Super Sad True Love Story’s most prevalent theme of dystopia revolves around the lack of privacy that comes along with society’s rare manner of using technology to communicate. On page 141, Lenny’s mother mentions to Lenny that Ms. Vida, his neighbor, heard him appear on the stream “101 People We Need to Feel Sorry for.” Lenny, of course, is embarrassed and had previously asked his parents not to look or listen to streams or data about him. The availability and constant broadcasting  character’s every day lives is what I consider disturbing and what characterizes the novels society as dystopic. There is no sense of privacy what so ever.

The image I chose is a person checking their Facebook. This represents the scene on page 141 because people are checking technology to gain insight on what is happening with other peoples lives. The only difference between Facebook and SSTLS’s streams and data is that posting is optional. In the novel, there is pretty much nothing you can do about having your life and opinions constantly broadcasted, invading the privacy of all individuals.

In the book Super Sad True Love Story, the author incorporates various scenes that appear to be dystopian flashes his piece of literature. An example of these scenes is provided on page 146 when Grillbitch is writing to Euni-Tard about her depression. She says the main cause of her sadness is that her boyfriend Gopher is having an affair “with this Mexican betch that I saw blowing him, and then I figured out his password on Teens…” The dystopic aspect about his scene is how Grillbitch handles the situation. Usually, women will stay silent of their knowledge and make her guilty partner blur out some evidence that she could use against him. Other times, women take their partner’s phone with of without their permission and begin to search the messages and the phone calls. Then, they would ask the typical questions: who is this number, why were you talking for so long with this person, why does your shirt have lipstick stains, why did you come home so late last night, etc. On the other hand, the author Gary Shteyngart plays a twist on this situation and makes Grillbitch say the following, “I went on this new Teens site called ‘D-Base’ where they can digitize you like covered in shit or getting fucked by four guys at once and I sent Gopher all these Images of myself getting fucked by four guys at once.” According to girls’ behavior in this book, they have to receive respect by having their significant other be aware that they could have an affair with others also. To this day, that action is not deserving of respect. Actually, Grillbitch could be despised by society today for not respecting herself and her dignity.

This image (taken from pixabay.com) demonstrates a vivid image of an affair where the girl behind the wall could represent Grillbitch and the man could represent Gopher having an affair with the Mexican girl.

I find the scene on pages 129-131 particularly dystopic. It describes Lenny and Eunice disembarking a train and encountering many security guards, as well as people of many different nationalities. This scene also portrays the security guards as hasty and accusatory, as they scan each person’s apparat and make judgements based on their information which should remain private. They scan Lenny’s apparat and deduce that he is guilty of “malicious pervasion of data.” These officers judge Lenny for only what they see on his apparat, which is not a fair representation of his true character. Unfortunately, rash judgement is not only seen in Super Sad True Love Story, it can be seen in America today, as was the case in Ferguson, Missouri. Many have concluded that police officers stereotype African Americans as more violent, and therefore are more likely to use unnecessary, excessive force.

This image shows a person, looking innocent to the viewers of the photo, facing armed police. This image relates to the scene where the security officers are accusing Lenny of “malicious pervasion of data” without having any incriminating evidence, much like the police officers in this image. Sadly, even when they release Lenny, the officers are rude and condescending, solely because they knew a few choice things about him from his apparat. This image reminded me of the racial stereotypes in Ferguson, not only because of the way the officers act toward Lenny, but also because he mentions the diversity of the area. This scene represents a sadly realistic dystopia in which people are judged based on a few facts that others know about them, which is magnified by the fact that anyone can glean information about a person from their apparat.

One scene in Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story that I have found particularly dystopic is sadly a very realistic occurrence. On pages 246 to 248, Lenny is fleeing Staten Island with Eunice, Noah, and Amy, after receiving orders from Joshie to return to Manhattan as soon as possible. There are two ferries departing Staten Island, and Noah and Amy board a different ferry than Lenny and Eunice. While Lenny is communicating to his “American Mama” Nettie Fine that he is on a ferry to Manhattan and his friend Noah is on a different ferry but they are both safe, she asks Lenny which ferry he is on. This should alert him to an incoming problem, but he doesn’t see the red flag. Almost immediately after Lenny tells Nettie Fine which ferry he is on, the opposing ferry is blown up in the water.

The image I have chosen to represent this scene is a photograph taken of New York City on September 11^th, 2001. The twin towers, located in lower Manhattan, were hit by airplanes as part of a terrorist attack on the city. Many were killed, even more were injured, and the city was shut down for weeks. This event hits particularly close to home for me, literally and physically, as I was living in New York City when this occurred. Nobody could believe what they were watching on the news, that something like this could actually happen. For months after 9/11, New Yorkers were scared to leave their homes, worried that the city was going to be targeted and hit again. As I was reading this scene of Super Sad True Love Story, I knew one of the ferries was going to be blown up. I got a gut wrenching feeling and immediately thought back to 9/11. I don’t remember this specifically, but my mother has told me that I knew something bad was happening in New York, even though she hadn’t told me. I was only 4 years old; I wasn’t supposed to know that. On this one day in New York’s history, the beloved city appeared to be a dystopic nightmare.

Pg. 156

In an attempt to show off his new, youthful girlfriend, Lenny eagerly escorts Eunice to Family Night with his friends and their partners. The six of them are all getting acquainted in the Cervix when Vishnu suddenly calls out. There is a break out riot taking place in Central Park. The inhabitants of the bar scramble for their äppäräti as recent photographs from the scene come streaming in. A family is sprawled across the ground, lifeless. Aziz, the unemployed bus driver, lies with a bullet hole in his forehead and eyes rolled to the inside of his head. Eighteen people shot and killed.

I chose this image because the scene within it depicts privilege (and also coincidentally takes place in a bar). It stood out to me that in the midst of all this darkness and death occurring, Lenny has this to say: “Finally, the fear and the empathy were replaced by a different knowledge. The knowledge that it wouldn’t happen to us…That we were of good stock.” Though he started out empathetic and fearful, Lenny’s emotions quickly transformed to ones of reassurance once his privilege kicked in and ensured him that nothing like that could ever happen to people like them. A similar form of privilege surfaced in Eunice earlier (pg. 146) when she was messaging her friend and telling of the “Low Net Worth Individuals” she witnessed in Tompkins Square. After one man by the name of David tried to make a connection with her by claiming “we’re all in this together”, Eunice thinks to herself, “I wish things were better for you, but we’re not all in this together.” (She must not have been an HSM fan.)

The page I chose was page 88. On that page, Lenny and his friends FAC (From A Community) with a group of ladies in a bar and compare their information such as “Fuckability”, “Personality” and “Sustainability”. This scene makes me feel dystopian not only because of the lack of privacy but also the void of humanity. Human beings are supposed to contact with each other through words and gestures. Although I admit that sometimes appearance is a relatively important part during conversations, people should be able to value these characteristics by themselves and by their own standards instead of a programmed software. The way people socialize in the novel is dystopian since no human-like communication is involved. All they have to do is to scan each other’s face, and the software will automatically pair them up.  I chose this picture to represent the concept of that scene. In this picture, a young lady is attached with several price tags. The combination of technical data and human body symbolizes the techno-orientalism in the novel. Even though the main characters in this scene are non-Asians, it still demonstrates the idea of attributing perfection with technical species. A similar idea is conveyed through this photo. This young lady is considered as a product instead of a human being due to her beauty. The title of this photo is “How Much am I Worth to You”. Sadly, no one should ever need a price tag or any statistics to judge another person. This concept of judging people through a standardized valuing system is pathetic and thoroughly dystopian. Furthermore, the facial expression of this young lady in the photo expresses her sadness. With the lightning effect, I assume that the author wants to demonstrate a depressed feeling since valuing others with price tags is woeful. In this case, the depressed emotion is vivid even though we as audience clearly know that this lady in the picture is just acting. It is cruel to imagine living in a real society where people judge others by a sets of data.

One dystopic theme in this society is the lack of privacy that corresponds with the reliance and negative effects of social media. I find it very disturbing that on page 38 Lenny can find out that Sally’s “LDL cholesterol was way beneath the norm” and that “The Park sisters favored extra-small shirts in strict business patterns” etc. These are not normal things that one should be able to find on the internet about another person. He does not need to have any human interaction with these people to learn about them. Essentially, the people of this society are becoming solely online profiles. Everything about their lives are on social media sites where anyone can access the information. There is nothing personal about them. This is also demonstrated when the three guys on the radio show “FAC;” there is no human interaction involved. Everything about the people participating is online and demonstrated in a profile. The people of the society are slowly becoming their social media. Similarly, most characters including Eunice, her family and best friend communicate solely through messaging. They too are becoming their usernames and technology devices. This society is essentially turning the people into online profiles.

I chose this image because I think it accurately demonstrates the way the individuals of the society are becoming online profiles. The act of communicating in person is quickly diminishing. People of the society are thought of as profiles and statistics instead of human beings.

A scene in Super Sad True Love Story that I found extremely eerie and disturbing is on page 153 when Lenny spots the character Jeffrey Otter on a commercial billboard. The scene starts out with Lenny and Eunice on their way to meet up with Lenny’s friends when Lenny comes across a billboard made by his employer, the Staatling-Wapachung Corporation. The advertisement promotes the benefits of buying expensive triplex living units in ironically unpleasant locations. Lenny is particularly irritated to read that one of the benefits included immortality assistance from the Post-Human Services Division because one had to prove that he or she is worthy of that privilege. Subsequently, Lenny notices a drawing in the corner of the billboard and realizes that it is Jeffrey Otter, the character from his apparat that interrogated him before his departure from Italy. It reminds him of his betrayal to Fabrizia, and he questions choosing a digital device like Eunice over a soft and sexual human being like Fabrizia. This scene is unsettling to me because it plays on the extremity of the lack of privacy that the citizens have in this post-modern society. It is not a coincidence that Lenny’s employer, who can easily obtain all sorts of information about him, puts up a specific character on the billboard as a way to get some kind of unnerving reaction out of him as well as asserting the dominance of the company as a whole.

I chose this image because it is a very literal yet metaphoric illustration of how the government in Lenny’s post-human society uses technology such as the internet to access all kinds of information about an individual. Although it may seem like an exaggerated joke in today’s society, it is the unfortunate reality of Lenny’s society in Super Sad True Love Story.

In the Pecha Kucha presentation, the author tries to promote the art of making “something into nothing”, the art of taking something seemingly insignificant and turning it into an appreciable artwork. Here, the author argues that some of the most repulsive or banal objects can be the founding ingredients to magnificent artwork. This statement, I feel, is neither disputable nor agreeable. The value of art itself is such an arbitrary concept. What defines a good piece of art? By which standards are we meant to asses a piece of artwork? To some, a non-existent, invisible piece of painting can worth milions of dollars while to some, it has no monetary value. She also mentioned clothing can be made from disposed fabrics. However, the problem I see with this proposal is that, fashion is a form of art where comfort is an equally important factor as the visual presentation. Can a high quality garment be made from low quality materials?

While the concept of making new materials from garbage sounds interesting, it artistic values can be controversial. But then again, my standards of artistic beauty can differ from those of other people. To some, Poubellisme may be of significant value while to me they appear as garbage compiled in an organised manner.