Pretentiousness: Why It Matters
Dan Fox
[Fitzcarraldo Editions]
Dan Fox’s essay-turned-book sets out to reconsider pretending as a positive act. Pretentiousness, he claims, is often falsely contrasted with authenticity, which is seen as a goal to be attained. But according to philosopher Marshall Berman, striving to be “authentic” is absurd: “After all, isn’t everyone himself already? Who or what else could he be?” If we can’t help being ourselves, Fox argues, then to pretend – to expand those selves by taking on different roles – may be “the most important thing we do”.
To the author, accusations of pretentiousness always say more about the accuser than the accused. The latter is indicted with daring to aspire to more than he is, while the former lays back and points the finger. If pretentiousness is an excess of effort that fails to convince due to “the gap between expectation and actuality”, isn’t it precisely those willing to brave that failure who drive culture forward?
Fox’s most astute observations have to do with class policing. He insists that charges of pretentiousness only serve to maintain the status quo, especially in his native UK, where class betrayal is a national “neurosis”. To deny a person the right to pretend is to deny them the possibility of upward mobility or change. The argument is persuasive and might make you think twice before calling your underpaid, unbearably hip barista a pretentious twat.
Words: Eliza A. Kalfa
