Sometimes it strikes me how bizarre the modern age is. This has been on my mind a lot since I saw the incredible film Brazil three weeks ago. This post won’t be a review of Brazil (though I might write one at some point), but it will cover some thoughts and feelings that have been in the back of my head ever since I saw it.
So much of what happens in any given part of the world is taken for granted. Almost everyone carries on as if things are now as they always were and always will be. For most modern humans, life is incredibly far removed from what most past humans experienced in their daily lives. It’s quite shocking to look around at cell phones, laptops, televisions, cars, airplanes, and much more and realize that none of those existed until relatively recently. With them (and many other things) have come massive changes in how humans relate to themselves, each other, and everything around them. It can be hard to notice the extent of the changes until one is removed from them. This can be done by going into the parts of nature that humans mostly avoid, learning about modern humans who use little to no modern technology, talking with older family members and friends who remember a vastly different life than what presently exists, and, if one was born before the twenty-first century, recalling the big shifts that occurred over the last few decades (such as the move from analog to digital in almost all areas of life). Spending too much time immersed in technology and manmade settings can make anyone forget that they live on a big rock zipping through the vastness of space, much of which can be seen by the unaided eye on clear nights in places far away from artificial lighting and the many other distractions that obscure the wondrous reality we all share.
Although it seems as if modern systems are here to stay, that’s not a guarantee. Anyone who has lived through a natural disaster knows how fragile modern systems are and how difficult it is when one or more of them go down for just a few days. Think about how many humans depend on giant, complicated supply chains for their food, water, gasoline, electricity, heating, air conditioning, income, healthcare, clothing, entertainment, and access to information. Now imagine what might happen if those supply chains were broken for months, years, or even decades. As hostile as humans can be toward each other when things are going well, I shudder to think about how much worse they’d act out of desperation if everything around them fell apart.
Perhaps the extra solitude I’ve enjoyed since last week has contributed to this perspective. I feel extremely comfortable with my own company and often feel extremely uncomfortable around other humans. Only animals can make me feel as comfortable around other living beings as I feel by myself; my late dog Sawyer did this better than anyone else. Since I’ve had extra time to myself lately, including at home, it’s made leaving the house and interacting with others that much stranger. Nobody else seems to notice the oddness and artificiality of modern life. It’s as if nearly everyone is sleepwalking through life or constantly on autopilot. Many are too busy trying to support themselves and their families to think long and hard about the things they take for granted. Some with far fewer struggles spend much of their free hours consuming shows, movies, books, podcasts, and other forms of entertainment, either alone or in the company of friends and acquaintances. Conversations I hear in these situations are mostly shallow, contain excessive attempts to be funny (including forced laughter), and either shy away from talking about existing systems altogether or devolve into hostile fights featuring suggested solutions that are tantamount to redecorating the top floor of a building instead of changing the foundation. Anything too far outside of these types of interactions results in freezing up, as if they’ve short-circuited after being presented something outside of their programming and don’t know what to do.
Sometimes it seems I’ll go mad at all of this. Other times, I can’t help but laugh at it. Although I’m not in a place to consistently enjoy the insanity in the world (or at least feel ok when things go differently than I hope they will), I’m getting close to being there again. That’s a good sign. Talking about it here and with those who also see how weird the modern world is helps. Revisiting some works that, like Brazil, show a crazy world with many parallels to our own (Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451) also brings me some comfort and makes me notice how much of what is normal is actually unhealthy and how many healthy things are still abnormal. I have no idea what the ultimate outcome of this will be, so it’ll be interesting to find out. At the very least, I hope it’ll be entertaining.