I've been thinking about this idea of the modern myth lately--something that fits into the definitions given in this week's lectures. While i was writing in a coffee shop, two young adults, early 20s, began relentlessly snapping selfies at the table next to me. One of herself; one of her and her friend; from a different angle; with hair over shoulder; with hair behind shoulder; with coffee; of coffee; with friend and coffee; with friend and coffee from a different angle; with friend, coffee, different angle and duckface; ad nauseum!

It seems we are (or at least the Millennial generation is) developing into a selfie-obsessed nation. This phenomenon seems to fit within the model presented as a modern myth. It has become a syndrom (I may call it a cancer, even) from the collective. It is fantasy-based with an archetypal core--I actually see a multi-archetypal core here. It has gripped millions, is obsessive and ritualistic, non-rational, group identifying (see: #Selfie). It is familiar narcissism expressed in a new digital way, and has become a core expression within the Millennial group.

Here is a perfect representation for a cultural complex, and it would seem that Nacissus is at its core. It's the need to be seen, to be witnessed or attended to. It's an attention-seeking behavior that feeds on "Likes" rather than actual relationships. After all, Narcissus wouldn't be Narcissus without someone to witness him.

It seems the gap within the collective consciousness is the gap created by the device taking the photo itself: the smartphone. Here we have a 5-inch window, weighing less than 4 ounces, which gives us access to our entire worldview. It's not just the window through which we view the world, but also the frame through which the world views us. 

This smarphone has become a funnel through which information comes in, and goes out. There is a tight control over how we present ourselves to the world. The Selfie is a perfect example. We aim to get the perfect angle and perfect shadow and perfect look and perfect expression. Photos have become disposable now. Unlike the days of film, where each frame was a memory with value attached to it. It cost us something in return for capturing it (price for film, price for developing, etc.). However, the smartphone allows for instant replacability. 

I think we are dealing with more than Narcissus here. This "window to the world" is narrow, restrictive, and cuts the soul into 8-bit pieces, relegating it to manipulated transmission through pixels and points. The soul is becoming fragmented through our hyper-media use, and there's little to no "connectedness" from soul to soul. Instead it is wall to wall, or instagram to instagram, or text to text. Psyche herself is fragmented and it seems she's trying to grasp for connectivity through any means available. 

It also feels like Psyche's need to be seen, known, understood, is now manifested through these perfected pictures. Because we are so disconnected and disjointed, rootless and floating through space (like the pixels zooming above and around us), Psyche is looking for a place to land. And hoping where she lands will be a place she's accepted, where she is "Liked." This is the modern myth of the Selfie.