Trask Avenue

On Saturday I watched Bruce Springsteen’s March 15^th keynote address from the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas. He said a lot, but one thing in particular intrigued me.

“We live in a post-authentic world. Today, authenticity is a house of mirrors. It’s all just what you’re bringing when the lights go down.”

Contextually he was speaking about music, but the descriptor “post-authentic world” is reflective of a broader societal shift. Nowadays it is far more difficult to separate real from fake, sheen from substance. It takes work. Reality is constantly being distorted and thanks to the internet those distortions are perpetuated across a vast spectrum. There’s nothing new saying that anything promulgated as “truth” is suspect, but never before has the ability to manipulate and influence been afforded such an easy and enormous potential for distribution. Part of the inevitable fallout from the toxic ability to get anything into the public consciousness with such immediacy has been the explosion of misrepresentation. Misrepresentation of facts, people, places, events. It’s become so prevalent that when you discover something or someone was not what you perceived shock or surprise is no longer your first reaction. Quite the opposite.

You don’t need to look hard to find these distortions. “Reality Television” is about as far from reality as you can get. Photographs are constantly manipulated, then disseminated for social, political and promotional purposes. How often have you seen a celebrity on the cover of a magazine who was basically unrecognizable? And it’s not limited to the famous. With alarming frequency the average person is doing whatever he/she can to alter their natural appearance through surgery, miracle creams, tanning beds, coloring agents, et al. Information is regularly taken out of context and repackaged as “fact.” By the time this information is exposed as adulterated it’s often too late. The damage has been inflicted. While these types of behaviors are not exclusive to the 21^st century today’s culture allows them to be more commonplace than ever.

Everything has an angle, everyone is marketing. As Springsteen said, it’s all a house of mirrors. The Blogosphere is no exception. Each of us who contribute to the glut of information and misinformation bouncing about out there should pause and consider what we’re doing. We all brand ourselves in a certain way, showcasing a version we wish to perpetuate. Maybe it’s not phony, but most likely it is not an entirely accurate representation of who we really are. Anonymous bloggers (which my unscientific studies indicate represent the far majority) are probably more authentic since they are shrouded by the cloak of invisibility. Nevertheless, the mere fact many folks choose to be anonymous is in itself indicative of a post-authentic mentality. We’re real, we’re authentic, but we’re also hidden in the haze, protected by our anonymity. Like a faded photograph it offers a muted authenticity.

The more I think about referring to this aesthetic as the “post-authentic world” the more spot-on it feels. I imagine I’ll be using these words more often. They’re clear, concise and, more to the point, neatly encapsulate how culture and society is evolving. To me the description is perfect. I’d even go so far as to call it authentic.

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Postscript I: Checking in at about 50 minutes, watching the entire keynote speech requires commitment. However, for those interested in an insightful appreciation of the meaning, history and evolution of popular music over the past 60 years or so it is well worth your time to check it out. And you don’t have to be a Springsteen fan, although if you are it’s an added bonus. You can see the entire speech here.

Postscript II: Thanks to Mark from Jersey Style Photography for bringing this speech to my attention. If you haven’t sampled Mark’s photography, take a peek. His Jersey Noir® work is particularly exceptional.