"We Return To The Same Delusions Again And Again..."

Appropriately, I'm writing this post under the spell of a mild fever, and the dementia that accompanies such a state is raging all the more wildly owing to the fact that I just finished watched The Long Kiss Goodnight, the kind of preposterous action movie that was obviously written by someone not unfamiliar with altered states of consciousness. (She ice skates. With guns!)

Whereas maximalist movies like this are junk food for the mind, maximalism in the world of actual junk food is all the rage. Sites like thisiswhyyou'refat.com revel in the tradition of bizarre, nearly inedible eats that repulse and tempt with equal ambition (paradoxically, it seems to be skinny irony-revelers who are actually fueling the stunt-eating trend). Take for example the unfortunately named "McGangbang," a sandwich made by inserting an entire McChicken sandwich between the layers of a McDonald's Double Cheeseburger. This abomination has grown so popular that, as many YouTubers demonstrate, you can order it by name at many restaurants and get exactly what you're after: seven bun/patty layers of megacaloric derring-do.

The Seven of Cups is most often associated with the kinds of epic delusions that intoxicate and betray us; it's a card of bizarre fantasies and misleading emotional "truths" that are ultimately revealed to be self-deceptions. When so many options swirl around you, it's very difficult to recognize the one that will have the greatest lasting impact on you, and there's so little stigma placed on choosing poorly that we return to the same delusions again and again. Sometimes the fog lifts on its own, sometimes you are strong enough to forge through it clear-eyed, and still other times we follow the fog, chasing the next good feeling or entertaining experience, trading our reality for small doses of instant gratification. That's why the Seven of Cups is also often associated with addiction. And as many of us have discovered first- or second-hand, humans can become addicted to nearly anything -- even each other.

Of course, for most of us it really just reflects a passing phase, a test of one's self-awareness. For example, I was shocked to realize that ever since I first saw the MeFi post about the McGangbang, I started craving McDonalds like crazy. So far I've managed to hold out -- coming down with a slight cold has had the unexpected temporary benefit of making me consider my health a little more carefully. Hopefully by the time I'm feeling alright, the fog will have lifted and the temptation will vanish. My appetite for the very worst movies is a harder serpent to crush, but then, we all strike our own bargain with the void. [Via]

Previously on Arcanalogue...