Cool Guy Syndrome
Have you ever heard of Stendahl’s Syndrome?
Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal’s syndrome, hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place.
I don’t mean to be insensitive to anyone’s condition, but this strikes me as the kind of thing Hipsters pretend to suffer from, just to prove how intensely into some avant-garde piece they are.
Also, what counts as “fine” art? Do a few hundred hallucinating Grateful Dead fans, under the influence of heavy narcotics, count as cases of pseudo-Stendhal’s?
Thanks to Seinfeld, the word “hipster” is forever linked to “doofus” in my mind.