Narcissim
by Derick Varn

Narcissism is the bane of our culture. I was flipping through the multifarious channels on television and made a startling realization: we are a narcissistic culture. An example of this:

MTV was showing two hours worth of documentaries on its coverage of Spring Break over the years. It's already sad that popular self-absorbed attitude is bad enough get a kick out of watching college Coeds cover themselves in whip-cream while listening to Kid Rock. Now, we have the MTV telling us that it is important to know how they indulge us in self-worship.

Exalt the new God: pop culture.

This narcissism is deeply rooted in the American artistic traditions. Ever since the Sturm und Drang, poets have concerned with exploring the personal. It was revolutionary at the time, it's trite now.

That's not to say that you should be subjective, but it is to say "hey, if you want to be personal don't be so obsessed with yourself."

In all honesty, you can only explain your emotions so many times. I mean, I don't know why people want to watch MTV expose itself, but I know most people don't care about an aspiring writer's inner world.

You can learn what not to do by watching pop culture. As a writer, you want to explore our subjective world by being objective. Narcissism is not fun and it's hard to relate to. I don't relate to the shallow attics of MTV or a poet that makes cryptic references to his personal life.

Don't be the poetic who only speaks to himself. Don't be that guy, man. Don't be that guy.

Derick Varn is a poet and longstanding contributor to Unlikely Stories. Check out his literary works at this site.