The reason why the genre of “I’m so wounded by this tiny little thing that I’m about to die” is so popular is the same why Hunger Games is a bestseller and many well to do people in this culture enjoy fantasies of an impending apocalypse. This is simply a way for an opulent society to signal its opulence.
Who is more likely to exclaim in front of others, “Oh God, I have absolutely nothing to wear!”, a rich person with an overflowing wardrobe or a person who lives in poverty and truly has nothing to wear? Who is more likely to say publicly, “I’m so broke!”, a person who just declared personal bankruptcy or a person who didn’t? Who’s more likely to say to her friends, “I’m so fat, I don’t know what to do”, somebody skinny or somebody really fat? Come to think of it, who’s more likely to say, “I’m completely out of ideas and don’t know how I will get anything published”, a person who does or doesn’t have this problem?
Enacting extreme hurt over something trivial is a way of signaling how easy amd great one’s life really is.
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