Lights

In Narcissa Balenciaga, Promo by Narcissa Balenciaga

There are so many things in this world that can be looked at in different ways simply based on a simple matter of perspective.

For instance, a black and blue dress can look white and gold due to something as trivial as how much light hits it.

If something as simple as a dress can change so drastically based on how the lights hit it, how much can something as complicated as a human being transform?

Funnily enough, not that much. A normal human being doesn’t do much differently when the focus is on them, they simply go on living or at most, perform their standard actions at a more efficient pace than normal.

Then there’s those on the edges of the bell curve we refer to as the standard or society or colloquially as normal, they are the outliers of this world.

On one end, we celebrate them, when the lights hit them, they are the stars that shine, they are the celebrities we adore, they are the athletes we cheer on, they are the models we starve ourselves to look like.

On the other end, we demonize them and make them feel like they’re nothing. We stare at them like they’re a walking car crash or we look away like we’re staring at the sun because we can’t face what we perceive as ultimate mistakes or somehow worse, what could have happened to ourselves if our fates were simply worse.

That is unless we belong to that side of the curve ourselves. People think someone like me is on the other end of spectrum, named a goddess so people think I’m the epitome of excellence. That’s not the truth, I do the same thing you do Klaus, I just make sure the light shines on me the best way possible.

I do the same thing you do with all your performers, I focus on the strengths and hide the weaknesses. I put the brightest outfits on to highlight what I want the world to see and fabric in the exact right spot to hide my blemishes. I notice it because in a different life, I could be part of your show.

All of your performers could be on the streets if you hadn’t noticed them so I have to ask, if you’re noticing them long enough to see the humanity in them and help them out, what’s wrong with you? Why do you only let yourself be seen in the brightest of lights? What makes you hide the blemishes with makeup that makes you paler than me?

Let me guess, it’s something you hold real close to the chest. In your role, you can just introduce the performers and highlight their maladies in a way that transforms disasters and mutations into showcases and spectacles without highlighting your own. It’s the same thing I did for years, turn my tragedy into masterpieces.

Whatever it is, the bright lights don’t overcome that inner darkness and pain, you have to do the healing yourself.

The only thing they’re really good at is highlighting how much you need to heal when the world goes back to looking away.