Pop Culture Ennui Revisited
There’s a reason I haven’t written anything in weeks. It’s not that I don’t have pieces I want to write – I have several, and a couple that I’ve even started. But when it comes to actually sitting down and making it happen, I just … don’t.
Around this time last year, I wrote about Pop Culture Ennui and what to do about it. I don’t pretend to know what everyone in the world feels of course, but anecdotally at least, it seems like most people are feeling not just pop culture ennui, but general life ennui, along with anxiety and a billion other emotions, given the state of the world and being stuck at home all the time. Given all this, it seemed like a good time to revisit the topic.
Don’t Force It
This was the first point from last year’s piece, and I still think it is a key thing. You can’t actually make yourself write the Great American Novel, watch all the prestige TV, and sew face masks for yourself and family. And even if you normally can force yourself to do those sorts of things (which I definitely can’t), now is not the time. We are all under an insane amount of pressure, as individuals and as a society. The last thing any of us need is to feel guilty that we aren’t reading Tolstoy in our free time.
Try Something Radically Different
All this self-isolation is extremely boring, and the days seem to bleed into each other, with little to differentiate them. That makes this a good time to try something radically different. I decided to watch Rick and Morty, which I’d never seen before and had only vaguely heard of, and really enjoyed the show. Trying something new might land you with something interesting and fun, and even if it doesn’t hit, just trying it can break up the boredom a bit.
Give Yourself Credit for What You Are Doing
It’s easy to feel like you’ve done literally nothing for weeks or months. I feel that way all the time. I’ve been stuck on the same book for over a month now, slowly reading it 10 or so pages at a time. Mostly I play games on my phone or watch stuff on YouTube. But at the same time, looked at another way, I’ve been doing a lot. I’ve been watching tons of video essays on film and TV while playing on my phone. Watching fan videos is also not “wasting time” or “doing nothing” but “enjoying my fandom.” Which is always a good and fun thing.
Reach Out to People
Being isolated sucks, but we have so many ways to connect to each other these days. I’ve actually talked to some of my oldest friends more in the past two months than I have in ages. If you don’t want to do that, many communities have online options now, allowing people to connect. And you can also connect with people in a fan community of something you’re interested. And if you are introverted like me, this actually a fairly low-stakes time to do this kind of thing. When everything is strange, there are a lot fewer stakes in doing something like reaching out out of the blue to someone.
Be Kind to Yourself
The world is under immense stress right now, regardless of country. Like I said above, the last thing any of us need to do is put pressure on ourselves regarding what we are doing for fun, who we are reaching out to, and if we even want to deal with others right now. But just as you can’t force yourself to read a book, it’s important to be ok with the fact that you can’t right now. This is insanely hard and I suck at it to be honest. But when I manage it these days, it really has helped a lot, and weirdly made me more energetic and likely to do things.
Pop culture, books, media are great things that can unite us within and across cultures and now is a great time to engage with them. But it’s also really hard to do so, and that’s ok to. We all need to do what we need to in order to get through all of this. So try something new, embrace whatever you are engaging with, and most importantly, be kind to yourself regarding what you can and can’t do. And I’ll try to do the same.
