Spotlight

Narcissus, 1599, Caravaggio

In a society obsessed with social media and "main character energy" - famous politicians, religious figures, cult leaders, movie stars, celebrity athletes, social media influencers, et al. - visibility is often mistakenly seen as a synonym for value.

Those who lack the information and mental acuity to recognize the superficiality and insincerity of it all are led to believe that their contributions are insignificant and that they have no worth unless they are heard, seen, accepted, and acknowledged by others.

Telling ourselves that receiving attention is the path to fulfillment - whether in a corporate setting, family, or local community - is an unhealthy form of self-care and an ineffective way to contribute to a cause.

In our pursuit of authentic recognition, we often become less authentic. This happens when we place more trust in the arbitrary and often flawed judgments of strangers, shifting public opinion, and the whims of social media algorithms than in our own logic.

The most important and influential people in our lives are not those we see on TV, on stage, or on social media. They are also not the pretentious folks trying to convince us that their lives are perfect. Instead, they are the people who have helped shape our lives with their consistent and often selfless presence, which is anything but glamorous.

Fishing in Spring, the Pont de Clichy (Asnières), 1887, Vincent van Gogh

Lao Tzu, the author of the Tao Te Ching, a Chinese classic text central to religious and philosophical Taoism, stressed the importance of aligning oneself with the natural order of the universe. He discussed the concept of wu wei, which is the cultivation of a mental state in which one’s actions effortlessly align with life’s natural flow. 

Meditations, a timeless masterpiece by Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, was written for personal use only and not intended for publication. The book contains his private musings and has influenced people across the centuries. It is one of the most notable sources for studying and understanding ancient Stoic philosophy. Aurelius's most lasting contribution to humanity did not come from his position as emperor and the most influential figure of his time. Rather, it was the result of his contemplation of Stoicism during moments of solitude and seclusion, when no one was watching.

Similar to Socrates' dictum that "the unexamined life is not worth living," one should accept that life becomes easier in today's chaotic world by believing in and striving for true fulfillment, which does not come from being seen by many, but rather from "seeing" ourselves. This profound "seeing" occurs when we understand our values, act with integrity, and meaningfully contribute to the quiet rhythm of human existence.

Narrative Control

Edward Hopper, Soir Bleu, 1914

In an unhealthy society, facts, logic, and entire narratives can be reshaped by the majority or those in power to serve their predetermined goals. Power often requires no justification beyond its own existence.

The story of the lamb and the wolf illustrates a key truth about how the world often works. The wolf exemplifies the saying "might makes right" by fabricating reasons to eat the lamb, despite the fact that none of them make sense.

Facts don't care about feelings, but a wolf's hunger doesn't care about facts either. "The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must." Despite the lamb’s rational responses to the wolf's accusations, the wolf was going to eat him simply because he could. The wolf doesn't care about being right; he just wants his dinner.

No matter how unfairly they act, those who are or think they are powerful will always find excuses to justify their actions.

They operate like a Wikipedia page written and edited by a group of people - confident and convinced that their version of events is the only one that matters. They believe they should be the ones controlling the narrative. When they do, they do so with the same questionable accuracy and deep conviction with which a toddler holds a crayon and colors outside the lines while claiming to follow the rules impeccably - and still being smug about it.

The majority does not always dictate the story, but they often have significant influence over how the narrative is shaped. The power to control the narrative should be constantly contested and evolve rather than remain permanently fixed in the hands of those in authority.

New Criticism

Engaging meaningfully with books and movies today requires a core competency in attentive and thoughtful reading. This involves grasping how metaphor, imagery, and structure interplay. 

New Criticism is a method of literary analysis that focuses on meticulous reading and thorough examination of texts. This approach has been utilized in celebrated pieces like T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, the sonnets of Shakespeare, and Orson Welles's film Citizen Kane. While New Criticism was no longer the leading literary theory in Anglo-American literature by the 1970s, its approaches have proven to be crucial for the analysis of literature and cinema.

"Made in America," the series finale of The sopranos

The meaning of plots of The Sopranos is often analyzed through repetition and difference. The show almost always returns to similar situations: family dinners, therapy sessions (initially with Tony Soprano, then with his children, and occasionally with his therapist), and sit-downs of members of the mob. Food preparations and communal meals serve as a symbolic system of tradition and consumption, while Tony’s dream sequences show the viewers textual complexities of the story and also provide a psychological insight often requiring Freudian interpretation. 

In The Office, the documentary format of the show works as a catalyst for textual tension and offers a dramatic irony by showing the gap between how characters act in reality versus what they say on the camera. Paper - representing both obsolescence (risking replacement by digital media and tools) and permanence (a tool of permanent documentation) - is an ironic symbol of the show. It creates a meaningful tension between relevance and purpose of the characters’ struggles.

"Sunk Costs" episode of the third season of Better Call Saul

In Better Call Saul, Jimmy McGill's genuine care for people close to him and his manipulative nature and actions work as the central tension - something that generates fundamental paradox driving the whole point of the TV show. A student of New Criticism would see these impulses existing simultaneously within Jimmy throughout the show. Courtrooms are symbolic space, and legal documents like contracts and wills are recurring subjects - both representing a conflict between justice and manipulation. The ever-present reflection and mirror imagery in the form of bathroom mirrors, car windows, office glass, and fish tanks portrays the core theme of dual identity of both Jimmy/Saul and Kim.

In today's digital age, where attention spans are often fragmented, New Criticism's focus on immersive textual engagement feels particularly relevant. When online discussions often make literature seem like it is only about politics or the writer's life, looking at literature closely can show the creativity and depth that make it worth studying.

The relevance of New Criticism today lies in the fact that it tells us that prior to contextualizing a literary work, rendering it political, or personalizing it, one must first interpret it within its own terms - sentence by sentence, word by word, meticulously examining its distinctive formal merits.