this quote from Jessica DeFino, beauty reporter and more importantly, critic, on the one person from her past that most influenced who she is today (and I really must agree):
"I am going to take the phrase âwho you are todayâ very literally and go with Harry Dean Stanton â specifically, Harry Dean Stanton in conversation with David Lynch; that famous interaction where David Lynch says âHow would you describe yourself?â and Harry Dean Stanton says, âAs nothing. There is no self,â and they laugh.Â
Iâve been thinking a lot about the concept of the self today for an article Iâm writing on beauty as so-called âself-careâ and âself-expression.â I bristle when people use these terms because in order for beauty products to be a tool for self-expression, you first must have a self to express, and I get the overwhelming sense that most people saying this donât know who they are outside of what they buy and apply. Beauty products are more often used to create an image of a self than express an existing self. I donât know. Iâm taking a class on existentialism and Simone de Beauvoir, so that has something to do with it. But the more I think and read about the self, the more Iâm convinced there is no essential self, not in any way that matters, and pursuing solidarity with the collective is a more interesting and liberating project than defining the self anyway? So yeah, today, specifically, I am luxuriating in the nothingness of being with Harry Dean Stanton (and Buddha before him)."