love this. "Maybe we are all in denial of shit. The British government, of the shit they subject us to, and the British people, of the the fact they live in a sewer but call it a kingdom" made me shed a tear.
Thanks for sharing this. I think the Algo put it in front of me because I’ve also been reconnecting with Kundera recently, and meditating on his concept of the Second Tear.
If all expression of unmediated feeling is kitsch, what does that leave us? Does all writing collapse into kitsch? Is all writing in the process of collapsing into kitsch?
thank you! i don't necessarily think it's the 'expression of unmediated feeling' that always constitutes kitsch (that's more the first tear imo) as much as the assumption that everyone experiences or should experience the feeling in the exact same way, triggered by the same stimuli, and that this supposed universal feeling can stand in for substance. i think it's the assumption that there is an objective concept of beauty or truth which lends kitsch to totalitarianism: everyone conforms, no one critiques. this isn't to say that a lot of writing doesn't collapse into kitsch, but i think art that is an expression of raw emotion and doesn't flatten the complexities of human experience or presuppose anything about a general human condition, and isn't appropriated in that way by its audience (cringe example but i'm thinking of that tweet a woman did about taylor swift being 'the perfect encapsulation of the inner lives of all women' lmao), is probably safe
Thanks for this. I agree that there is peril in mandated (by way of state power) emotional responses, and that these stifle individuality and lay a red carpet for stealth totalitarianism. At the same time, I can’t help but note that being of the same species means there will inevitably be patterns of emotional response which lie beyond the reach of culture, and that any self-conscious being will notice themselves feeling a certain way in response to stimuli, and possibly feel compelled to share that aberrant response/publicly vere off that red carpet.
We can have our ironic modernist cake and eat it with a postmodern fork, and relish the taste and appearance and even nutritional value of the cake. Your Swift tweet example is apt. A second example might be Caroline Polachek’s PowerPoint presentation for the track ‘Dang’ on the Late Show. Confessional love song with the distancing effect of a business presentation https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsIcDivsls
Another example still might be my poem above distancing from responses to the aurora borealis, while uncritically participating in the aesthetic and shared emotional response to that unusual event (I don’t get out much these days). I’d propose that, if these three fragments are cringe, then cringe is necessary and good.
How to let oneself off the hook to feel without the critical superego wiping its feet on a carpet of rose petals? How to hold onto pleasure and sensuality without being manipulated thereby? How to explore these questions creatively without getting pulled into the Scylla & Charybdis of ideological polarities, which are only ever a means of grasping at momentary syntheses? Between the first and second tears we get to decide, in the moment, and retrospectively. And we are always—always—free to change our minds. As many times as we wish.
love this. "Maybe we are all in denial of shit. The British government, of the shit they subject us to, and the British people, of the the fact they live in a sewer but call it a kingdom" made me shed a tear.
<3 thank you so much!!!
Thanks for sharing this. I think the Algo put it in front of me because I’ve also been reconnecting with Kundera recently, and meditating on his concept of the Second Tear.
If all expression of unmediated feeling is kitsch, what does that leave us? Does all writing collapse into kitsch? Is all writing in the process of collapsing into kitsch?
https://open.substack.com/pub/agreenthoughtinagreenshade/p/aurora-borealis?r=36rwln&utm_medium=ios
thank you! i don't necessarily think it's the 'expression of unmediated feeling' that always constitutes kitsch (that's more the first tear imo) as much as the assumption that everyone experiences or should experience the feeling in the exact same way, triggered by the same stimuli, and that this supposed universal feeling can stand in for substance. i think it's the assumption that there is an objective concept of beauty or truth which lends kitsch to totalitarianism: everyone conforms, no one critiques. this isn't to say that a lot of writing doesn't collapse into kitsch, but i think art that is an expression of raw emotion and doesn't flatten the complexities of human experience or presuppose anything about a general human condition, and isn't appropriated in that way by its audience (cringe example but i'm thinking of that tweet a woman did about taylor swift being 'the perfect encapsulation of the inner lives of all women' lmao), is probably safe
Thanks for this. I agree that there is peril in mandated (by way of state power) emotional responses, and that these stifle individuality and lay a red carpet for stealth totalitarianism. At the same time, I can’t help but note that being of the same species means there will inevitably be patterns of emotional response which lie beyond the reach of culture, and that any self-conscious being will notice themselves feeling a certain way in response to stimuli, and possibly feel compelled to share that aberrant response/publicly vere off that red carpet.
We can have our ironic modernist cake and eat it with a postmodern fork, and relish the taste and appearance and even nutritional value of the cake. Your Swift tweet example is apt. A second example might be Caroline Polachek’s PowerPoint presentation for the track ‘Dang’ on the Late Show. Confessional love song with the distancing effect of a business presentation https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsIcDivsls
Another example still might be my poem above distancing from responses to the aurora borealis, while uncritically participating in the aesthetic and shared emotional response to that unusual event (I don’t get out much these days). I’d propose that, if these three fragments are cringe, then cringe is necessary and good.
How to let oneself off the hook to feel without the critical superego wiping its feet on a carpet of rose petals? How to hold onto pleasure and sensuality without being manipulated thereby? How to explore these questions creatively without getting pulled into the Scylla & Charybdis of ideological polarities, which are only ever a means of grasping at momentary syntheses? Between the first and second tears we get to decide, in the moment, and retrospectively. And we are always—always—free to change our minds. As many times as we wish.
Wishing you all the flow today🌊🩶
brilliant i really needed this