Patrice Leroy: Reflections

2019/03/14

How terrifying! We are supposed to be the protagonists of our own lives, yet today we are gradually ending up living transient lives. At every turn, an immediate selfie. Captured in a single image, the episodes that color our lives fade away. Click. Today's meal. Click. I went to a place like this. Click. I met this person. Like. Dislike. I believe this. But that is definitely a lie. Thinking becomes simplified, and spontaneity continues to decline. How grateful we are for the weather forecast that tells us what clothes to wear every day. Individuality thins out, vanishes, and there is no emotion left. There is no self-confidence at all, and the same goes for sexual desire. If you don't believe in yourself, naturally you can't believe in anything else; if you don't love yourself, you can't love others. Crying for no reason, wallowing in idle slumber, and eating meals devoid of any shared joy. Regressing endlessly, unconsciously wishing for a return to the peaceful womb of the mother.

Amidst this, collective beliefs are strengthened, and social pressure follows suit. Days spent surrounded by those who advocate conservative ideas (which are all the same in the end) regarding politics, economy, and religion. In parallel with the rampant spread of conformism, a fascist-patriotic populism that shifts one's own faults onto others grows right before our eyes. Hating successful people—"Why doesn't President Macron suffer like I do?"—or idolizing them—"Why did Arashi disband and leave me in the midst of deep despair?" And the only element that boosts one's own value is the misfortune of others. Meanwhile, AI evolves at a dizzying pace, while our intelligence, conversely, is eroded by significant smartphone addiction and pathological phubbing, coming to a complete standstill.

Every morning, inside Shinagawa Station, as I dodge humans in autopilot mode and somehow carve a path through, my mind is mostly overflowing with such thoughts. Then, a few minutes later, inside a winter train car, with my backside being toasted by the heater under the seat, I gaze at the stiff sleeping faces of those humans and their expressions captivated by various screens. But that is exactly why, in my classes and lectures, I speak passionately, urging them to seek difference from the masses and to re-examine their true "Es (Id)"! Listen carefully to others, look carefully at others. From there, find your own alterity and individuality. To escape the pain of being eroded by deep guilt due to the abandonment of desire, it is necessary to revive the thirst for living, the thirst to achieve something. In short, take that step toward autonomy once again!