Ploafmaster General

Laugh along with the common people -
Laugh along, although they’re laughing at you
and the stupid things that you do
because you think that poor is cool.

– from Common People by Pulp

Bourgeois Bohemians - that’s a phrase I caught on David Lebovitz’s blog recently. Now this sounds pretty straight-forward. We have somebody who’s bourgeois - materialistic, financially comfortable; and Bohemian - unconventional, artistic. Cultural references color the meanings a little more, implying The Bourgeois are a wealthy and elite set (communist uprising jokes, anyone?) and the Bohemians are the quintessential “starving artists” (such as in Rent). So you put these together and you have the modern Hipster! The BoBo is a person who aspires to belong to the creative set but disdains the “starving” part of “starving artist.”

I remember noticing these folks around VCU when I was a freshman. I’d see students between Hibbs and the Library dressed in thrift-store throwback fashion with their portfolios or manual SLR cameras. Then they’d whip out their cellphones (remember…cellphones weren’t so ubiquitous in Fall ‘99) or climb on their Fuji or LeMond road bikes and be on their collective merry way. These were the people who appeared to long for that cultured, erudite persona - who listened to music and watched film that’s out of the main stream - as long as it was on Mommy and Daddy’s dime. Yeah, I have to confess: there is some derision in my tone because I was “below that class” yet desired it (a problem I’ve discussed before).

They haven’t gone away - in fact, I think there are more BoBos today than ever. Of course, I’m just as guilty. I want the cachet of the working creatives without the reduced salary. I want to watch the next up-and-coming Mexican film-maker’s opus, but I want to watch it on a big-screen TV. I want to listen to the latest post-shoe-gazer indie-pop duo, but I want to hear it on my iPod. I want to drink that fair trade coffee, but I want it brewed by an under-paid barista at three bucks a cup.

Woof, I didn’t start writing this with the intention of self-effacement, but I suppose I deserve it, too. I ought to be able to stand up to the lens of my own scrutiny. Anyway, for a slightly more professional take on BoBos, check out the NewsHour interview with David Brooks who apparently coined the term.