— Melissa Chauca
In order for something to be considered a “great work,” it must be interesting, well written, and have a lasting message or theme that remains prevalent over time. Although reading the Narcissus myth was not exactly the time of my life, I actually really enjoyed the ideas portrayed in the work. Particularly, I enjoy the fact that the theme of narcissism is actually significantly more prevalent now than it was at the time the story was written. In the age of instagram and facetune, our entire generation is being engulfed by the importance of appearance. People are now living their lives for “the snap story” or the “insta post.” In the past people would go on vacation and take pictures of things or with their friends and family for the memories, now you see people breaking their backs to get the perfect bikini picture, not for the memories, but rather for the approval of their followers. The idea of unattainability is prevalent in the character of Echo because her entire existence is based off repeating the words of others, rather than having her own voice, and she longs to be someone she never will be: someone that is perfect enough for Narcissus. Log on to any form of social media and you see these Instagram girls that look exactly the same: skinny and white with a face full of filler. It is actually terrifying, like can we get some diversity in here and stop echoing the same, boring, played out look that I’ve only seen maybe a billion times???? Not only is Instagram making men and women feel like if they don’t share this same look, then they aren’t perfect, but it is also fueling the plastic surgery market by deepening the unconformities men and women have within themselves. Just like Narcissus, we will all die a miserable death if we keep obsessing over our own appearance, rather than just trying to live a happy, humble life for ourselves.
