#9: Existentialism But Make It Aesthetically Pleasing

Plus Rocky Horror as a defense strategy for pop stars

Lots to discuss this week! Five unrelated (but sort of related?) things:

I Only Want Dorky Handmade Presents

Once a week I grab a delicious grapefruit jasmine tea from a cafe next to a vintage shop that hosts a bunch of indie artist vendors. I’ve gotten into the nasty habit of nipping in and buying myself a little present each visit. Behold my new poodle ashtray:

This purchasing kick plus catching up on Bode Boy activity makes me think we’ll soon revisit vintage/handmade/unique products as a means of rejecting rampant, glossy, and increasingly homogenous consumerism (I don’t think this is that edgy of a take. Think: early aughts hipsters and their vinyl, fixie bikes, and typewriters). And I mean as more than a trend cycle, though I think ~aesthetics~ like “Europe Girl Summer,” “Slow Living,” “Millennial Grandmother,” etc all speak to a desire to return to a non-digital, pleasure-seeking existence.

Young consumers embraced a nostalgic DIY look for the past few summers (tie-dye, friendship bracelets, crocheted bags) so I’m envisioning slightly elevated but still very much handcrafted pieces as the next iteration. Stuff with emotive qualities and slight flaws and variations that AI can’t quite replicate.¹ Because if there’s any way to resist AI, it’s leaning all the way into our humanity. For this reason, I’m issuing an open call for mediocre watercolor paintings from all my friends. 

margot robbie and rhea perlman in barbie (2023)...iykyk

I Am Contemplating Existential Art

I am a changed woman (I saw the Barbie movie last night). I wore my rose gold Birkenstocks to the theater. I sat next to two women clothed in Chanel. I cried. They did not. Maybe people who wear Chanel do not think about death? I had a number of sentient human feelings vying for attention for two hours. This Barbie (gestures to self) is clearly having an existential crisis and struggling to figure out How To Be a Person in the World. What’s nice, though, is that I’m gently assured I’m not alone. Existential filmmaking is having a moment at the box office. Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City explores our fumbling, sometimes futile place in the cosmos. Across the Spider Verse––the only good superhero franchise!!––similarly preoccupies itself with how we define our destinies and make meaning in a universe of infinite possibilities. None of this is revolutionary, for centuries artists and writers have philosophized about mortality, but I’m intrigued by the mainstream of it all. Idk between post-pandemic ennui and the ubiquity of therapy-speak, perhaps there is hunger for poppy, pretty pieces that take a deeper look at modern anxiety without a nihilist bend. I’m here for it. 

I Have a Solution for Protecting Performers and It Involves More Rocky Horror

Concert etiquette is no longer taught in the schools or the homes apparently. People keep throwing phones/accessories/family members’ ashes (…no comment) at performers. You know how when you have a rambunctious child or a naughty border collie you’re not supposed to punish them, you’re supposed to reroute that energy into a positive behavior? Okay, so if people want to throw stuff and dress up and yell profanities might I suggest we introduce more people to Rocky Horror Picture Show???? Let the kids discover the power and the glory of tossing toast at a screen. Our two ““economy boosters”” (Eras Tour and Barbenheimer) proved that there’s an appetite for entertainment with SPECTACLE. We love dressing on theme to celebrate silly things. We love shared experiences. And I don’t even mean limiting it to Rocky Horror. Rocky Horrify Mean Girls! Horrify Goodfellas!!! Also solves my big issue with the disappearance of film education in America. (In all seriousness, I do think wide re-releases of classics and blockbusters should be far more common. Some theaters do this regularly without proper marketing so no one knows it’s happening.)

honestly v good marketing to alert consumers you’ve changed something for the better on your website, as minor as it is. i spent at least fifteen minutes browsing after receiving this email

I Like Shopping Online When Online Shopping Likes Me 

I thought it was really neat that Reformation introduced a “bra-friendly” filter to their website… and wrote an email to tell me about it! Listen, anything to make my user experience easier, more intuitive, and more enjoyable translates to more $$$ from my pocket to retailers. We’ve entered an era in e-commerce where it’s not enough to upload photos of your products and send to influencers to hawk them. From browsing to purchase every point in the online shopping process should be addressing consumers’ needs. Better if brands can anticipate those needs before consumers even realize them. I’m thinking of BÉIS’s inclusion of detailed show-and-tell videos for every product. Or Revolve’s thorough categorization (compared to Nordstrom, where I seriously think whoever is responsible with color ID’ing items might be colorblind or lazy or both).  

Anyway, if my preferred shopping method of visiting brick and mortar is falling off, I need to feel like I’m seeing touching smelling experiencing your product through the screen. 

I Should Start a Same Same Series 

Back on my Flattened Tastes beat. Elizabeth Goodspeed makes A GREAT POINT:

“Dipping my toes into the *~discourse~* to say that design “plagiarism” mostly feels like a product of late stage capitalism. It sure feels like no one is getting paid enough to do something truly original; clients often don’t see the difference or don’t care enough to pay for it!”

She’s talking about artists ripping off each other, but I think this also beautifully applies to consumer preferences. The creative process of absorbing inspiration + rounds of experimentation + thoughtful production takes soooOoooOoo much time. If you (1) aren’t being paid for those hours of Important Work and (2) no one cares, what’s the point in turning out something new? What incentive do you have to reject the status quo? And because consumers don’t have many options, they stick to what’s familiar and/or accessible. Corporate Greed is to blame once again.        

Sidewalk Kitchen Counter Reporting: 

one of literally two dozen photos i have of this arrangement in my camera roll

This bouquet sits on my kitchen counter! I’m in love with it! I feel like the little skunk in Bambi. Floooowwwwwers, I coo all dreamily at every given opportunity. I really do believe flowers hold the dramatic power to improve my day tenfold. Plus someone told me this bouquet looks like me. The highest praise.    

Thanks for reading! See you next week.

1. I’d really like to see an Etsy revamp or, if I’m being realistic, a new competitor. TikTok is the best place for discovering artists these days. I know we can do better!