2022 was The Year of the Narcissist. And one movie just ended it.
As “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” lays bare, that super-genius we idolize is probably just a narcissistic idiot.
Narcissists dominated the culture this year.
Elon Musk ran his mouth about Twitter so narcissistically that he was forced to buy it, wasting $44 billion and destroying the social network by personally making all the major decisions and, in doing so, driving away its most active users and best advertisers.
Kanye West ruined his own business empire by expressing his antipathy for Jewish people and his admiration for Adolph Hitler. But behind this garden variety antisemitism was a more familiar trait of total narcissism — West’s longstanding belief that he’s an unparalleled artistic and business visionary genius. And Jesus.
And, of course, Donald Trump continued to dominate the news with his own special mix of malignant narcissism and criminality, caught stealing top secret documents (most likely to show off as trophies at his golf club) and lying about winning an election he lost.
Also dominating the news (and bingeworthy TV series) was a parade of narcissistic self-proclaimed geniuses who conned people into investing before failing bigly: Sam Bankman-Fried, Elizabeth Holmes, Anna Sorokin, Adam Neumann and others.
What all these people have in common is that they presented themselves as super-geniuses able to solve problems nobody else could solve.
(Another thing they have in common is that they all failed spectacularly.)
We fell for their bullshit hook, line and sinker, aided and abetted by a fawning media desperate for heroes, which placed them on magazine covers and wasted terabytes reporting about how amazing they were.
Where do we get the idea that lying narcissists are geniuses? From the lying narcissists, of course!
According to the Mayo Clinic, narcissistic personality disorder is:
“A mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.”
Sound like anyone you’ve read about in the news or watched a movie about this year?
Here are the symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, according to the clinic:
“Have an unreasonably high sense of self-importance and require constant, excessive admiration.
Feel that they deserve privileges and special treatment.
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements.
Make achievements and talents seem bigger than they are.
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate.
Believe they are superior to others and can only spend time with or be understood by equally special people.
Be critical of and look down on people they feel are not important.
Expect special favors and expect other people to do what they want without questioning them.
Take advantage of others to get what they want.
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others.
Be envious of others and believe others envy them.
Behave in an arrogant way, brag a lot and come across as conceited.
Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office.”
Normally narcissism is an extraordinarily damaging personality flaw that ruins the lives of everyone around them. But with extreme delusions of grandeur, they can get a large number of often wealthy and influential people to believe in them, leading to the disappointment or ruination of all.
And that’s why “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is exactly the movie we need right now. Yes, it’s a fun murder mystery. But the theme throughout is: Most of these young super-geniuses lionized by social media are actually just narcissist morons.
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I’ve enjoyed your articles for over 15 years and you continue to publish some of the best commentary online in ALL your musings and now your List I enjoy.
For those less familiar with you, Politics is totally part of Tech. They cannot be unbound from each other. Restrictions on conditions and opportunities are integral to tech practice currently and future systems. Recently tech is far more exposed to vagaries of political maneuvering and dilettante meddling, notable in security, data management and even existence is in question, notably with Twitter. Systemic concerns are now laid bare, at least some parts we now know are affecting millions of people unaware before.
As always, Mike Elgan lays it out, not just the tech turbulence but still horizons and futures to come. Thank you, Mike.
I like the way you write Mike. You don’t have to be a tech only writer. Fun read, thanks!