Episode 4: Masks All The Way Down

Narrative Machines, Episode 4: Masks All The Way Down challenges the notion of identity as a singular, stable essence, instead presenting it as a recursive performance—an interplay of masks, personas, and shifting narratives. From roleplaying games to professional personas, from instinct to artifice, we examine the idea that there is no final, unmasked self—only layers of performance. If identity is constructed through repetition and context, what does that mean for agency? And just as crucially—who is shaping the stage?

The episode begins with David Bowie’s prescient reflections on the Internet and anonymity, framing a broader discussion of aesthetic performance as a force in modern political and cultural life. From there, we turn to Yukio Mishima, whose work and life exemplify modern nihilism’s entanglement with theatrical self-creation, foreshadowing the existential crises of the 21st century. Future episodes will explore their respective artistic and ideological trajectories in depth, treating them as case studies in self-mythologizing and narrative control.

For now, we take a wide-angle approach, positioning these ideas as a warning against reducing ethics to aesthetics—a concern amplified by AI, social media algorithms, and deepfakes eroding the boundaries of authenticity. The case of Anonymous and their use of the Guy Fawkes mask illustrates how symbols, once fixed in meaning, can be repurposed to forge new collective identities. This phenomenon encapsulates the episode’s central argument: in a world where narratives are weaponized, understanding the layered performance of identity is critical to reclaiming agency.

Listen to Weird Studies episode 70 for an extensive conversation about these themes.

Topics Covered:

The Vulgar Nihilism of Our Age:

Examines the shared existential void as explored by artists such as Bowie, Mishima, and 20th-century society.

Critiques the reduction of ethics to aesthetics.

Weaponization of Narrative and the Collapse of Truth:

Discusses how propaganda, disinformation, and media manipulation erode a shared consensus reality.

Uses the metaphor of ideological “glasses” from They Live to illustrate filtered perceptions of reality.

Technology and Narrative Manipulation:

Explores the role of AI, social media, and algorithms in reinforcing biases and echo chambers.

Highlights the threat posed by deepfakes in blurring the lines between fact and fiction.

The Mask as Identity’s Core Symbol:

Analyzes masks as representations of the constructed, performative nature of identity.