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it's like a river flowing in the opposite of the culture. it's very important to participate in the counterculture and participate in public because the culture is a toilet but the counterculture is pure and true. anything can be the counterculture if it's countercultural. i believe the fast casual bowl restaurant to be one of our greatest countercultural institutions today simply for the fact that so many of our countercultural warriors are eating fast casual grain or salad bowls in order to fuel up for their day jobs.
Dec 19, 2023
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i think it’s paired with anti-intellectualism - we’re getting to a place where nearly everyone wants immediate gratification so they need a constant stream of consumption. i think this is particularly true in capitalist countries and in the west. i do think superficial interests in culture by the masses are the historical norm, partly bc historically that media was often the most accessible, but i think, combined, the internet and trends changing so rapidly nowadays has exacerbated the issue. everything is cheapened, there’s little respect for craft or appreciation of Doing.
many people want everything fast fast fast, so it’s tiktok instead of movies, AI summaries instead of books, chatgpt instead of research (or simply google), fast fashion to keep up with trends, etc. many of us are privileged enough to be able to access an impossible amount of information through the internet and yet so many people are simply using that resource to mindlessly consume whatever content.
also, with the internet i feel we’ve lost subcultures’ uniqueness because it’s easier to find them - you can quickly learn about the symbolic aspects of basically any subculture and adopt those (ie fashions, slang, media) without having a personal relationship with whatever community it is. which basically means (tongue-in-cheek) we’re in a poser renaissance.
i think as living conditions gets worse for most people, there’s a lower ability to think as clearly and increased desire to escape, so most of the people who can live so mindlessly, do it.
plus throw in the American dream (which i think is just the myth of success that exists in all capitalist societies) and there’s this other group of people who prioritize “hustle culture” or whatever and that takes up time they could’ve used to really engage with art, film, reading, etc (alienation as the other Marx once said lol). which is its own unique depreciation of art and scholarship!
in his essay on ur-fascism, umberto eco notes the opposition to most artistic and intellectual pursuits as an aspect of fascism (which we can observe in the right-wing movements of many countries today), in part that, to fascists “thinking is a form of emasculation. Therefore culture is suspect insofar as it is identified with critical attitudes.”
6d ago
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the first is Becca Rothfield’s book of essays all things are too small — really beautifully written with intriguing ideas about contemporary culture and consumption and excess and minimalism. mildly esoteric at times, but I’m a sucker for aesthetic and affective analysis so….
the second is from the book 21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics, and Practice, which is a FABULOUS collection altogether. The specific essay that I legitimately have not stopped thinking about since I read it 5+ years ago is “Modern Yoga Will Not Form a Real Culture Until Every Studio Can Also Double as a Soup Kitchen” by Matthew Remski. 10/10 recommend as a yogi but also as someone fascinated by collectivity, compassion, and contemporary culture.
Sep 30, 2024
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Jan 5, 2024
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Just met Woody Allen IRL and saved his life. There was a big scary spider about to bite into him. Luckily I was there to stop anything bad from happening. The spider was huge. Almost as big as the spider from the lord of the rings movies or other movies about big spiders. Soon-Yi was also there. She says hello and that she was moved by my act of selfless bravery.
Dec 27, 2023