Sub-Culture
On our collective obsesh with the Titanic submarine
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you heard about the missing submersible last week. It was all over the news, it was turned into memes, and it was (and is) a much-tweeted-about topic of discussion on the internet.
But for every 500 people talking about it, there was at least one person complaining about that discussion — Why is the submersible getting the attention other things deserve? Why won’t people shut up about this? Don’t they realize there are other things happening in the world?
Here’s the deal: Life’s tough. Escapism is necessary. And more importantly: You can obsess for four days over the submersible and also be aware of other things. Not everything is mutually exclusive. It’s the same reason you can watch both Vanderpump Rules and Meet the Press. Or eat a kale salad followed by a chocolate chip cookie. There’s nuance in the world and nuance within everyone.
Also: There’s a reason people obsessed over this! The missing submersible was truly an ideal news story, one featuring a wild cast of characters (billionaires! a stepson making really strange choices! an engineer who cut a lot of corners to create a homemade submarine operated by a video game controller!). It also had the element of urgency, one that lead us to hold our collective breath for a few days. And, of course, there wound up being a very tragic, human element, as well.
It’s also important to note that this was not without precedent. These sorts of stories have absolutely captured American attention before. In 1987, a toddler from Midland, Texas, fell 22 feet inside an abandoned well and got stuck. What happened next quite literally changed the course of history. News trucks from across the country descended on the small town as word spread and America, so obsessed with the girl who would come to be known as “Baby Jessica,” could not get enough. There was no internet, no smartphones, and no real way to “refresh” constantly to figure out if the child had been saved yet. The higher-ups at CNN, still a fledgling company at the time, got the sense that the appetite for the story wouldn’t abate so, instead of cutting away to a new story, the network kept their cameras trained on the well for almost the entirety of the 58-hour saga. When Jessica was eventually safely freed, 3.1 million households were tuning in — and thus, the 24-hour-news-cycle was born.
People-who-are-stuck-in-things, as a news category, has generated substantial interest at other points in history, too (see: Chilean miners, Tham Luang cave rescue). These stories make us question our own mortality, ask ourselves what we would do in similar situations, and force us to sit on the edge of our seats as the search/rescue intensifies. And those of us who consume these stories still consume other things, too! I was in deep (no pun intended) on the submersible and I managed to report on, and read about, a number of other things, too— from the attempted coup in Russia to the tragic migrant boat sinking near Greece.
And, look, there are a lot of upsides to Americans being obsessed with just about any news story—the main one being education (the submersible, for instance, is a good lesson in the importance of regulation). They also provide an escape from the mundane and a sense of connection for people everywhere. Gone are the days of the proverbial water cooler — but in its place? Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, where you can obsess over the same thing as someone you’ve never met, but with whom you feel just a little bit more connected, because for four days, you share the same obsession.
This. Stuff. Smells. So. Good. It’s called an oil, but it’s more of a serum, in that you apply post-cleanser and pre-moisturizer. It’s slightly tacky on the skin but I’ve applied makeup over it easily. It gives you a great glow and really stays on the skin, making it an ideal nighttime ritual. The dropper and bottle are also just so glamorous.
I’ve read all of Emily Henry’s book and her latest is just as fun as the others. Hers are perfect pool books—you don’t have to think a lot, just lie back and be entertained, and you’ll get through them in a few hours without even realizing where the time went. I also love the way she writes dialogue.
Speaking of the pool… these are my new pool shoes but I’ve been wearing them everywhere. I love the square toe, which makes these a little bit different.
In the summer, the Florida humidity takes my hair straight to frizz-town. I bought this mask to help with that and it’s great. Makes my hair so much more manageable and feels ultra-luxurious.
I love a good sock and the tangerine and pink shades in this two-for-one set are great for summer. I wear mine with both sneakers and Birkenstock clogs.
From the archives:
They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To: The mystery and mystique of a weird Georgia monument
And I’ll leave you with this….