Last Friday, I was scrolling in my Substack app and came across the essay she wrote for
, No, Culture is Not Stuck.The idea that culture is stagnating, as [
] puts it — or that it’s stuck, as Paul Skallas says — isn’t new. Neither is the observation that there’s something different about how bad things are in this particular moment. The cultural malaise is palpable and cross-generational. The complaints are more than just “old man yells at cloud.” Everyone feels it.
This is true as far as it goes, the piece argues. Old forms of media are dying. But what both the doomers and the deniers miss is that new forms are being born.
We’re witnessing the rise of new forms of cultural expression. If these new forms aren’t dismissed by critics, it’s because most of them don’t even register as relevant. Or maybe because they can’t even perceive them.
And what will fill the void left by film, fashion, literature? You should read the piece and watch our conversation to find out.
We also talk about fiction on Substack, McLuhan scholar
, , and what might happen if people started role playing in the comments.Shoutout to
, , , , , , , and everyone else who tuned in live!Technical note: today I tried some audio enhancement with Adobe Podcast, and edited for tightness with Descript. How did it feel — good? weird?
Katherine Dee: No, Culture is Not Stuck