I’ve created my Substack account quite recently because I thought “I needed to be more updated with culture and life”. Similar to what I’ve done with my every social media presence, I started following everyone and their mother that was suggested within my interests: art, culture, fashion, literature… I wanted to know everything. I still do. But after a few weeks, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of new articles that would come up, and frustrated by the short amount of time that I had to read them all. Reading this article made me realize that yes, I don’t need to know everything. It’s ok to not read every article, it’s ok to not fully understand the zeitgeist sense from every media sphere. Thanks for making me feel at ease with my ignorance.
i was thinking the exact same thing 😭😭 substack keeps recommending tens of articles about different things i felt so overwhelmed i only used a few times, but this article really put me at ease too!!!
I've thought about this—shall we call it a phenomenon, or is it perhaps just a circumstance?—many, many times, particularly since commercial zeitgeist interests have never been my bag, dating to childhood, and yet our culture references them all the time, the assumption being that everyone shares and loves these preoccupations. To wit: That I had to sit through Star Wars in the summer of 1977 on a cabin night out while at sleepaway camp (my suggestion of Annie Hall outvoted) resulted in a hellbent vow to never see its sequels or prequels (and don't get me started on its bombastic theme music). I remember little of that agonizing two hours, except for my mind wandering to the classic Kind Hearts & Coronets, from whence I knew Sir Alec Guinness, curious, as I was, that he would appear in this outerspace dreck. Needless to say, I've never seen a complete episode of Star Trek either, which means that any of its subsequent revivals eluded me too. No FOMO from any of it. Ditto Marvel movies. Why would a kid who disdained comic books, especially comic books with superheroes, care a whit about its cinematic adaptations? No need to apologize for never having seen American Idol or any of the garbage Bravo programs; for having never heard Taylor Swift sing, or detesting hip-hop. I see none of this as cultural illiteracy but rather an emancipation from dubious taste. To each his own.
I’ve never heard of any of these people (except John Waters), so I guess that just reinforces the point that it’s kind of pointless to try to keep up with everything deemed important
the pressure to have consumed something and formed an opinion on it is such a specific contemporary exhaustion. art as homework, as you said. and then you wonder why nothing moves you anymore.
i also feel like not knowing something makes you more interesting at this point? like you’re immune to peer pressure and just doin your thing
I’ve created my Substack account quite recently because I thought “I needed to be more updated with culture and life”. Similar to what I’ve done with my every social media presence, I started following everyone and their mother that was suggested within my interests: art, culture, fashion, literature… I wanted to know everything. I still do. But after a few weeks, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of new articles that would come up, and frustrated by the short amount of time that I had to read them all. Reading this article made me realize that yes, I don’t need to know everything. It’s ok to not read every article, it’s ok to not fully understand the zeitgeist sense from every media sphere. Thanks for making me feel at ease with my ignorance.
i was thinking the exact same thing 😭😭 substack keeps recommending tens of articles about different things i felt so overwhelmed i only used a few times, but this article really put me at ease too!!!
I've thought about this—shall we call it a phenomenon, or is it perhaps just a circumstance?—many, many times, particularly since commercial zeitgeist interests have never been my bag, dating to childhood, and yet our culture references them all the time, the assumption being that everyone shares and loves these preoccupations. To wit: That I had to sit through Star Wars in the summer of 1977 on a cabin night out while at sleepaway camp (my suggestion of Annie Hall outvoted) resulted in a hellbent vow to never see its sequels or prequels (and don't get me started on its bombastic theme music). I remember little of that agonizing two hours, except for my mind wandering to the classic Kind Hearts & Coronets, from whence I knew Sir Alec Guinness, curious, as I was, that he would appear in this outerspace dreck. Needless to say, I've never seen a complete episode of Star Trek either, which means that any of its subsequent revivals eluded me too. No FOMO from any of it. Ditto Marvel movies. Why would a kid who disdained comic books, especially comic books with superheroes, care a whit about its cinematic adaptations? No need to apologize for never having seen American Idol or any of the garbage Bravo programs; for having never heard Taylor Swift sing, or detesting hip-hop. I see none of this as cultural illiteracy but rather an emancipation from dubious taste. To each his own.
I’ve never heard of any of these people (except John Waters), so I guess that just reinforces the point that it’s kind of pointless to try to keep up with everything deemed important
the pressure to have consumed something and formed an opinion on it is such a specific contemporary exhaustion. art as homework, as you said. and then you wonder why nothing moves you anymore.