Sharon Zukin unlike other urban sociologists doesn’t focus on ethnographically analyzing communities, immigrants and settlement patterns, moreover she is concerned with the role of the state and targeting how urban space is produced deliberately from capital necessity. Similarly, to Richard Florida and the “Creative Class”, Zukin coined the term and concept of “authenticity” in Naked City and most of her theses pertaining to socioeconomics. The operational definition of this term as it adheres to both her book and the prefaced video above by BigThink, is “the realization of an authentic self which can thrive and situate in an authentic society”. Zukin concept of “authenticity”, traces back to ideas about an authentic self (meaning a self that is close to nature) found in Shakespeare and in the Romantic philosophy of Jean Jacques Rousseau. In conjunction Zukin believes that “alternative consumption practices often lead to the creation of entrepreneurial spaces like restaurants and bars, and to the resurgence of farmers’ markets, offering urban consumers … fabricate an aura of authenticity … and capitalize on the tastes of their young, alternative clientele.” Authenticity and capital are in essence devoid of one another. This feeling of wanting to find the griminess of Williamsburg youth, is one that is definitely capitalized on throughout the history of Brooklyn.
By, simply inputting “Williamsburg Hipster Culture” in Google’s search engine, automatically brings me to an amalgamation of articles which romanticize this idea of youth culture. One such article is above (right click the image and the open in new tab), and as one eventually finishes reading it, feels like they have been watching one real estate commercial. In the span of five paragraphs I have been sited the best high-rise locations, restaurants, bars, food-markets, and real estate while being informed about the organic culture of NY. Zukin in both the video, and her book serializes the migration of “cool” culture starting from the Bohemian districts in Greenwich village, to Brooklyn heights, to the East Village and most recently to Williamsburg. It is natural that those who try to immerse themselves in an authentic working class are going to be swarmed with conformists eventually depriving them of their goal. This makes one to believe whether the fate of Brooklyn and Urban life, to be tethered to capita earnings as long as the market demands it.
Questions:
- Will the authentic self ever be achieved in a stable fashion? If it uniqueness is desired how can it be unique rather than conformism?
- Can people of the upper middle or higher class ever be part of the authentic culture?
- Are the Creative Class mentioned by Richard Florida the same as those who strive for authenticity?
