Beautiful Illusions Darron Vigliotti, Jeffrey Horton

Darron and Jeff discuss a model of creation and consumption put forth on Substack by cultural critic Ted Gioia in which he draws distinctions between art, entertainment, distraction, and addiction, and they evaluate his hypothesis that we are entering what he refers to as a “post-entertainment society.” They delineate what he sees as the differences between these different forms in terms of what they are, why they are created, how they are consumed, and the subsequent effects their consumption has on both individuals and culture at large. Finally, as they try to make some sense for themselves they synthesize this framework with some previous thinking, and then speculate a bit on where these changes might all be leading.

Jeff and Darron work their way into a meandering conversation about one of their favorite topics, art, specifically Shakespeare and the extent of the influence of his work on the literature, thought, and culture that came after him, which is prompted by Jeff’s brief discussion of his non-fiction reading habit. This leads into a discussion of Darron's fiction reading where they talk about why novels are often better than the movies and/or television they inspire, the idea of seeing the imagery on the page as you read, the use of specific devices in writing that can sometimes feel gimmicky, and the conversational and social nature of art.

Darron and Jeff have a free-form discussion that was inspired by a Bruce Springsteen concert, a Beatles song, and a subsequent text message, about the role of art in our lives and experiences - both how our experiences shape our perceptions of art, and how art shapes our experiences. They talk about children and how their interaction with art helps them develop their self concept, they talk about the feelings and emotional responses we have to art, and how art connects us to both the artist and each other while at the same time helping us to shape meaning in our lives.

Darron and Jeff grapple with the idea of masculinity and what it means to live as a man in 2023. First they briefly touch on how masculinity is frequently discussed in the context of “toxic masculinity” and then begin to examine how they have come to understand what it means to be a man. This leads to a discussion of their relationships and experiences with their own fathers, how concepts such as masculinity might exist on a spectrum that changes over time, and how we might move forward and build a more positive and affirmative vision of masculinity. Although this conversation is very much an attempt to make meaning for themselves, it is by no means an end to their thinking on this subject, and is in fact quite the opposite - an initial conversation about a complex topic they plan on delving into more deeply in the future.

Darron and Jeff follow up on a conversation they had back in November 2022 about the nature of vacations. If you haven’t heard that episode you might want to go back and listen (or maybe relisten) for context. The occasion for the conversation is Jeff’s return from a month-long summer vacation journey up and down the east coast. They discuss the general contours of Jeff’s trip, the experience of parenting while traveling with young children, Disney World, seeing and appreciating the country you live in, the terrible beauty of modern civilization, instant gratification culture, and the value of seeing ourselves engaged in processes as opposed to experiencing outcomes.

Darron and Jeff explore their current relationships with alcohol. As this episode was recorded a few months ago, they discuss Jeff’s experience and thoughts on his dry January attempt, how the social context of any behavior influences our participation (or non-participation) in that behavior, why we keep drinking when we know it’s not good for us, alcohol and cultural evolution, alcohol’s acceptance in both American culture and in both of our their own lived experiences, why it can be so hard to stop drinking, and how and why Darron made his decision to stop drinking back at the end of February.