This is from a collection of essays I am planning to publish at some point called Meaningless Magazine Vol. 1. I don’t have an exact date or anything, but it’s something I’ve been working on for awhile now. “Essays” is probably too intense of a word for what it really is; the book will be a collection of notes, observations, and thoughts on life in general. Like a diary, but less whiny about personal problems: not a big deal. I am not publishing it right now because I want it to be long enough so that by the time it’s finished it’s actually worth buying for the few people who care about that. Occasionally, like right now, I may post a couple things from the book here and there. When I do publish it, I promise it will be primarily new unpublished material not on this website.
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I’m 29 at the time of this writing, so I have now been kicking around this planet for almost three decades. Something I have noticed is the cyclical nature of commerce, and the way in which it manifests itself as a pattern if you look closely. In fact, you sometimes don’t even have to look that closely. There seems to be an unspoken thing going on.
Consider our relationship with media, specifically the release of movies in our society. Collectively, there is this weird kind of short-term memory loss we all have regarding our level of production and consumption. A pattern has been established at this point where things get made, released to the public, everyone eats it up for a short period of time, and then they all move on to the next shiny, distraction that fills the void of their meaningless lives.
Of course, there are a couple small exceptions to this: the phenomenon of sequels and franchises is perhaps the most obvious, and it plays on audiences familiarity with past moments, etc. Another example of this: films deemed exceptional in some manner (like films that win Oscars and go on to be considered “memorable” in human history afterward for that fact). However, these exceptions feel more like capitalist-sanctioned events considered safe to return to. They may have “Cast Reunions” for popular shows and movies or whatever, but those things are blips on a radar when you zoom out and look at what is really going on. Production and the constant push for the newest thing is still seen as the best.
The pattern I’m trying to explain can best be seen from the initial ramifications of covid in 2020. Film production did not stop entirely, but there was enough of a pause in the industry that was noteworthy (and yes, “unprecedented”). It’s probably the first time I can ever remember in my lifetime where the production of such a massive industry was forced to be changed so quickly.
And of course it only changed, but it did not stop entirely: people would rather keep production happening than sit back and appreciate what they already have. Tom Cruise famously made headlines for getting irate on the set of another Mission Impossible film when crew members failed to wear their masks. Instead of staying home during a pretty obviously unsafe time for people to congregate, these people were busy making another movie under the sake of capitalism.
Here’s the thing nobody ever really addresses about the haphazard way we produce new shit all the time: they’re all unnecessary. Nothing “new” really needs to exist. The only argument is just our collective boredom in the Western world that stems from having excess time and energy, which is more of an excuse and not really much of an argument.
Even this, what you are reading right now, is just another example of something that didn’t really need to be made. I have no delusions about how meaningless everything is, even regarding myself and what I produce. It’s all meaningless and does not need to exist. Especially where we are in human history currently: the sheer amount of entertainment that already exists will never be fully conquered by a healthy human if they’ve got a balanced, fulfilling life. We have more than enough already.
Coming back to covid, it highlighted this sentiment quite well with how much it slowed down life. In the time of recurring lockdowns, nothing to do, and nowhere to go, I’m surprised by how much I have gotten some pleasure from giving things a chance I had absolutely no interest in before. Certain books and movies released I had totally forgotten about became things that filled the time, and they would’ve never been part of my life if the pandemic didn’t happen.
This belief we have of constantly needing “new” content feels like a myth pushed by those in the entertainment industry that can benefit from it. Their whole livelihood depends on you not being fine with the shit that already exists. How is a producer in Hollywood supposed to send their annoying drug addict son away for a summer if the latest reboot of whatever innocuous thing from a previous era doesn’t happen? Movies that weren’t even that good when they first came out and not even liked by that many, are pushed on us and repainted as highly revered in our cultural memory. For example, franchises like Charlie’s Angels or Ghostbusters were initially probably just okay, but over time they become these sacred things that deserve to have millions of dollars and effort poured into them.
You rarely ever hear someone comment on a favourite film of theirs from like 2 or 3 years ago anymore. We have lost the ability to see the value in what we already have, always looking forward to the newest thing we can be distracted by for 2 seconds and move on again from.
This one was probably very unfocused and stupidly written, but what I am trying to say here is that there’s something sinister to our level of production, consumption, and blind acceptance of it all. The success of some people getting rich depends on the foolishness or short-term memory loss of other people, and their acceptance of what is incorrect or disguised to look important. In other words, the relationship between capitalism and short-term memory loss shouldn’t be underestimated or overlooked. One makes the other happen: subservience of a mass group of people benefits another group of people.