I'm getting into neo-nihilism – it's so soothing to conclude that nothing matters | Emma Beddington
You probably already knew this, but the nihilism is there. the follicles were up to par. A change in cultural mood must be seismic before I notice it. So if next-gen nihilism is on my radar, it must be everywhere, a dense, fluffy fog of meh enveloping the globe.
There were hints earlier: I remember being charmed by the "Why don't you give up and let the moss get you back?" meme from 2019 - it's certainly a phrase I've whispered countless times since, imagining inhabiting a silent primeval forest, my nostrils filled with the damp, earthy smell of moss as it slowly conquers my inert form , all thoughts of Virgin Mobile's call center and our forgotten perpetually clogged sink.
Despite this, I missed Wendy Syfret's book The Sunny Nihilist in 2021 In this book, Syfret reframed nihilism as a potentially beneficial response to the relentless pressure to self-optimize in an exceptionally sub-optimal world. She describes this “nothing matters” ethos, appealingly, as “a balm to a group worn down by exceptionalism, economic downturns, performative excellence, housing crises and living their best life on Instagram".
What took me from a vague fondness for moss to a feeling, as 2022 fades miserably, that the nihilism everywhere? It makes sense, I guess, that the restless permacrisis makes us more receptive to the idea that the effort is wasted. You can get Nietzsche coasters and "nothing matters" cross stitch kits on Etsy now. For me though, it was an egg that did it.
I'm in the thrall of Gudetama, the lazy egg. In case you're as out of touch as I am, Gudetama is a listless cartoon egg created in 2013 by Sanrio, the kawaii megacorporation behind Hello Kitty. Cute kitty, but slowly disengaged, Gudetama sees no point in the face of his certain destiny: to be eaten. They are "joyless and hopeless and completely without opinions or ambitions, except to be left alone to suffocate and bask in their own unease," according to a New York Times article about the anti-hero's new Netflix animated series. ovoid, throwing
Do you like it? Like many (Gudetama has a huge fanbase), I'm drawn to this rambling puddle of albumen and anomie, urging us to accept the essential futility of everything. There are other nihilistic patterns: a TikTok of a sheep with a bucket on its head, supposedly at "a place in his life where peace is a priority" resonates. Noodle, the pug who collapsed in his basket to announce a 'boneless day' died recently, but his spirit lives on. When life is tough, I Google the blunt-headed burrowing frog, a tiny-eyed amphibian blob that lives in swamps. I don't know what the burrowing frog is, but I'm instantly soothed gazing at its impassive features and imagining my belly in a Thai swamp.
Neo-nihilism makes sense as a corrective to the culture of frenzied hustle and bustle, multi-jobbers, and tech oligarchs who try in vain to...
You probably already knew this, but the nihilism is there. the follicles were up to par. A change in cultural mood must be seismic before I notice it. So if next-gen nihilism is on my radar, it must be everywhere, a dense, fluffy fog of meh enveloping the globe.
There were hints earlier: I remember being charmed by the "Why don't you give up and let the moss get you back?" meme from 2019 - it's certainly a phrase I've whispered countless times since, imagining inhabiting a silent primeval forest, my nostrils filled with the damp, earthy smell of moss as it slowly conquers my inert form , all thoughts of Virgin Mobile's call center and our forgotten perpetually clogged sink.
Despite this, I missed Wendy Syfret's book The Sunny Nihilist in 2021 In this book, Syfret reframed nihilism as a potentially beneficial response to the relentless pressure to self-optimize in an exceptionally sub-optimal world. She describes this “nothing matters” ethos, appealingly, as “a balm to a group worn down by exceptionalism, economic downturns, performative excellence, housing crises and living their best life on Instagram".
What took me from a vague fondness for moss to a feeling, as 2022 fades miserably, that the nihilism everywhere? It makes sense, I guess, that the restless permacrisis makes us more receptive to the idea that the effort is wasted. You can get Nietzsche coasters and "nothing matters" cross stitch kits on Etsy now. For me though, it was an egg that did it.
I'm in the thrall of Gudetama, the lazy egg. In case you're as out of touch as I am, Gudetama is a listless cartoon egg created in 2013 by Sanrio, the kawaii megacorporation behind Hello Kitty. Cute kitty, but slowly disengaged, Gudetama sees no point in the face of his certain destiny: to be eaten. They are "joyless and hopeless and completely without opinions or ambitions, except to be left alone to suffocate and bask in their own unease," according to a New York Times article about the anti-hero's new Netflix animated series. ovoid, throwing
Do you like it? Like many (Gudetama has a huge fanbase), I'm drawn to this rambling puddle of albumen and anomie, urging us to accept the essential futility of everything. There are other nihilistic patterns: a TikTok of a sheep with a bucket on its head, supposedly at "a place in his life where peace is a priority" resonates. Noodle, the pug who collapsed in his basket to announce a 'boneless day' died recently, but his spirit lives on. When life is tough, I Google the blunt-headed burrowing frog, a tiny-eyed amphibian blob that lives in swamps. I don't know what the burrowing frog is, but I'm instantly soothed gazing at its impassive features and imagining my belly in a Thai swamp.
Neo-nihilism makes sense as a corrective to the culture of frenzied hustle and bustle, multi-jobbers, and tech oligarchs who try in vain to...
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