idle gaze 059: the normie-renaissance & mythology of the mundane
finding liberation in being nothing special.
David Fincher’s new movie The Killer portrays a perfectionist professional hitman, played by Michael Fassbender, who seeks revenge after a botched assassination leads to the savage beating of his girlfriend.
Fassbender’s character is a determined killer, but equally important to the plot is that he’s a weird loner. He describes his ‘normal-guy’ outfits as “camo… based on a German tourist.” He looks down on “normies”; alluding to the slang for a ‘normal’ person; used as a pejorative to describe someone seen to have a conventional, mainstream lifestyle, tastes, interests and viewpoints.
In opposition to the concept of the ‘normie’, the killer sees himself as a “Sigma Male”, someone who likes to perceive themselves as a kind of warrior-monk, set apart from the herd. The punchline of the movie is that as the audience, you don’t feel any sort of admiration or respect for him. As
observes in his review of the spy thriller: “The killer thinks of himself as having an unmatched clarity about his life and the world, but the movie mostly regards him as self-deluded.”
In a context where social hierarchy is built on individual taste and preferences, being accused of leading a life of discrete mainstream normalcy makes sense as a derogatory insult. But when we have more freedom than ever to pick and choose from a limitless bricolage of identities and lifestyles; being a“normie” enjoys a particular, refreshing flavour of wholesome cultural capital.
One such example are the TikTokers transforming the most extreme corners of mundane life into a source of aspiration. There’s Tony P, a 25-year-old consultant and bachelor in D.C. with a penchant for purple ties, morning walks to work, Miller Lite happy hours, and Subway lunches. In some of his most adventurous moments, he attempts new cod and salmon recipes after a long day at the office, winding down with an episode of Law & Order. He’s got more than 66,000 followers on Instagram, and a fan account - the P-Hive, that posts Tony P-themed memes and videos.
There is no trace of irony or cynicism. It is not satire. The self-described “husband-in-waiting” is simply providing an honest view into the typical life of someone in their mid-20s working a typical corporate job.
@hubs.life - a “28 year old with a 9-5” - is another champion of the mundane life. Real name Connor, who is all about "normalizing the norm", posts day-in-the-life videos that typically feature him packing a laptop into a bag, driving to an office, completing work on his laptop for most of the day. He then goes to the gym after work, comes home at around 5:30 p.m., and cooks himself dinner. After that: “Chill until I do it all over again tomorrow :)." He has 334,000 followers TikTok.
Connor appears pretty content with his lifestyle, but the internet begs to differ. One user on X/Twitter commented: “This video was so depressing that I started tearing up watching it." Others agree, with another user saying: "I lived this for like a year and thought I was gonna drop off a bridge. I have no idea how people live this or how this is considered Plan A."
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Why does a portrayal of - on all accounts - a very regular life for the vast majority of the global middle class population illicit such polarising emotions? I would argue there’s a cognitive dissonance at play. When so much content on social glamorises hustle culture, entrepreneurship and luxurious living, how are we meant to react when it increasingly feels like desk jobs, Subway footlongs and nights in watching TV offer the more aspirational route? Are we beginning to realise we’ve been stumbling towards a mirage of what peak modern life should look like?
As a user on X/Twitter argues, we are collectively inflicted by ‘main character syndrome’: “everybody wants to be a billionaire entrepreneur drug dealer business owner 501c3 non-profit media mogul innovator so bad they're literally crying at the sight of a completely normal adult life". The world can only fit so many hero protagonists searching for their own unique narrative.
10 years ago, the trend forecasting and art collective K-Hole famously predicted the rise of “normcore”. They identified an emerging cultural mode of ambiguity, “finding liberation in being nothing special". But could they have ever imagined just how aspirational normie-coded lifestyle choices would become? Could they have speculated just how extraordinary the ordinary, mundane-nothing-special-life would begin to feel?
Great piece 👏
Watched Killer last night. I think your insights to the character are spot on and hiding in plain sight is becoming a thing, even in executive roles where I feel even I use it somewhat as a superpower !