This post will be cool again in 20 years

One of the features of our super-awesome sweet hipster generation thing we've got going on is that we've made it possible for us to remain cool, while actually enjoying a whole heap of things that aren't cool at all. The beauty of irony has meant we can not only have our cake, but eat it too. Not sure what I'm talking about? Here's a list.- Massive moustaches
- Pro wrestling
- The phrase "that's what she said"
- Misogynistic gangsta rap/50 Cent
- 80s rock songs/hair bands
- Actually, pretty much anything to do with the 80s
- 'Two And A Half Men'
- Chuck Norris

None of those things could ever be considered cool in our Western culture. (The closest would probably be gangsta rap, but these days the self-aware hipster rappers are making more of an impact than the old school dudes.)

What we've done is create a way to enjoy kitsch culture without having to identify ourselves with the un-coolness of it. The double bluff of ironic detachment says "This piece of culture is so unaffected and lacking in self-awareness that it has become cool again, while remaining inherently uncool". The lack of awareness is what is attractive, not the actual item itself.

This leads to the triple bluff. I'll explain:
- Guy grows big-ass moustache
- He recognises that it's uncool
- However the lack of awareness in growing a big-ass moustache makes it cool
- But, he already knows that, so he's growing it in the knowledge that it will be found ironically cool
- Which almost defeats the purpose, in my mind. He's saying "I'm so cool that I am prepared to look uncool, but safe in the knowledge that I am indeed cool." He's trying to make it work on a couple of levels.

And I guess that's the key thing with ironic detachment. You get to enjoy something on two levels:
- The ironic "oh how awkward/quaint is this" level of looking down at something
- And the "this is actually lots of fun" level
That's where pro wrestling, gangsta rap, 80s hair rock, and Chuck Norris get you. They're completely lacking in self awareness and therefore delightfully funny, but they're also a lot of fun to enjoy as they were originally intended.

For instance, I enjoy gangsta rap. Do I agree with what the lyrics say? Not usually. But is there something very fun about shouting along to Lil Jon's 'Throw It Up'? Hell yes. I enjoy it because it has such a severe lack of anything resembling self awareness. The rappers seem to have no clue how ridiculous their songs and lyrics sound. And that's a major part of the appeal.

Other cultural movements can make something ironically cool. The Office is great for this, with the phrase "that's what she said". It's horribly juvenile and rarely funny. BUT, if you're saying it with the added understanding that it's a reference to Michael Scott, it becomes funny.
Here's a clip of stacks of "that's what she said" moments from The Office. I love the one near the start where Michael is in trouble for sexual harassment and has just told the office that some words and phrases are off limits.

If Chuck Norris was to record a rap song with the band Poison, and include himself wrestling the WWE Superstars in the video, the internet would explode.

Kanye West walks the line between self aware and ridiculously unaware, and it's part of his appeal. Check out this link, which gets random quotes from his blog. Or this story about how he randomly attended an avant garde show which was doing interpretations of his songs.

Anyway, I'm not unhappy about this phenomenon. I think it's awesome. I get to remain cool, while watching wrestling, listening to 50 Cent, enjoying Bon Jovi, growing a moustache, and saying 'that's what she said'. It's a win/win!