Monday, February 27, 2012
And Another Thing...
Oddly concordant with the conversation happening in the comments section here (it's own oddly sprouting animal.) Dora was a guy seemingly obsessed with authenticity and the concept infuses much of the resulting surfing cultural ethos. In many ways the whole thing is a lie; authenticity is such a dead end road, that is, if you are trying too consciously to travel it. To some that seems to be Dora's secret M.O. A life lived seeking the authentic while ignoring the conventions of anything so stultifying. In the end, setting up a paradigm of the authentic only works if one ditches it at first pragmatic chance.
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2 comments:
"In many ways the whole thing is a lie; authenticity is such a dead end road, that is, if you are trying too consciously to travel it." Yes.
Per usual, your posts are thought-provoking. I think the idea of authenticity is less a fixed idea and more of an invitation, something mercurial and often ineffable. There's a lot of postmodern pap that explores this, but in conversations with friends it seems like what the word 'authenticity' is trying to refer to is an energy that we all admire but rarely (or never) realize.
It seems like for something to be authentic requires things that are inauthentic, and a vocabulary that enables discussion about these concepts. If we feel the word 'authentic' oversteps its referent, then perhaps we need a better vocabulary. Whether we're breaking down Mexican food, an ironic,skinny-jeaned, single-fin apostle, or a commoditized surf lifestyle, I'm left only with the word 'thoughtful'. Authenticity suggests origins, history, and invariably sanctimony - who's in/who's out. As imprecise as it may seem, I always end up with thoughtful. It's more egalitarian, more democratic, and looks forward. Dora's a touchstone for me, for sure, but perhaps the label authentic led him to behavior incongruous with the scrupled, principled iconoclasm we admire him for. Apologies for the rambling and length of my post, but your post touched on some significant shit we're all trying to figure out.
Oh man, I love rambling.
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