that has become known as the hipster. It looks at how artisan cheese, craft beer, tattoos, and beards evolve from being niche trends to hipster clichés. And asks why no hipster will ever, ever admit to being one.
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 takes a light hearted look back at the cultural phenomenon that was. Johnson sets off on an international odyssey 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.
Original title: Next Big Thing | Hipsters (6/6)
A series by Seth Larney and Richard Kelly
Presented by Samuel Johnson
© 2015, Licensed by Jambika Docs
-------
Documentaries about people and cultures from around the globe: wocomoHUMANITY offers high-quality content which is produced by leading production companies.
Check out our other channels to watch high quality documentaries:
▷ wocomoDOCS: youtube.com/wocomoDOCS
▷ wocomoWILDLIFE: youtube.com/wocomoWILDLIFE
▷ wocomoHISTORY: youtube.com/wocomoHISTORY
▷ wocomoTRAVEL: youtube.com/wocomoTRAVEL
▷ wocomoCOOK: youtube.com/wocomoCOOK
Wocomo HUMANITY is part of the Wocomo channel network by NIKITA VENTURES. Wocomo - wonderful content in motion.
