The Trade-off between Artistic Integrity and External Validation | 15min snip from The Seen and the Unseen

Speaker 2
So don't do that. You can just join a group. So you get there and everyone's kind of chatting to each other, just go and stand in one of the groups and listen and laugh at the appropriate time and go, Oh, that's great. Oh, yeah. Oh, so what was that that you're talking about? Like, that is what I do all the time. We're sorry. Here's that what
Speaker 3
you're on about. But I
Speaker 2
love it. I like hearing about the stuff people are talking about. And no one, maybe it's slightly, you know, the absolute constant nature of me doing that. But like, you know, it's no one's like, Oh, God, you've joined the group. You know, and I am actually actively annoyed with that. So you can just stand and kind of nod and then you'll, I think the worst thing is when you feel like you're alone and everyone can see that you're not integrating. So if you stood next to some people, you're integrating. It's absolutely fine to go.
Speaker 1
Is it okay if I come and stand with you guys? I don't know many people. Yeah, absolutely fine. You don't have to be like, I'm the weirdest worm at the party. Just be like, can I stand with you guys? Yes. And everyone will be like, of course, because there'll be other people in that group who are also, you know, don't know that many people or, you know, everybody's, everybody's feeling the same way you are, even if they look casually on the outside. Oh, they're not. They're still freaking out inside. And
Speaker 2
I think it's really boring to say this, but I think it probably is the right thing to say is that sometimes when one is nervous, one drinks too much. And if you've not been to one before and you drink too much, you might then end up having like proper anxiety the next day being like, Oh my God, was I, did I just turn up and I was a complete mess? Like, you want to basically pace yourself and until you've got the measure of the party, everyone's going mad. And it was like shots, everyone's drinking loads and it's really like a we're on one. Then find game, evolve like what's the work, then you've got the nice, which is always kind of communal bonding the following time everyone's in work of like, Oh my God, what should I say? No, you were
Speaker 1
fine. I think that's the thing about the Office of Swiss Party is people can talk about it for the six months lead up and talk about the one that just happened for the six months afterwards. The only reason everyone's doing that is why people got something to chat about. Sorry to return to Alfred Dunhill, the gentleman's barber. I think we should. But I went to this one. I had been working there very long at all. Were you the only woman at this party? No, no, no. It was a gentleman's car.
Speaker 2
All of the staff are women, of course.
Speaker 1
No, I'm sorry. I'm making it sound like a it shouldn't have been called a day. It was a we sold there was a floor that sold leather goods, a floor that sold smoking paraphernalia, a floor that sold pens, a restaurant, a bar on the top floor, a barbers where I was on reception. Right. Okay. Fine. But it makes like classy leather bags and things. It was a really classy joint. It shouldn't really have been called a gentleman's club, though I suspect things went on in the I don't know. I really don't know. In the bags. In the bags. I was stuck in the bags. Anyway, it was in London and it was this I was only saying there was a temp and then I stayed for ages because I really liked the reception. When is the Office of Swiss Party in this really fancy place somewhere and drinks as it's moment the drinks stop being free. I was like, well, I'm out because it's 11 pounds of glass and I haven't got 11 pounds. And I just took bags and bags of sweets home in my pocket. But I remember going to this thing, people got obliterated. And I think this is an aspect of like, you know, if you don't like the company very much or if you think they don't pay you enough, there is this aspect of like, well, I'm going to fucking drink my cut at the bar.
Speaker 2
That's literally what I said. Yeah.
Speaker 1
We've all been to something where you're like, you owe me money and I'm going to drink it out.
Speaker 2
I'm drinking it out.
Speaker 1
I'm drinking it out. When I was an intern at this terrible film company, went to the office, Christmas Party, and when everyone was, you know, buying drinks, I was like, yes, please, you don't pay me to be here. Of course I'm going to be having your drinks. I was so I was unbelievably drunk as I've ever been. Anyway, this this fancy one, this fancy place, they afterwards, I went in that it was we had to go to work the next day and I went in and I was the only person in the barbers for ages. And I had to go and find somebody else and be like, and I went to like knock on the staff and I was like, I'm so sorry. Just like none of the barbers have come in or anybody. And there was no one in the staff room either. To the point that I was like, are we not supposed to be at work? And I like go like honestly, like just every floor, like it was 28 days later being like, where is everyone? My immediate supervisors had got into a fist fight. One of them was in prison, like in jail was in like the night, the holding cell for like drunken disorderly. Oh my God. The other one, like their phone was in the canal. Somebody had gone off with a much, there was a real like scandalous. I didn't really understand the characters involved, but somebody had gone home with somebody that was a scandal, but everybody knew. So like, and it was, I was like, this is electric. And so I don't know if that's going to happen to you at the Banana Republic Christmas lunch, but it's there as an option. And then I was like, am I in charge? And then me just like, at my little reception desk.

Ep 359: Danish Husain and the Multiverse of Culture

The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

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