Navigating A Disorienting World
Issue 11: A Dive Into Jia Tolentino's book “Trick Mirror”
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Trick Mirror, although not necessarily one of my favorite reads, holds several essays that really give us some points to consider. I enjoyed Jia Tolentino’s writing for the most part, but as some reviews may suggest, the writing may sometimes require extra attention to fully grasp the message at hand. What I love about her message though, which I’ve found is embedded throughout the different topics, is to consider all the messaging that we’re being fed. To fully consider what the message is and to determine if it’s in alignment with our intentions.
Living on your own terms seems ideal until you receive the backlash that accompanies that mindset. Coming into yourself and being your own person is something, in my experience, that can be seen as going against the grain. So that would make any sort of uniqueness about you seem either unattainable or confrontational. Sometimes it may even inspire those around you to explore the qualities that make themselves unique too. But it will ultimately require you to objectively assess your own circumstances before determining your direction. This can sometimes require us to remove our emotions and look objectively at the evidence.
With that being said, Tolentino’s message covers the different aspects of the situations she discusses are explored and assessed. In her book, she does actually state, “The last few years have taught me to suspend my desire for a conclusion, to assume that nothing is static and that regeneration will be perpetual,” so there was little expectation on my part to read a full conclusion. But it’s that type of critical thinking that allows for us to objectively oversee what the world is communicating with us.
In this email we’ll cover:
What’s New
Quotes and Questions to Reflect On
Insights and Inspiration
Closinng Remarks
“These essays are about the spheres of public imagination that have shaped my understanding of myself, of this country, and of this era.” - Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror
What’s New?
Book of the Week:
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
Genre:
Essay Collection/ Non-Fiction
Synopsis:
Jia Tolentino writes across several topics in this book. She covers areas such as the internet, female optimization, women in politics, cultural influence, as well as what it means to be a difficult woman. She does touch on more throughout the book, but these essays ultimately cover a mix of her more current standpoints on each area, alongside research, opinions of other authors, and evidence to support those judgements. Each of the 9 essays is well thought out and aims to deconstruct different areas of our social and economic ideologies.
Why We Love It:
Whether you agree with the author’s message, her research and opinion align strongly to the point where the writing has earned respect. Her particular essay on the Internet and how it has shaped much of society as well as the quality of our interactions was especially one of my favorite essays in the book. But there will also be essays that may challenge the way we currently think and would inevitably ask us to reassess some of our viewpoints.
Reading material that is both challenging and thought-provoking can always help us build on our assessment skills over time. I found that being open to different viewpoints overall can help us build our understanding and communication with people around us. Although broadening our horizons through information can be a first step to coming to that understanding.
Even when I don’t necessarily agree with certain opinions, I appreciate them when they are supported with evidence and credible information. Reading through this type of material stirs thought and increases our desire to reflect on the information given to us, rather than simply consuming any message being delivered, which is happening more frequently with the increased engagement on social media.
Key Message:
Referring back to the introduction, being able to critically assess our circumstances is the only method of extracting our emotions effectively from the narrative. With so many different messages circulating our environment, news outlets, and social media feeds, it’s important to retain our sovereignty so that we’re not vulnerable to ill-intended information.
This book is not about us consuming another persons opinion, but could represent an opportunity to reflect and determine our own opinion overall. Reflecting on my own current environment, I can see how many people will happily accept whatever information is fed to them. Unfortunately that can result in regretful circumstances due to their own negligence.
Understandably, the world is filled with more information than that we’ve ever consumed before. Everywhere we look there is some sort of messaging that is trying to pull our attention so that we may be swayed towards a certain product, service, culture, or overall way of life. The world as it currently is, is disorienting if we allow ourselves to be susceptible and vulnerable by not training our minds for intentionality.
It is because of this knowing, that we must discipline ourselves and our minds so that we can retain our self-hood. Being mentally disciplined, in that regard, is incredibly important for our own well-being and our understanding of the world.
Quotes and Questions To Reflect On
Quote of the Week:
“Mass media always determines the shape of politics and culture.” - Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror
Reflection Questions:
How has the media you engage with changed your life in the past five years?
Do you feel that you’re able to engage with the world at an optimum mental level?
What are some of your own conclusions that you can draw from each chapter of Tolentino’s book?
Other Reviews:
The White Review has an interesting review of the book, which you can find here. There is also an interview with the author, herself, down below:
Insights and Inspiration
Author Spotlight:
Jia Tolentino
Background:
Jia Tolentino is a staff writer for the New Yorker, although she had previous experience as a deputy editor at Jezebel and a contributing editor at Hairpin. She’s written several essays over the span of her career, all of which have been published in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Time, Grantland, and many more.
Other Works:
“I Would Be Doing This Anyway”
Beyond the Book:
Closing Remarks
Navigating a disorienting world is not an easy task. Especially when we’re consistently being fed information, it can even be more challenging to initially make the mental shift from consuming to producing.
However, to uncover the truth of our world so that we can make the best decisions that align with our own goals and values, these are the practices that will be required from us.
Critically assessing our environment through questions, research, engagement of our thoughts and feelings, will give us amazing feedback on the world and our culture. Even if we are not ready to draw a full conclusion, such as Jia has in her book, doing the work of understanding our environment will get us much closer aligned if we are ready to approach it.
Gaining perspective and understanding will be a key approach to aligning as closely as possible with our own values and intentions for our lives. Remember that mass media has the power to shape our culture. So with that, I will leave Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino for your recommendation.
Until Next Time!
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Keep living life on your terms.
Warm regards,
June Tara
Founder of Spark Siren