Crisis of storytelling
Who tells the story when everyone is telling the story?
Paradoxically, the overuse of narratives creates a narrative crisis. When life itself becomes a form of storytelling on social media, the narrative loses its main attraction: mystery. When its construction becomes apparent, it loses its internal moment of truth. And when this construction is based on algorithms (repeating the behaviors of others based on numbers), it becomes even more predictable. It's no wonder we see everyone doing the same dance, listening to the same music, and dressing alike—yet still believing they are being authentic.
In this post-narrative era we're living in, festive dates are commercialized as spectacles. And now, any date can be turned into a spectacle. Summer becomes "brat summer," and Charli XCX needs to create a persona that loves nightlife—connecting with her audience through a pre-packaged storytelling to create meaning and connection. FKA twigs had to explain that after going to a rave in Prague, she started liking Dance Music—a so-called underground storytelling about something commercial. It’s all about crafting a narrative that people can consume through the content created (and not necessarily the final product). All of these micro-narratives lack any moment of truth, but they are what form “communities” nowadays. Or rather: communities as commodities. Yet consumers are lonely and do not form real communities.
Today, we are very well-informed, but disoriented. This creates an entire generation of people who are extremely self-conscious. We are living through a flood of information coming from all directions. At the same time, we see ourselves as a third person on social media, performing storylines constantly. This makes us perceive ourselves as a brand. We curate our own interests to post online and let society judge us all the time.
We are the directors, stars, and writers of our own movies, projected daily to a massive audience. On the internet, we aren't ourselves; we are the performance of our identity. And this creates immense cultural pressure on people (myself included). If you want to connect with someone online (whether if you're a brand or an artist about to release an artwork), think about what role you would play in a certain community's "movie." After brat summer, many artists are already competing to see who will own autumn... Even the seasons have become narratives to be commercialized. And if we have to choose that, the choice can't be artificial—it needs to be spontaneous.
What is the name of your movie?
Since the pandemic ended, the BPM of pop culture music has gotten much faster. To find refuge, I started listening to a lot more Ambient and Trip Hop music. I like Ambient to help me focus on an activity... but I really love Trip Hop because it’s a good choice for any occasion. It’s the perfect genre for walking around the city, driving to the countryside, or flirting at a romantic dinner. Trip Hop is Sexy! Listen to the sexiest selection of songs I've found:
3 things I am into:
1 - The book The Crisis of Narration from Byung-Chul Han - that inspired me to write this edition. Please read his books.
2 - This short movie: Former Cult Member Hears Music For The First Time.
3 - Gatekeeping information is so Boomer coded. This OK COOL’s 2025 report is amazing.