Main Character Madness

For a brief moment, ‘Giving off main character vibes’, was a seen as the pinnacle of accomplishment in the modern world. If you weren’t somehow worthy of this accolade – You obviously lacked the importance of being seen, or existing beyond playing a bit part in someone else’s life.

But my question is the ‘main character’ of what?

Is the genre a horror film? A documentary on people who travel around the UK taking selfies in front of humorous street signs? A satirical comedy, or an advertisement for sanitary products?

I've read books with psychopaths as the lead character, vampires, a man with a haunted portrait in the attic, but I guess that's not what we're talking about here.

Obviously, it is seen as a compliment, and something to aspire to.

Like the heroine of a romance novel, an action star, or maybe Emily in Paris, god forbid.

Narcissism and self-interest are clearly more popular attributes than ever in our divided world. It’s reached peak mainstream to the point where the ego-centric are venerated and worshipped by people who increasingly recede into the background while they fight to prop up the ego of the person they feel displays the best ‘main character vibes’.

Back in social media land we had reels featuring this tagline, starring an attractive person - often female, someone with the ‘right’ clothes, the ‘right’ features and the ‘right’ lifestyle. Adverts used the ‘main character’ line to sell a life you should want, so you could at once stand out, and fit in.

If you can be a main character simply by owning a certain brand of clothing, can’t we all be main characters?

If we aren’t even main characters in our own lives, who the hell are we anyway? IF we aren’t important enough to be interested in ourselves, where does that leave us?

This feels like another sneaky way to separate people into the worthy or not worthy, to split people into the permitted and the unapproved. That is why ‘Main Character Vibes’ feels to me like another slice of the existential nightmare cake.

Many of us have had little experience of feeling important because of how we were treated as children, and can struggle with feeling seen or taking up any space because it doesn't feel safe or permitted. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t the main protagonist of your own story, or that anyone else’s story should take priority over yours.

Fast forwards to today and I came across a new spin on the ‘Main Character’ trope: Video’s featuring people accused of having -

‘Main Character Syndrome’

This is interesting because they show people (mainly but not all ‘influencers’) exhibiting symptoms such as telling other people to get out of their shot while they film themselves in public places such as the gym, a public footpath or even a busy tube station.

These people appear to live in their own world and are intent on to making themselves into literally the star of their own show.

Maybe there is such a thing as taking up too much space. Maybe if you felt confident enough you wouldn’t keep taking more and more in order to feed your ego. Maybe if you noticed other people you would learn that you weren't so special or different from others.

Or maybe it could be seen as a sign of confidence, well up to a point yeah. But I’m not totally convinced that healthy self-esteem is in play here. I don’t believe self-centric behaviour is a symptom of a healthy society.

Still, each to their own. Everyone is entitled to get on with it. Just don't forget that we share space, we share a world, and the most important thing is that you are OK, with or without a pretend or real camera following you around.