I remember going through a period in my teens where I was obsessed with books about teen girls who went truly crazy. Who ended up in institutions. I just noticed one of those books on my shelf the other day. It's called Lisa, Bright and Dark. If I remember correctly, she had multiple personalities, but that might be one of the other ones I read in that period.
Why did I find those stories so compelling? Probably, yes, because I had SO MANY BIG FEELINGS, so reading about teen girls who were overwhelmed by their feelings and their psychology resonated. I think it was also that I felt really trapped in the "good girl who doesn't make mistakes" narrative and the thought of just letting go and falling off the edge of the world was intoxicating to contemplate. I couldn't do it, but I could live vicariously through those girls who did it, which fed something in me.
Hearing your voice on all of this was much appreciated (dare I say, needed). I was exploring this week what you said about learning about feelings. The reason I’ve always been drawn to art like this is because growing up it was the only place (music, TV and film, but mostly music) where people said out loud what I suspected we all were feeling but refusing to name. Making the implicit, explicit. My first taste of therapy acknowledging. as you said here, the madness.
I mean according to Amanda Gorman she’s a poet! https://www.instagram.com/p/CvwTN0Tu0dE/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA== for me so much of this album feels very repetitive. It almost feels like when Warhol had the Factory… he had the silkscreen machine and just churned stuff out. As you know my spouse and my kids are huge fans so I limit my criticism of her. 🙃 for domestic harmony. but fyi since I live with Swifties I also know that her ex was in a text thread called “tortured men’s department” and some people think the album title is a reference to that. I know a lot more about TSwift than I have ever wanted to …
Great read. I thoroughly enjoyed this essay, and now I have a longer to-read list. I was listening to Stranger in the Alps (Phoebe Bridgers) while reading it; a perfect ("sad girl") album.
well, I'm not a taylor fan at all. My friend's grown son's girlfriend (early 20's) told me that taylor named her album this as "a homage to The Dead Poet's Society, right?". I just nodded in acknowledgement.
I agree.. I was drawn to reading about girl's my age - and if their drama was more than mine, which typically, i felt it was because there was a story about it, it made me feel better. And I was able to relate, too. I didn't have a lot of close friends. I guess they were demonstrating courage which I felt I had none, so that was an escape. Anyway! Nice words!
I remember going through a period in my teens where I was obsessed with books about teen girls who went truly crazy. Who ended up in institutions. I just noticed one of those books on my shelf the other day. It's called Lisa, Bright and Dark. If I remember correctly, she had multiple personalities, but that might be one of the other ones I read in that period.
Why did I find those stories so compelling? Probably, yes, because I had SO MANY BIG FEELINGS, so reading about teen girls who were overwhelmed by their feelings and their psychology resonated. I think it was also that I felt really trapped in the "good girl who doesn't make mistakes" narrative and the thought of just letting go and falling off the edge of the world was intoxicating to contemplate. I couldn't do it, but I could live vicariously through those girls who did it, which fed something in me.
Hearing your voice on all of this was much appreciated (dare I say, needed). I was exploring this week what you said about learning about feelings. The reason I’ve always been drawn to art like this is because growing up it was the only place (music, TV and film, but mostly music) where people said out loud what I suspected we all were feeling but refusing to name. Making the implicit, explicit. My first taste of therapy acknowledging. as you said here, the madness.
I mean according to Amanda Gorman she’s a poet! https://www.instagram.com/p/CvwTN0Tu0dE/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA== for me so much of this album feels very repetitive. It almost feels like when Warhol had the Factory… he had the silkscreen machine and just churned stuff out. As you know my spouse and my kids are huge fans so I limit my criticism of her. 🙃 for domestic harmony. but fyi since I live with Swifties I also know that her ex was in a text thread called “tortured men’s department” and some people think the album title is a reference to that. I know a lot more about TSwift than I have ever wanted to …
Great read. I thoroughly enjoyed this essay, and now I have a longer to-read list. I was listening to Stranger in the Alps (Phoebe Bridgers) while reading it; a perfect ("sad girl") album.
well, I'm not a taylor fan at all. My friend's grown son's girlfriend (early 20's) told me that taylor named her album this as "a homage to The Dead Poet's Society, right?". I just nodded in acknowledgement.
I agree.. I was drawn to reading about girl's my age - and if their drama was more than mine, which typically, i felt it was because there was a story about it, it made me feel better. And I was able to relate, too. I didn't have a lot of close friends. I guess they were demonstrating courage which I felt I had none, so that was an escape. Anyway! Nice words!