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The title of this reflection is loosely based on the title of the book “The unbearable lightness of being” by Milan Kundera and the later filmed “The unbearable lightness of being” by Philip Kaufman. A philosophical novel highlighting various perspectives on issues such as chance and predestination, politics, art, love, sex, kitsch and, of course, the lightness of existence. You could call Kundera an existentialist without hope. Some call him a postmodernist. I thought his title, with a slight modification, was a fitting one.
A docu-movie on Netflix titled “The American Meme” prompted the writing of this piece.
Meme myself and I
“The American Meme delves into the shallows of modern celebrity, influencers and media personas. It shows emptiness and an unexpected sadness. Their lives consist of feeding a beast that pumps up their fame and sucks their souls dry.”(New Yorker). “A fascinating look into the curious appeal and lives of social media superstars and reality celebrities.”(Irish Times)
Last weekend (Saturday 02-03-2023) I watched this documentary that allowed us a glimpse into the lives of influencers Paris Hilton(17million followers-estimated assets $4.5 billion), Emily Ratajkowski,(30.2million followers-estimated assets $8 million), DJ Khaled (38 million followers-estimated assets between $10million and $50million), Josh Ostrovsky A. K.A. Fat Jewish(10.6million followers-estimated assets claim $80million) and Kirill Bichutsky A.K.A. Slut Whisperer (1 million followers-estimated assets $10million). This was a look into an infinitely glaring void. We couldn’t bring ourselves to watch it all the way through.
They are cunning, likeable, shameless, over the top and kind of ordinary with no specific talents and a fan base that closely follows and copies everything they do. They are a brand, an empty shell around empty talk. They preach the gospel of shameless selfishness and commercial parties are picking up scraps of their success.
Like hungry applause junkies, they use the ego as a flywheel to make the “meaningless” existence seem golden, surrounded by a meticulously weaved cult that is fragile as glass.
Their reach is so widespread that it can’t really be seen as a harmless side effect. It would be less of a problem, but still a problem, if the moral and intellectual bar were not so terribly low. But any influence, dumb or smart, on that scale, unopposed, is dangerous and disruptive to both the community and the influencer himself.
A cynical summary of all the major existentialist issues currently going on around the world send clear signals and raise many basic questions. For example, the question; what ethics actually means. More and more people are hoping to get rich quick by making a breakthrough on the socials or investing in bitcoins, and meanwhile vacancies remain unfulfilled. Dreams of success with little effort and high returns and the craving for instant gratification are at odds with collective thinking.
How many half-gods can a world endure before it collapses from a lack of empathy and compassion?
There is something great about social media; everyone gets the opportunity to make something of themselves. But it is also a feeder of far too big egos. Besides inspiring posts sent out into the world on a daily basis, there is a diarrhea of utter nonsensicality that grabs our attention like a rhesus monkey at its artificial mother’s breast.
By a strange law of social media, this people type gets way too much influence. I see it causing a culture shift in all levels of society, a culture shift from school to politics. Behold the beginning of a breakdown of a healthy society and democracy.
The louder you scream, the bigger the sensation or (potential) scandal, the grosser, naughtier, more bloated, more shameless, flatter, richer, more vulgar, the more attention you generate. Attention equals success, so that’s surfing nicely on the waves of the algorithm.
By a strange law of social media, this people type gets way too much influence. I see it causing a culture shift in all levels of society, a culture shift from school to politics. Behold the beginning of a breakdown of a healthy society and democracy.
