Ferris Bueller and the Zen of Life Maintenance
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.
You know that end scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? You know, after the film ends and the credits roll and Ferris walks out to the camera to ask the audience “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go.” This is undoubtedly how a lot of us felt after watching Twitter’s continued implosion. I saw numerous accounts talking about the numbers of followers they lost. I assume it’s a fair mix of bots and people who want nothing to do with the current regime. I’m not immune to this—at last count I was down about 300 followers. And of course they thing with twitter followers is that it is subject to two contradictory truths:
Your twitter follower numbers matter. To a degree, they represent your ability thus far to broadcast a message. The people who tune in to hear your thoughts whether they like them or not.1 It also represents the potential to distribute new information, whether it’s a thought on politics, a meme, or musings on Andor.2 I continue to believe that a single well-placed tweet has the ability to get a larger portion of the population talking than most publications. Yes, James Sweet, I’m talking to you.3
Your twitter follower numbers do not matter. Ultimately, what makes or breaks the quality of your life are the things you choose to value. Relationships, your family, your hobbies, whatever.4 We will absolutely make real friends on twitter. And yes, I urge people to stay and fight if they can. But not at the cost of prioritizing a social media site over their own happiness.
So, be like Ferris. Speak your mind. Try to be part of the conversation. Encourage others. Definitely skip school at some point. But ultimately, enjoy the things that make you happy.5
Or go to Mastodon.
What I’m reading-
Speaking of mastodons, I preordered Dan Flores’ Wild New World a few months back and have been working my way through it since its arrival on my doorstep last week. Flores is a guy that has a major impact on my work even though I’ve never met him. I actually came to know his stuff through a nontraditional channel. I wanna say I first heard him back when I listened to Joe Rogan’s podcast, or perhaps it was through Steven Rinella, a hunter and writer who operates the Meateater TV show and podcast, and other assorted franchises. As I worked my way through graduate school, I knew I wanted to write about Seminole history and that of Florida, but making connections to writing about natural history and why it matters was something I had a hard time making stick. Flores, one of the most gifted historical writers I can think of, helped to demonstrate that. One of my favorite historical articles is his “Bison Ecology and Bison Diplomacy: The Southern Plains from 1800 to 1850,” and I have taught directly from his American Serengeti. If you get a chance, read the latter. It’ll get you thinking about Great Plains in a whole new way. I especially love this thoughts on two species in particular- the coyote and the pronghorn antelope.
Flores’ new book is aimed for general audiences, but there’s so much of what he does that I love for academic books as well. Perhaps my favorite device is his insertion of himself into the narrative, something I’ve seen lately from historians such as Bathsheba Demuth and Emily O’Gorman. I think doing so really grounds the reader into the story and makes for a far more compelling lesson. Besides, I got to see “WTF” used for the first time in his memories of an Alaska grizzly bear encounter. I think that’s just brilliant writing. I’ve posted an image from the page below.
I’ll continue to think about works like this as I move forward with my own projects about Florida and elsewhere.
HATM
And finally, we had a rousing night last night with Enola Holmes 2. It was a big crowd on twitter, and I’m thankful for someone like Tim Johnson who could guide us through the film like he did.
We’ve got a heavy schedule of podcast tapings each night this week, even as a hurricane barrels towards my house. We’ll be talking about Lincoln with Lindsay Chervinsky and Megan Kate Nelson, The Patriot with Craig Bruce Smith and Robert Greene II, and Guys and Dolls with Sara Georgini. I expect all of those will release sometime in January.
Finally is this week’s HATM film. Tune in on Amazon Prime at 8pm EST this Sunday, November 11, for FENCES. I’m excited for this one and hope you will be too.
I expected to have a big sweeping conclusion today but that’s gone now in the midst of work and hurricane preparations. I suppose my takeaway is to try to enjoy your week and if you need to skip out just a bit, then go for it. Just make sure to look around every once in a while.
This was always the genius of people like Howard Stern, who cultivated listeners from both people who loved and loathed him.
If you’re not watching, you’re missing out. Andor is the best Star Wars since 1980 (better than Jedi) and I believe we have to consider the show—if it continues in this way—in the same ways we think about The Wire, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos.
Actually, I have no interest in the American Historical Association, which seems to exist only to continue to exist. I don’t see any power or influence coming from the group. They put out a nice magazine which I sometimes read parts of.
Andor should be one of these things.
This probably a good time to weigh in on Ferris vs. Cameron. I don’t believe Ferris is a figment of Cameron’s imagination, though I do believe that Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is actually Cameron’s movie. It is Cameron, not Ferris, who goes on the Hero’s Journey. It is Cameron, not Ferris, who encounters and defeats the villain (his father and his expectations). It is Cameron, not Ferris, who transforms as a result of what transpires during the film.