The Weekly Roundup (week of 10.23)
i can't wait to show u a real piece soon
1. Overwhelming and Collective Murder
According to Girard, “we literally do not know what to desire.” When all our bodily needs are met—food, warmth, shelter—we’re left with a chasm: we want more, but we don’t know what. So we learn from other people. We take another individual as a model, notice the things they desire, and copy them. What we really want isn’t the object at all; it’s to be the model. As Girard puts it, “all desire is the desire for being.” And since desire is mimetic, it’s also contagious. “If there are two individuals who desire the same thing, there will soon be a third,” he said. “Once there are three, four, five, six, the process starts to snowball, and everyone desires the same thing.” But when everyone is after the same thing, the idealized model quickly becomes a rival. And once a mimetic rivalry gets going, it turns into a deadly, contagious violence: soon, absolutely everyone is on the verge of murdering everyone else.
This was a thought-provoking article in Harper’s about the somewhat obscure French philosopher and academic René Girard. I highly recommend checking him out if you haven’t. He’s a bit of a polemic and has grand theories about life, but that’s the most interesting stuff in my opinion. The author’s own experience of cancellation and scapegoating by his political camp only further strengthens the content, and I wish he dug a bit deeper into his own life and spoke about that. Nonetheless, it’s worth reading if you’re a fan of philosophy and are terminally online like me. Read here.
2. Why We’re Dressing Like Cowboys Now
“…But that doesn’t fully explain why so many of us want to dress like cowboys right now. Is it related to culture’s recent fascination with capital-T Tradition, as evidenced by, among other things, the preponderance of trad wife content on TikTok and our leading downtown hipsters' embrace of Catholicism? Could it be that in an intensely polarized time, cowboy cosplay allows coastal elitists who are too grown-up or sophisticated to wear Realtree camo to flirt with red state aesthetics? Or maybe the simplest answer is best: Pulling on a pair of Luccheses is a way to imagine a simpler life, one in which you rise with the sun, wear cool clothes, work with your hands, and fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow. Not sending emails eight hours a day might be the greatest fantasy of all.”
Great piece from Chris Black. Read here.
3. Why Does Everybody Dress Like They Have a Stylist?
He wears full looks, each garments’ silhouette and vibe in accordance with the rest, as when he wore pink Amiri trousers with white boots and a camp shirt made out of vintage Chanel scarves. Each fit, tensionless and match-y, appears to be designed to serve a purpose. As if put together by a third-party with a personal shopper and tailor on speed dial. Don’t take my word for it: X has been aflame with praise for Kelce’s non-existent stylist.
Look around and you’ll notice that Kelce is not alone. Lots of men, from celebs to civilians, look like they have personal stylists these days. From the locker rooms of the NFL to the streets of New York, dudes are walking around like they’re a few weeks into an HBO press tour.
4. Throwing Fits interview with Quil Lemons
Creative Director and photographer Quil Lemons stops by the Throwing Fits studio to discuss a wide range of topics. check out his work if you haven’t already.