Why the results of the year do not have to be "positive"
alexander savina
December is the time when it is customary to sum up the year.: this is done by the media, and blogs, and public organizations, and those who simply want to understand how the past twelve months have affected them personally. You are unlikely to miss them: probably Facebook has already suggested that you make a video from posts over the past year, you read the news about a Russian who listened to the song “Ice Melts” 1513 times, or watched a selection of the main videos of the year YouTube. And although the results of the year have not yet been summed up, you know exactly what the average video about them looks like. Think of Google’s traditional “Search Year” of 2016: it starts with Brexit, electing Trump, killing police officers in Dallas, shooting Orlando and fighting in Syria, then switching to more optimistic topics like Olympics and Pokémon Go, and ends on a sublime note - the speech of Lin-Manuel Miranda at the Tony Award presentation reminds us that in the midst of horror remain love and hope.
No matter how difficult the year may be, remembering about it, we definitely want to end with something joyful. For example, YouTube, talking about the main hits and memes of 2017, in the middle of the video pauses to remember the victims of the terrorist attack at the concert of Ariana Grande, hurricane Harvey and other shocks - but then the heroes join hands to emphasize that we are survived all the hardships. In last year’s video (this year’s video hasn’t come out yet), Time 2016 calls the “year of chagrin” riddled with politics, discrimination, and difficult events, but emphasizes that, in the midst of chaos, many have shown heroism — and the tragedies have only brought us together.
Opinions about what events - happy or sad - we remember more, differ. Some experts believe that we concentrate more on the negative in our lives - and if we experience unpleasant emotions, we process information more slowly and carefully. According to Roy F. Baumeister, a professor of psychology at the University of Florida, negative emotions and bad events affect us more than positive ones - which is why they make a stronger impression. Opponents of this point of view, on the contrary, believe that bad memories are erased from our memory more quickly - this helps us to cope with changes, while maintaining a positive attitude. Perhaps this approach also works in the memories of the past year: summing up, we think that despite all the difficulties, we were able to withstand them with dignity - and we are ready to move quickly to the next stage.
Problems begin when we try to find at least something positive, even where it obviously does not work. The easiest way to trace this is with the example of the results of the year Facebook - The Verge devoted a column to them with the saying headline “The creators of the Year in Review Facebook still did not understand that social networks are no longer fun.” Even if you omit that the personalized social network video clip may offer to remember how you participated in the #metoo campaign or report on the anniversary of the death of loved ones or the painful parting with a partner, questions still remain.
In addition to the International Women's Day and the Super Bowl, the most discussed events of 2017 in Facebook are the massacre in Las Vegas, and the most popular event for Facebook events was not only a solar eclipse, but also the Women's March, an inspirational event with unhappy occasion. “People united and supported each other in difficult times. 2017 was a difficult year, there were many catastrophes and violence in the world - but we are inspired by the fact that people helped each other when this help was especially needed,” the authors of “Year in Review ". All this is a way to say that the main events of the year for the social network were the earthquake in Mexico (the greatest use of the function "Tell your friends that you are safe" for the year), hurricane "Harvey" (the largest amount collected through Facebook) and the charity concert "One Love Manchester "to help victims of the terrorist attack at the concert of Ariana Grande (the most viewed live video of the year). Everything together sounds frankly gloomy - although it is believed that it should inspire.
This, of course, does not mean that the results of the year are bound to be gloomy - but to imagine everything as if the difficult events of the year will remain in our memory only as a reason for inspiration, at least strange. Talking about complex events can not be one-dimensional. Recall at least the "man of the year" according to Time: this time the title was given to a group of people who openly spoke about harassment and violence. Few people argue with the fact that this is the most important (or at least one of the most important) event of the year - and the situation with violence in Hollywood has not only finally begun to change (even if not in Russia). But along with the feeling of triumph, there is discomfort and even fear - because of how many women faced harassment, harassment and rape, because of how firmly and systematically violence enters our lives.
Difficult events should unite, but the "hold hands" approach is not enough. The reaction to important news cannot (and should not) be simple - the difficult and joyful events that we rush to enumerate, change us and the world in which we live. Summing up the year is an excellent practice that helps many people assess what has been done and what remains to be. The main thing is not to reduce world turmoil to inspirational statuses and quotes - and remember that they contain much more. “Horror films - from“ Off! ”To the new film version of“ It ”and the camp“ Happy Day of Death ”- dominated the cultural field in 2017. Perhaps because the reality was also creepy,” wrote the New York Times, which released in December horror short films with famous actors. Sometimes the best event of the year can be that it finally ends - and this is also absolutely normal.