#8: miss nessie
and the met gala
Helloooooo,
This letter is late because the Scottish Railway is experiencing a driver shortage.
Kirsten and I spent the weekend in Inverness, a city in the Scottish Highlands on the river Ness,,, which flows out of Loch Ness,,, home of Miss Nessie herself. It was a sweet trip. We got lucky w good weather. Stayed at a little guest house owned by this Scottish lady. The carpet was tartan. Went to the pub and smoked by the river. Slept in, drank tea in the morning and took a bus to Loch Ness. Went on a boat on the loch. The water looked black. Ate lots of fish. Asked Coke or Pepsi questions for hours. Went into the Lush store twice. Ate two ice cream cones each. It was very calm. Sunday we were supposed to take a train home at 7pm but due to the aforementioned driver shortage our train was only running to Perth and then we would need to go through Glasgow before we could get home so we just spent the night in Glasgow. Walked around the university campus the next day and saw the botanical gardens and ate in this restaurant Anthony Bourdain once reviewed and recommended. It was a such a nice city, felt American in a lot of ways.
And then we went home. And I’ve been catching up on sleep and getting a bunch of logistical tasks and emails and things done. And now I’m writing this.
Recently, against the backdrop of Met Gala content and discourse, I’ve been thinking about celebrities as the face of the new ruling class. Living out of America for the first time has increased my awareness of royalty and what class divide has looked like historically. I look at Blake Lively and I see Marie Antoinette. There is no difference between the opulence and inaccessibility of modern celebrity life and that of royalty. But, where the citizens generally resented their royals, particularly in times of dramatic class divide and hardship, people revere their celebrities. It feels dystopian.
In my post-Soviet Russia class we talked about imagined community, which is the idea that cultural identity can be created through media and modes outside of current, physical reality. In class this concept was applied to the fabrication of Russian history, but it applies to the American idea of celebrity as well. Objective reality and way of life differs vastly across America, but we are united through celebrity culture—shared icons and idols. There is more to say on this, but I haven’t figured it out yet.
The media this week was A1. Top Tier. I give each of these works/pieces my highest recommendation.
—The Nymphet Alumni podcast. A recommendation from my friend Georgia. Three girls discuss fashion and its cultural implications. It’s smart, they’re in touch. They have so many good episodes; I love ep. 3: The United States vs Rookie Mag and ep. 22: Mass Bushwick. Also the one on blogging ofc, ep. 4 with Megsuperstarprincess.
—I read a breadth of fantastic articles and essays. The crown jewel being this essay, “All Alone in Their White Girl Pain” by Safy-Hallan Farah. She writes about the aestheticized Sad Girl as a role reserved for white women. Her critique is veryyyy intricate, I recommend. I also, in the Sad Girl vein, read this essay by Jess Bergman, “I’m Not Feeling Good at All.” It’s another critique on dissociative feminism, specifically focusing on literary representations. Also this Jia Tolentino essay, “Can Motherhood Be a Mode of Rebellion?" was super quick and smart.
—Watched Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette which was lush and girly and just very well done. Been listening to the soundtrack on the bus. Also watched We Need To Talk About Kevin for the first time,,, psycho and crazy.
—Lastly, loved listening to my friends’ ep Luffon Bright. Their band is called Photokem. I don’t listen to them because they’re friends, the ep is impossibly good. Intricate, dark, and layered.
Good week. Also, wanted to say, before I go, that I will be traveling and doing cuckoo exciting things for the next like… two months :)) That being said, letters will be coming out once a week for a while, mostly on Mondays.
Next time I write I will be on the train to the FARM which is insane.
Until then,
Jill