Consuming Culture - Essay Prep

Problem

I find certain scenes highly appealing and alluring, yet I wouldn’t want to live there. More than that, I wouldn’t want to contribute to or be a part of the culture that actually creates it. Or if I would on some sort of nominal basis, when I am drawn to it so in media I really just want to consume it, fantasize the atmosphere and somehow graft that atmosphere onto some unarticulated life of my own choosing.

Why is this a problem?

It seems my desire of these scenes is very tenuous, yet it feels so strong and deep. What is it that I actually want?

Describe

What are the scenes?

https://brickset.com/sets/21310-1

An old bait shop. Tattered. Populated and frequented by characters of that culture: fishermen, country clerks, rustic/rugged lifestyles. The glut of tokens of this culture: Rooster vane, crab ornament, ship wheel ornament, patched and varied shingles, a land telescope, old sign, wrap-around wooden deck, uneven exterior paneling, exterior rain spout, lantern light, fish ornament, dock tire ornament, fishing gear, caught fish laying about, seagulls, rocky outcropping, exposed yet masoned foundation, shabby chimney, anchor ornament, coffee mug, buoy ornament, barrel, hand-hung “open” sign, cultural apparel. A separateness from modern life – more than that, a defiance of modern concerns like neatness, newness, wealth, connection to the broader world. The unpretentious functionality in design, yet careful and authentic ornamentation. Authenticity (as far as I know as an outsider).

What do I like about it?

Comfort, cozy. A place apart. Thick atmosphere of culture. Simplicity. Proximity to nature. Physical/geographical freedom. Very textured, figuratively.

Do I actually want to be part of a culture like this? Or do I just want to feel it? Is it a symptom of how cultureless my life, and to an extent modernity, is? How could I partake in a culture like this, what would it look like? Could I ever truly fit into a culture of limited means – if not would it look something like North Bend / Issaquah where it’s outdoorsy and rugged but people are rich af?

It’s more toxic nostalgia for a purposeful life, a pining for passivity. I wouldn’t actually want to live in it anymore than I’d want to take up purpose and scene now. What I really want is to want it, I want to want it, and that’s the pull, that idea.

I love settings like this for games when I’m escaping, pretending and imagining, role playing. But I would find it boring, limited, confining.

What if there’s was a culture that I liked and did feel like I belonged to. What would that culture be?

(You have to know what you want before you can create or find a culture for yourself. Actually want, not just want to feel.)

I have no business in a place like that. Those people care about and live that culture. I am a tourist in a place not meant for tourists. An unwelcome guest in their home. A voyeur.

If it’s only certain scenes I desire, it’s due to the qualities of that particular scene, not just the qualities of being a scene in general.

Turns out much of it is just the quality of being a scene, per my comment below. A culture with purpose and richness (compare to my own), could be anything. Though this scene in particular does have appeals. That’s why every world-building that’s captivating has a rich culture. That’s a massive draw.

It’s fundamentally escapist. So much of the language is about not being how my environment is now. It’s not just something aspirational, it’s an escape.

The scene (and all functionally similar scenes) are a mirror of both my dissatisfactions and my desires.

Interesting that the initial “Problem” statement doesn’t mention that I wouldn’t belong there.

What would my culture be? How would it look? What are the tokens? Values? Feel?

What would my culture be? Absolute philosophical/ideological unpretension (i.e. nihilism, but that sounds nicer). There’s delight and play and interactivity. There’s quietude, and solitude when desired. There’s space for feeling our bodies, fields or woods. There’s exchange with outsiders. The mood is generally pleasant. Lot of things are shared. Vulnerability is valued, and people are trustworthy – not necessarily kind, but understanding (and thereby pretty kind). There’s space for hobbies, alone or socially; pursuit of curiosity or experimentation. But again, no pressure to do anything because of the nihilism philosophical unpretension.

How would it look? Low key, warm and cozy, naturalistic. Spacious.

What are the tokens? Things people make. Smiles. Healthy bodies. Sun and light. Outdoor spaces. Sharp minds.

What about the values? Intimacy, intellectual vulnerability, physical activity, self-pursuit (incl. curiosity), rest, opt-in community,

What is the feel? Warm, friendly, either isolated or connected, fit,

...---What turns you off about some sort of woodland hippy commune?

I don’t want to be smug or complacent. The culture is not a purpose or happiness, it’s a medium for those things if you like, or for whatever you like. I want to know great ideas and works still. I want to practice skepticism and be subversive where it may be helpful. I want to push and be pushed, to open my mind, sharpen my mind, develop my ideas, develop my sensibilities.

I miss the density of ideas and variety of personas in a city, and the progressivism.