Ours is the age of themes. Drowning in the deluge of streaming content whose rush, flow, and surge defines what Anna Kornbluh last year termed our too-late capitalism, any and all aspirant media—entertainment, art, or otherwise—is increasingly compliant with that dictatorial imperative handed down from marketing departments on high: brand or bust. Streamlined themes get things moving, help new media gain traction—even better if that theme can be rolled out into a packageable lifestyle. If brat summer’s hyperactive dissemination has proved anything to anyone, it’s just how quickly discrete media—an album, a font, a color—can be extrapolated for performative ethics and broadcast into a multifaceted global marketing campaign. Meanwhile, brand ambassadors and trend influencers push sponsored products that appeal to their “targeted demographic.” Pinterest board palettes (see Christian Girl Fall) and Starter Packs (like the Literary-It-Kid) guarantee unencumbered access to trendy personality-aesthetic bundles, all customized, linked, and sorted so you don’t have to! Hell, even insurance can be bundled. And all the while, social atomization and labor gigification are shifting the onus of sustainability and survival onto the isolated individual, encouraging each of us in turn to reframe our lifestyle according to delimiting and personalized thematics. Algorithms curate homespun “For You” pages, apps track patterns in our subconscious behavior, and at every turn we’re helpfully reminded what “Customers Who Bought This Also Liked.” You are your own best theme.
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