The Post-Absurdist Age

We now inhabit what I call the post-absurdist age—a time when the line between parody and reality has dissolved so completely that distinguishing between them feels impossible.

I came across a recent New York Times fashion review showcasing designs that could just as easily belong to a This is Spinal Tap-style satire of the fashion industry as they could to an actual runway collection. The absurd and the authentic have merged to the point of indistinction.

The same applies to politics. Consider Donald Trump: he could be a meticulously crafted caricature of a president, yet he is, undeniably, real. In this era, reality often feels like self-parody, leaving us questioning whether we are witnessing genuine events or an elaborate, surrealist joke.