午夜剧场

How terrifying! We are supposed to be the protagonists of our own lives, yet today we are gradually ending up living transient existences. Everything is an immediate selfie. Captured in a single image, the episodes that color our lives fade away. Click. Today's meal. Click. I went to this place. Click. I met this person. Like. Dislike. I believe this. But that is definitely a lie. Thinking becomes simplified, and spontaneity continues to stagnate. How grateful we are for the weather forecast that tells us what clothes to wear every day. Individuality thins and vanishes, leaving no emotion behind. There is no self-confidence, and the same goes for sexual desire. If you don't believe in yourself, you naturally can't believe in anything else; if you don't love yourself, you can't love others. Crying for no reason, wallowing in idle sleep, eating meals devoid of any shared joy. Regressing endlessly, unconsciously wishing for a return to the peaceful safety of the mother's womb.

In the midst of this, collective beliefs are strengthened, and social pressure follows suit. Days spent surrounded by those who advocate conservative ideas regarding politics, economy, and religion (which are all the same in the end). In parallel with the rampant spread of conformism, a fascist-patriotic populism that shifts its own faults onto others grows unchecked. Hating the successful—"Why doesn't President Macron suffer like I do?"—or idolizing them—"Why did Arashi disband and leave me in the depths of despair?". And the only element that boosts one's own value is the misfortune of others. Meanwhile, AI evolves at a dizzying pace, while our intelligence is conversely eroded by significant smartphone addiction and pathological phubbing, coming to a complete standstill.

Every morning at Shinagawa Station, my brain is filled with such thoughts as I somehow carve a path through the humans in autopilot mode. A few minutes later, inside a winter train car, with my backside being toasted by the heater under the seat, I gaze at the stiffened sleeping faces of these humans and their expressions captivated by various screens. But that is exactly why, in my classes and lectures, I speak passionately, urging them to look back at their original "Id" in search of a difference from the masses! Listen carefully to the other person, and look carefully at the other person. From there, find your own alterity and individuality. To escape the pain of being eroded by deep guilt due to the abandonment of desire, it is necessary to revive the thirst for life and the thirst to achieve something. In short, take that step toward autonomy once again!