The Burning of Alexandria
What would you save?
today’s post leans into dystopian realities. if you can’t bear to think any more about that right now, see you next week.
A thought experiment.
Let’s imagine a fire is coming. This fire is going to destroy your physical possessions. It could destroy you, too. This fire is so big and bad that even our online worlds are going to burn.
You will no longer have access to the movies and shows you “bought” through Apple or Amazon Prime. There will no longer be a Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and so on.
You can save five books, DVDs, CDs, video games, or vinyls in a fireproof safe. You may be able, in the aftermath of the fire, to open up the safe and read, view, listen to, or enjoy what you have saved. Or you may perish in the fire, and maybe someone will come along one day and find what’s inside.
What are you saving?
Assume you have another safe for your home videos, your wedding album, your baby’s firsts, or your vital documents
You must have a hard copy of the items you would preserve in your house right now
Explain why you would save this item for yourself
Explain why you would save this item for future people to find
Here’s my list.
Avatar: the Last Airbender. If there is only room for one disc, it would be the one containing S2 E14: City of Walls and Secrets. Not because that’s my favorite episode, but because it’s home to one of the series’ most powerful quotes: “There is no war in Ba Sing Se.” For myself, I want ATLA’s stories of resilience, joy, pacifism, and community. For whoever might find the my safe, I want them to know we understood what fires are and what they burn, and how we tried to quench them.
One Hundred Years of Solitude. I consider no book so great as this. For myself, after the fire, I will need diversion, distraction, and a place to let my imagination grow. For others, I want them to know we could read, and that we had imaginations, just like them.
Love After the End. This is a collection of short stories written by queer Indigenous authors focusing on those themes. Either I or those who find my safe will need instructions.
The World without Us. Alan Weisman asked scientists in all fields, all over the world, “what would happen to the world if humans disappeared?” I find its answers comforting, not scary. The future could read it and find out how much of it he got right.
The Lord of the Rings. I debated between this book and The Handmaid’s Tale. But I would argue this one serves a greater purpose.
Phase two of the thought experiment: You’ve assembled your necessary reading and watching for 2025. Enjoy. I hope these works see you through it.
I didn’t follow the rules exactly but the exercise was fun, so please forgive me. I only have a copy of one of the books in my head, and another doesn’t come out until February 11. So sorry.
1. Book -‘Vinegar Girl’ by Anne Tyler. She is my all time favorite author who has published over 20 books. As each book came out it seemed to mirror my life at that stage. It’s like we grew up and old together.
2. ‘Three Days in June’ - also Anne Tyler
I didn’t want to wait to write this response until this book comes out on February 11, so if I can put this in my safe I hope those who find it might see some of the connection between her books and seek to find others she has written. They will see that they depict an ordinary life filled with truly odd characters. They will understand how we were all odd in our own ways.
3. Book - Dr. Doolittle. I don’t own this book but it is the first book that I had a strong emotional response to. It was many years ago (I’m not telling how many) and I still remember crying for hours over Doc and the animals. I want to leave the message that animals are special in this world.
4. CD - National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation because can it really be Christmas without it? Whoever finds it might have fun trying to figure out what’s going on.
5. For my final possession I’m bringing a blank journal (the kind that holds a pen - is that cheating?) so either I or they could write the next story.