Existential Airport Anxiety
Вставка
- Опубліковано 17 вер 2012
- In which John yells in an airport while discussing the so-called information society, the proliferation of public television screens, and devices of distraction. This is my response to the second half of Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, which the nerdfighter book club read this summer. Also quoted is David Foster Wallace's excellent if totally unfinished novel The Pale King.
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Nerdfighteria
effyeahnerdfigh...
effyeahnerdfigh...
/ nerdfighters
nerdfighteria.i...
A Bunny
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My last dying wish is to have a philosophical conversation with John Green.
Being dead would make it hard to have a conversation.
Never talk with this person John, they might kill themselves, or at least if you do, act like a total idiot. All your practice will finally pay off and save a life.
Amiee Ann, I'm fully convinced that he can be bought. Become rich, and you can pay him to make that happen. Possibly pay him in hundreds of things, or in p for f donations
John, your voice is a dark murky green and brown and red dirt road with a hint of bright yellow
'In order to be engaged, you have to first overcome that fear of engagement'
John, when I heard these words a switch flipped in my brain. I don't know exactly what it turned on, nor do I fully understand what these words mean to me, all I know is that they are indeed, meaningful, and you may have just changed my life.
I feel an urge to grow and learn and create, an urge that wasn't present before, and for that: Thank you.
:)
if years later now you get this notification (from someone who was under the age of 8 when you initially typed this), do you have the answer of what changed?
Well done. I like how your UA-cam channel is about engagement as opposed to distraction because I often find myself disengaged, and I can use your videos to help reconnect.
I agree. I watch a lot of other channels to be entertained but I watch vlogbrothers because it makes me think.
Sorry, this thought just came to mind in the weird way that stupid ideas often do, there should be a Playlist on the Vlogbrothers channel called "John's Adventure's in Air Travel"
Oh my god. I am now reduced to a puddle. A PUDDLE, John. Somehow, in under four minutes, you have shown me what I couldn't see through years of hospitals, pills, illnesses, disorders, denials, and distractions. I get it now. I do. The beauty in life isn't the avoidance of or triumph over pain: it is the act of going through it. Thank you.
This is my all-time-favorite vlogbrothers video. I've watched it so many times, and it always inspires me and gives me insight into whatever I'm dealing with at the moment. I think the concept here is timeless.
I've watched this video three times now and I just can't even begin to comprehend how John is so perfect. This is just so brilliant, so true.
I was looking to find a "favorite" vsauce video then decided since I've woken up at 4 in the morning to my nightly existential angst that I'd search "existential angst" and behold vlogbrothers popped up.. making this easliy my favorite of theirs that I've never seen
Mind blown. How do you fit so much wisdom into four minutes? Not fair not fair not fair!
This is one of my favorite vlogbrothers videos ever and it makes me feel all the feelings and love Fahrenheit 451 even more aggressively.
One of the best vlogbrothers vids. I always love these epiphany/rant/revelation type videos. Thanks for this John!
It seems to me like John is always energetic and excited, unless tiny chickens invade him.
* Adds video to Watch Later *
* Continues to constantly wish I had already read Fahrenheit 451 *
Hahhahaha, have you finally?
I wish! I've been so busy with school that I haven't had much of a chance to read, which is really upsetting. But I promise you, I will read it eventually! :)
I'm pretty sure you haven't read it even now like me :3
Correct, I have not. But I promise I will! School has been a prime factor in why I have not read that or practically anything else recently. I. WILL. READ. FAHRENHEIT. 451!
(Eventually :P)
+Shea Elliott Oh, I hope you do well and eventually get around read it :)... Come back and tell us what you thought about it when you're done, though!!
Car radio. If you like the topic of this video, listen to car radio by twenty one pilots.
yes
:))
I love how TOP appears in the randomest of locations i love ma bois
AND NOW I JUST SIT IN SILENCE.
"They want me to be quiet but I feel PASSIONATE about this!"
Story of my life. You rock, John =]
they want me to be quiet but i feel passionate about this!!! lol i cant even!
My one caveat: I disagree totally and completely with the statement that sci-fi is not associated with high culture ideas.
(insert 1984, Ender's Game, Flowers for Algernon, I, Robot, War of the Worlds, Frankenstein....)
The forever war is also a good one.
At the time though, it wasn't. Sci Fi became to be regognize, but it wasn't always that way.
This, this is wonderful.
*aggressively wholeheartedly agrees*
Artemis Aphrodite *aggressively hits like on your comment with approval*
The Optimist Vibe *aggressively creates a chain*
Unlurking Sentinel *Aggressively supports the chain-making process*
*AGGRESSIVELY COMMENTS SIX MONTHS LATER*
I have been in college for about a month now and this video, I believe, expresses the thoughts and issues I have been dealing with as of late rather well. Thank you as always for making such great content that it can communicate with people of all walks of life. And helping this freshman have some hope.
I am so appreciative that you have created this vlog. I've been trying to 'disconnect' and go on a twitter and facebook hiatus for a while now, but never could actually bring myself to do it. I've finally realised why, because I don't actually want to engage myself in my life I just want to be distracted and 'run away' from it all. This has opened up a large thought process for myself, thank you so much John, very much appreciated.
Did anyone notice most of the televisions were showing tennis? That's awesome.
i know was it the US open
in flushing medows
You can tell he's a writer. He alwys says stuff that either is or just sounds deep lol
I agree. All you need to do is sit and open up your mind to the extremes. Don't let any beliefs tarnish your thoughts, just look at everything as it is.
Oh my GOD I just finished watching ALL The Vlogblothers videoes for the 2nd time! What am I doing with my life?.. Oh yeah, being awesome, that's what!
Seriously, you guys make my life so much brighter. Thank you so much!
One of the all-time great vlogbrothers videos, as far as I'm concerned.
Fahrenheit 451 is the best!
OMG you read fifty shades
I said the same thing.
"This terror of Silence with nothing diverting to do"
Best quote I have heard in a long time.
I love how you're so loud and passionate even though people are embarrassed by you being as such. You can hear the echo of your voice, it's fantastic. Never change.
You know that moment when you hear someone say something that you've needed to hear? That moment of absolute truth that brings a deeper personal understanding. I had one of those moments from this video.
It was the section from 3:15 forward.
Thank you.
Thank you for making me think about this. Specifically the point about how we search for something to distract ourselves from an inner pain that is constantly gnawing at ourselves no matter how quietly. By bringing it to my attention I can literally feel it, and by feeling it I can hope to heal it. It was so quite I didn't notice though I always knew it was there...
I don't think that makes you weird at all, I think that makes you more human actually. Disconnecting is one of the best feelings there is imo. To me it sounds like you're not afraid of engagement and also seems like you're quite a brave person. It can be hard to be truly in engaged in all aspects of our lives and especially society. We all just seem to be running away from ourselves.
What a great video John! I often give myself distraction-free weeks during my transit to work which includes no ipod, no games on my phone and no books. Because I feel like my head is so full of stuff that it just needs to sit and let the world go by for a while. I start those weeks being a bit scared and overwhelmed but by the end it's just nice to watch the people on the train.
THIS. this explains perfectly why for two weeks in baja california, completely disconnected from all technology, in the middle of the desert, i could not fight the overwhelming sadness i felt every night. again, vlogbrothers making sense of what we all know and feel, and giving it a name, and putting a twist on it that doesn't make us feel so hopeless about life.
The slow-pans and very contemplative shots of the televisions in the airport between 2:35 and 3:24 make the video seem almost like it's become a documentary. These are brilliant and engaging, and allow us to, as we're watching, examine our own lives and selves. If more shot/commentary combinations like this were incorporated in future videos, I reckon it would take your videos to a whole newer level of awesomeness.
Regardless, this is still one of my favourite UA-cam channels, so stay awesome.
Your comments about "fearing silence" reminded me of something one of my professors said last year. He was talking about sort of the same thing (I don't remember exactly) but he mentioned how even -he- finds himself putting avoiding silence, such as putting on the radio on the short drive him. It's a distraction, not an engagement. You reminding me of that is definitely making me think about when I am distracted and when I am engaged.
I'm basing the idea of engagement vs distraction on a novel I'm now in the process of hypothesizing plots for. It's always been a dream of mine to write a competent book addressing some sort of issue and/or philosophy, and I really admire you, John, as an author. Thank you for providing me with the inspiration to turn a childish hope into some form of reality.
I feel numb all of the time, I have pushed out basically all emotion. You are absolutely correct and you continue to inspire me every single day. Thank you.
As of today, I am officially caught up on all VlogBrothers videos, and I'm now watching them as they are released like everyone else. I'm quite proud of that accomplishment!
You managed to boil down what I've been thinking about for years into three simple words, "distraction over engagement". It's one of those ideas that's always at the back of my mind but never quite acknowledged until I've read or heard something particularly thought provoking and I think about all the choices I've made up until that point and the kind of world that I'm shaping for myself and the people around me with my decisions.
Thinking is spooky stuff.
The best thing about watching your videos is that instead of clicking related videos for the next 3 hours, they make me want to do my uni work and engage with the world.
Every time you mention David Foster Wallace in a video, I am consumed by an overwhelming feeling of elation; please continue doing so!
This video is brilliant, you're brilliant, John, thank you. This has been like a wake up call of sorts and I loved how you said that, 'Distraction over engagement.'
I don't think I really digested this video last time I saw it. Or perhaps I simply wasn't ready for it to effect me. However, now it does. All I have to say is thank you. Thank you for everything you and your brother have done. It means a lot. Best wishes and DFTBA.
"I don't think the media matters. As Professor Faber puts it,'Take it where you can find it... look for it in yourself.'" Such a profoundly impacting statement. Too often I find myself stereotyping one medium (namely the internet, though I suppose that is broad) as the cause of my distraction, the constant whirling of my mind. But it isn't about the medium as long as what you are seeking is this elusive "it" that is inside you, this engagement in life. Nerdfighteria is a testament to this!
I completely agree, the first time I read Fahrenheit 451, I was plagued with this unending need to engage. I'm faced with that problem every day, even now, this undying yearning to engage with the world, with the moment, and with the people around me, and yet this simultaneous existence of a jam-packed schedule which keeps me feeling as though I'm constantly looking ahead to something else rather than living in the right now.
this is really one of the greatest vlogbrothers videos. i keep thinking about it, and keep getting back to it.
insightful and surprisingly relevant. Just a month ago I came to the same realization, that over the years I have gradually and subtly given up the time I have where I am not being occupied or distracted. On 40 minute drives to my gf's house I used to think about who I am, what my purpose is, etc. But then we fixed the in car radio and rigged it to play Ipods too, and since then I spent every drive listening to the same albums over and over and there was no other time in my day for reflection.
I had to watch this video 3 times, I am Brazilian and John speaks SO FAST, but it's amazing channel! Love your videos! Thanks
thank you so much for this video John! i'm currently the only one awake in the household and have been for a while and my boyfriend is still asleep so iv been wondering and moping around the house looking for stuff to do, (i feel kinda guilty being on youtube right now, but vlogbrothers is education and pure awesomeness) now i need to snap out of the mopey-ness and find something artistic and productive to do. :)
FINALLY! I've been waiting all summer for you to do the second half of Fahrenheit 451!
I am only halfway through my first David Foster Wallace book (I knew John read them because I've seen them on his bookshelves), and it has already come in helpful because I could understand what John is saying here, and mutter "yeah, that tracks*". While typing, listening to John, and having an ad from a phone app playing muted beside me. Because I do enjoy proving a point. Although what I'm trying to distract myself from here is less existential dread and more dread of the homework due tonight at 11:59pm. At which point, even commenting on videos that are 10 years old seems like a good idea.
This has probably been my favorite vlogbrothers video for a while. I love Fahrenheit 451. Now, though, as I have become more familiar with David Foster Wallace and his work, I can't help but be amused at the tennis on the screens.
You have no idea how pertinent what you just described is to me right now. I'm trying to engage the world again but it's terrifying when it doesn't engage you back. Though rare that this happens, the fear that it will also abandon you is still very real.
This perfectly summed up something I've been trying to put into words for months/years/my entire life. Thanks, John.
I read 451 last year in my English class, and after hearing that last quote, I understood a lot more about Beatty in particular as a character. I'd never thought about it that way, so I thought it was really interesting how well it clicked after dissecting the symbolism of each event in the book. Thanks for making my reading experience better :D
Just wanted to let you know I love your attitude to reading! I'm a librarian and so many people give up fast on books, it makes me feel really hopeful when I see people willing to give a book their time, instead of just absorbing blankly. You're awesome.
I think I can die happy now that a vlog brother (and famous author) has acknowledged my existence. But yes, you are right about the pulp art thing, and just about everything else... ever.
Just thinking about that ever present dread is mentally taxing. It just seems easier to continue letting yourself be distracted by the minutia of life, even if it is not the path that leads to a more developed and healthier perspective. The fear of judgement, but also of being ignored if you do put yourself at risk by putting forth an opinion, sits in the back of my mind and often prevents me from becoming more socially engaged. It's wonderful to hear this feeling put into words so eloquently.
It's so strange that I come across this now, because I've recently become aware of the annoying fact that if there isn't noise, my depression will become so strong I can't even talk correctly. I was acutely aware of this when my computer stopped playing any sound. It's so funny because I genuinely love John Green and I always listen to what he says, but at the same time, he's best for drowning out the screaming hopelessness always raging inside me because he doesn't breathe. He talks like an auctioneer!
That's awesome! I am an English major but I've dabbled in a little bit of everything! Furman has lots of cool classes - when you're a freshman you get to pick two seminars that are super specific (thus the C.S. Lewis and Tolkien ones) in place of first-year english, and then there are a lot of one month "may x" courses (for half a credit) that are also very specific (like Sociology of Harry Potter). And yes that class was THE BEST CLASS I've ever taken. It was fun, but I also learned a TON.
soo.. in my WHAP (world history ap) class, we've started watching your crash course videos... which i loved! and whenever my teacher can't remember your name, or tries to say something incorrect about you, i'm always the first to say "john green" or correct him (in a polite way).... well today, he told us to prepare for our test in 7 days, to go home and watch your crash-course videos on ancient Rome and China.... i was extremly happy. I just got assigned homework to watch my favorite vlogger:D
Watching john’s airport videos is my favourite thing to do at an airport
I feel like the sum of what you said in this video is something that I have been feeling and trying to express for some time. I have been thinking this but you have helped me to organize my thoughts and realize what has been bothering me about our technology based society today that is full of distractions but little to learn from and about.
Somehow the airport videos are always the best ones. I love them all. So so so so much.
i have no idea what your talking about in half of your videos but i still listen because it makes me feel smart
I love the discourse on distraction verses engagement. Thank you for these thoughts. (Your video is an engagement and not a distraction.)
If I ever see one of the Vlogbrother`s in an airport... a tackle hug will ensue. Love you guys
Fahrenheit 451 was also an eye opener for me. Since I read it a few months ago I've hugely cut down on my internet time and returned to reading books and newspapers, and I've been trying to take advantage opportunities to have better conversations with the people around me.
I wish more people appreciated exactly what you're talking about. Sitting around watching TV all day is such a terrible waste of time.
i wish i was in that airport, in that terminal on that day so i can hear the distant yelling of "fill us up and fill us in" by john green
John's way of expressing ideas and thoughts is so freaking captivating.
John, I want you to know that I listened to you and was very engaged by what you are saying.
So I did some thinking about that myself. Maybe that fear and discomfort from silence and disengagement comes from our fear and discomfort of not being listened to or not having other people engaged in us. Maybe we need to feel like we aren't to blame for not listening, so we must always listen, or watch, or what ever.
And, thanks. For deep thoughts, 1001 videos, useless information, and your books.
I love your passion! It makes my day, when I watch someone talking about something they feel passionate about, it inspires me to find what I'm passionate about
"This terror of silence with nothing diverting to do." As eloquent and thought-provoking as always, John.
This is my favorite Vlogbrothers video.
This is a very engaging video John. You probably won't read this, so in reality, me typing this comment is to distract myself, as you say, from that greater pain. Or perhaps to engage myself in a sort of self-organization of thought.
You and Hank inspire me to create. Thanks for everything :)
Wow... That last sentence may have just changed my whole outlook on life. I've read the book twice but that's probably the best interpretation I've ever heard. This is why you're a best selling author and I am a poor post grad student lolz :D
absolutely brilliant. wish i could have a conversation with people like that more regularly. more impressive he did that in front of a camera in an airport.
I really enjoyed listening to this analysis of the book and how it relates to where we are today. I also kept thinking "John, you are such a nerd!" (in the nicest way). Awesome video.
I love that this video just happened to be made the same week I finish my analysis of Fahrenheit 451 for English class. Pretty excited about it; not gonna lie.
Listening to you talk as I sit here in my "the world is not a wish granting factory" shirt is pure nerdfighter bliss!
I was soooo proud when i watched (german) news and saw you!!! it made my day. SUPERSUPERSUPER AWESOME. AWESOME.awesome.superawesome.
One of the greatest videos of all time.
-J. Ronald Jenkins
This is the most thought provoking vlog brothers video I've seen yet
I just keep imagining how amazing it would be to stumble upon John making a video and somehow getting into the shot. and of course my over active imagination is now envisioning that somehow we'd end up on the same plane perhaps even the same row (I'd of course take the window seat) and just talk about nerdy stuff and become friends...A nerd can dream.....a nerd can dream....
Wow... We had to read F451 for English last year and I wish this video had been made sooner. It's opened my eyes.
That's why Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite books. I believe it depicts the fear of being alone with yourself because hearing your own subconscious or inner voice is far too threatening. It's the fear of realizing you have a void in your life, that maybe without all of the distractions and shiny gadgets you might be an empty shell... even though it's science fiction I feel Bradbury also captures the raw anxiety everyone feels when they go into existential mode.
Thanks, a lot, the very fact that strangers can selflessly be kind brings faith to my pessimistic view of society. Good day to you kind stranger :)
ignore the people in the airport... keep on making this very nice and cute videos from airports... i enjoy them very much...
Nonsense! People always use their safewords before they 'need' to, pushing limits is one of the most exciting/interesting parts of play.
Of course I don't know the exact context as, as I've already said, I've not read the book in it's entirety, I'm just speaking from personal life experience. I've had my safeword ignored plenty of times but never felt abused. People who know what they're doing can read body language and know when to actually stop.
Vlogbrothers is the spot for this conversation!!
Amazing John Green, thank you. Keep doing what you're doing
Panic attack before bed, Thank you John.... Remind me to watch your videos and read your books in the light of day. Honestly the sheer amount of anxiety I get from you is astounding!!! :o
How are you so engaged in airports, John?! You made me think of Neil Postman and Aldous Huxley and then Montaigne and Richard Shusterman and their differing ideas about distraction vs. engagement. But wow, you hit my heart with "it's also true of romance, now that I think about it." To be engaged is to be vulnerable, but it's ultimately what we all crave.
The hidden pain you refer to reminds me of a poem by Philip Larkin, called 'Ambulance' which says '..and sense the solving emptiness that lies just under all we do, and for a second get it whole, so permanent and blank and true.../Poor Soul/ they whisper at their own distress'
John! Yes! That is exactly how i felt when reading 451. the whole time it seemed as if the lack of books and other communication really hindered the society. I love when the girl tells Montag that he isn't actually happy. Then Montag really begins to realize what she meant by it wihtthe same dreary dull life that had encompassed him and he never knew existed, thusly questioning the very morals and society that he had put himself into.
Perfectly summarizes how I feel about the book. It's why it's my favorite.
This is my favorite video of yours that I’ve seen so amazing. Great book.
Still my favorite vlogbrothers video (but to be fair I have not seen them all).
A few weeks ago a visiting priest from Poland said something like this in mass! It really hit me then, and it still does now, because I have a few very specific things I've been avoiding thinking about truthfully or extensively, for fear of what I might find. Now I think I might just end up avoiding thinking about avoiding thinking about it. It's a vicious cycle.
Sometimes, I can't finish the video because you're so smart and articulate, that my brain can't comprehend your words.