#1: ON SURREALISM

Why does lunacy and irreverence feel so resonant right now? One of the principles of surrealism is an expression of the absurd in order to question power and I’ve similarly noticed Gen Z quietly raging against the madness of the world with content that is surreal, weird and oft-uncomfortable.

“Entertaining” does kind of work—albeit entertaining in the way a car crash is, where you can’t look away. But I don’t think it’s specific enough. It’s not the real measurable angle. Instead, what I think is that if you look at America from around a decade ago, say, 2012 on, the more apt descriptor is that American culture is increasingly unable to... See more