21st Century Mythologies The Selfie
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Oct 22, 2014 The podcast delves into how the iPhone transformed self-viewing, making selfies a modern extension of self. Peter Conrad connects selfies to narcissism, highlighting their rise as a form of self-advertisement. He critiques the trend of selfies at solemn sites and discusses their use in political protest, notably by Turkish women. Themes of identity, morality, and technology clash as selfies become tools for both empowerment and exploitation. The conversation ultimately warns of the dangers of superficial self-obsession and its impact on genuine self-awareness.
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Camera Turns Viewer Into Viewed
- The front-facing iPhone camera made people both subject and object at once, enabling the selfie as a cultural function.
- Peter Conrad argues this technological shift closes the gap between seeing and being seen, creating new self-representation dynamics.
Selfies As Modern Narcissism
- Selfies continue a long history of self-regard from Narcissus through mirrors to painted self-portraits.
- Conrad links psychological and cultural judgments of narcissism to technological preservation and display of the self.
Split-Second Self-Advertisement
- Unlike painted self-portraits, selfies compress self-representation into a split second and avoid pitiless scrutiny.
- Conrad claims selfies serve self-advertisement rather than critical self-appraisal.
