On Repostmodern

My friend once told me a koan[1] of his own authorship that our world is just like a piece of cake to be cut for a TikTok video. For tiktokless "elitesˮ unfamiliar with this trend, a fake cake is a popular genre of TikTok videos where some unsuspicious object, for example, a tome of Das Kapital, is cut just to reveal that it is, in fact, a cake baked to be otherwise indistinguishable from the original. An obvious analogy of noumenon and phenomenon arises instantly. Things are not what we perceive them as, but the perceived image is sometimes sufficient, although never comprehensive. I really love this trend for its profound message in a unique wrapping. The TikTok cake trend is itself a TikTok cake. Something wise, yet for Zoomer's mind. I wish I could repost each of these fake cake videos. TikTok, however, has banned me from reposting for reasons my lawyer advised me not to disclose.

What I call repostmodern can be characterized by the increased value of a repost. Peopleʼs political views, social demands, and organizational affiliations are described by their reposts. Tell me what you repost, and I will tell you who you are. Nowadays, to support some change means to be subscribed to certain pages, use certain hashtags, and, of course, repost important pieces of information. The sincere political action of fight, struggle, and discourse has been reduced to two to three clicks. Capitalism turned a competition of ideas into a market of ideas. Any point of view you could imagine is already present somewhere on the Internet. There is no need to write a 500-word essay on why "Anton Chigurh did not kill anyone"[2] if there are already tens of videos on YouTube about it. Just repost it.

Since now the perception of you is the same as the perception of your reposts, the inability to repost can be considered as severe punishment as stitching up someoneʼs mouth. I canʼt repost, and I must share. Paradoxically, the absence of the action is an action, too. Being silent about certain issues places you in the ranks of disgusting people in the eyes of others. If you are not choosing a side, your followers from both camps may assume you belong to the camp opposite to them. From the utilitarian point of view, there are no wrong options in this situation; the only wrong option is to hesitate to choose one.

One month ago, some drama emerged in Mitski's fandom[3]. Some fans accused her of being zionist. When asked for proof, they pointed it out on her page. Indeed, there were no Palestine flags, no reposts of humanitarian aid, etc. This raised a high level of concern, which led to one of the fans asking, "Mitski! Do you support Palestine? ˮ during a concert. To which she replied, "Was there any doubt? ˮ with a grand round of applause coming after.

Due to the biopolitics of neoliberalism, we have started to forget that people are, in their essence, TikTok cakes. We are certainly not using vectorized data to feed algorithms or pachinko balls to fall directly into one of the holes. Each of us has a unique appearance, texture, fragrance, and taste behind a simulacra that is our topping, glazing, and shape. The solution to repostmodern lies in the infamous Žižekian non-participation motto: "I would prefer not to. I am happy I cannot repost. That is why I demand that you cut me before anything else.

Article by Ansar Yesmukhanov

[1] A paradoxical anecdote or riddle without a solution is used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and provoke enlightenment.

[2] A main antagonist from the novel and the film "No Country for Old Men." It is a reference to memes making fun of bizarre pop-culture analyses and theories.

[3] A Japanese-American singer-songwriter known for her unique blend of indie rock, pop, and folk music.