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A review by unsympathizer
Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians by Tara Isabella Burton
4.0
I first met Tara Isabella Burton at an event where she led a discussion on this book. Our group discussed how humans shape our own identities and how many people are under pressure to present a superficial "authentic self". A few days later, I coincidentally ran into her again at a friend's NYE party, where she presented herself differently from her "work persona". It was an interesting meta moment regarding the idea of curating one's "brand", which she discusses throughout the book.
This book is a history of the way humans in the Western world went from being part of a collective to trying to "find oneself". Much of this began in the Renaissance era, with the painter Albrecht Durer being an early example of self-promotion in which he would sign all his paintings with a unique "AD" symbol. Other early examples included the Marquis de Sade, who framed his inidividualism by purposely transgressing societal taboos. This all happened within the backdrop of the Protestant Reformation and the development of liberalism. Burton does a great job hinging each of her chapters around a few core characters that show the development of individualism and the notion of the self in the West.
Many chapters discuss the difference between American and European styles of self-making. Burton gives examples like the dandies Beau Brummell and Oscar Wilde to show how Europeans had a more aristocratic sense of self-making, where being an individual was seen as an activity for only a select few elite people, whereas America was more like Frederick Douglass, Thomas Edison, and the concept of an "it girl", where anyone could "pull oneself by the bootstraps" to create an identity of their own under the more capitalist-driven impulses of the American spirit. (She doesn't really talk about aristocratic American tropes like Boston Brahmins or Edith Wharton's books)
The final chapters discuss techno-utopianists, the Kardashians, and Donald Trump as examples of self-making. The rise of film, reality TV, and social media all play a part in today's landscape. Throughout the book, she often calls back to figures from earlier chapters, helping to connect all their stories in one grand narrative. This is a very readable work of pop-sociology that helps people grasp just how our society came up with ideas about "self-actualization", "finding one's true self". and other therapuetic terms. She uses a lot of religious terminology and notes that the West went from "humans worship God" to "humans become God through the process of self-making". This is a strength of the book but also left me wanting for a more theological explanation of just how changes in religious belief led to this shift, which I'm sure she knows considering that she has a doctorate in theology. This book would be a lot better for me if it was much longer, but I suppose most readers want a quick and easy read.
As us humans are more atomized than ever, more disconnected from physical communities, and increasingly feel a lack of meaning and purpose, Self-Made is a good primer of just how we got here.
This book is a history of the way humans in the Western world went from being part of a collective to trying to "find oneself". Much of this began in the Renaissance era, with the painter Albrecht Durer being an early example of self-promotion in which he would sign all his paintings with a unique "AD" symbol. Other early examples included the Marquis de Sade, who framed his inidividualism by purposely transgressing societal taboos. This all happened within the backdrop of the Protestant Reformation and the development of liberalism. Burton does a great job hinging each of her chapters around a few core characters that show the development of individualism and the notion of the self in the West.
Many chapters discuss the difference between American and European styles of self-making. Burton gives examples like the dandies Beau Brummell and Oscar Wilde to show how Europeans had a more aristocratic sense of self-making, where being an individual was seen as an activity for only a select few elite people, whereas America was more like Frederick Douglass, Thomas Edison, and the concept of an "it girl", where anyone could "pull oneself by the bootstraps" to create an identity of their own under the more capitalist-driven impulses of the American spirit. (She doesn't really talk about aristocratic American tropes like Boston Brahmins or Edith Wharton's books)
The final chapters discuss techno-utopianists, the Kardashians, and Donald Trump as examples of self-making. The rise of film, reality TV, and social media all play a part in today's landscape. Throughout the book, she often calls back to figures from earlier chapters, helping to connect all their stories in one grand narrative. This is a very readable work of pop-sociology that helps people grasp just how our society came up with ideas about "self-actualization", "finding one's true self". and other therapuetic terms. She uses a lot of religious terminology and notes that the West went from "humans worship God" to "humans become God through the process of self-making". This is a strength of the book but also left me wanting for a more theological explanation of just how changes in religious belief led to this shift, which I'm sure she knows considering that she has a doctorate in theology. This book would be a lot better for me if it was much longer, but I suppose most readers want a quick and easy read.
As us humans are more atomized than ever, more disconnected from physical communities, and increasingly feel a lack of meaning and purpose, Self-Made is a good primer of just how we got here.