#bug under a microscope

[davidfangs]

what if you were very active in a homophobic church but also you're bisexual in a hit tony-nominated broadway show 8 times per week and you really fucked with cavetown in 2019

[yesterdayiwrote]

I really want the thesis on George mirroring people if you’re so inclined 👀

So I also got this anon and the two things are kind of tied together...

i would absolutely read your essay about how george doesn't know how to be himself because i also have so many thoughts about his personality that i'm too scared to voice for a fear of people saying that i'm making assumptions😶😶😶

I will try my best, but I am absolutely dreadful at putting my rambly observations/overanalysis/bug under a microscope theories into coherent prose sometime so apologies in advance this tails off or gets a bit muddled!

I think it's quite obvious that George it's a bit... socially awkward? He's confident in an oratory way, he seems quite chatty and social, he's not shy about his body and showing it off, and yet there's just an undeniable 'awkwardness' to him that it’s hard to put into words?

It’s always said by people that George is too ‘PR’ and I think he really does try hard? Possibly too hard sometimes because it seems so noticeable that he’s trying, but I don’t think it’s because of any nefarious reason, I feel like he’s just really kind of… self conscious?

I think there’s a tendency for people to view self consciousness through a lens of vanity and pre-occupation with perfection but actually a lot of the time it’s a confidence issue too and I’ve just always got a feeling that despite appearances, George isn’t always the most confident in himself and doesn’t know how (or perhaps want to) let down his walls completely and just be his full unguarded self in public.

I think we see flashes of it at times, and I think all of them are wary of being fully open in public, and yet George always feels the one to me who is perhaps most worried about being ‘silly’?

Which is where the mirroring thing comes in. Sometimes I feel that in his quest to present a ‘version’ of himself, he almost strays into emulating other people at times? (This is where it gets all deep and if you’re not into the bug under a microscope stuff you may want to jump off here)

I feel sometimes (and I may be way off here) that George still isn’t quite sure who he is yet or how he wants to be seen. No criticism because I think that’s totally normal. He’s still young, there’s more pressure to be a character of some kind of substance in the public eye, and I think plenty of people much older than him still don’t entirely know who they are, who they want to be or how they want the world to perceive them.

So, I think sometimes he kind of emulates people around him, which again isn’t unusual, I think we all do it. I think it’s part of how most of us find ourselves, and I’m totally willing to admit it may be me drawing parallels where they weren’t necessarily intended. It may be that he does these things completely subconsciously but idk I still just find it all fascinating?

He went through a brief streamer phase just after lockdown which felt like it was kind of leaning in to what Lando was doing. It gets picked up that Daniel bops along to the National Anthems and now George bops along to them too. Lewis posts a thirst trap… George posts a thirst trap. He hangs out with Jack Grealish once and within two months he’s got his hair style (sans chunky highlights which is an OVERSIGHT tbh)…. - okay that one may be a reach but I’m struggling to think of more examples off the off the top of my head 😂.

As I say, I don’t say it as anything bad and actually I think it is subconsciously part of human nature but it just makes me giggle because it feels like he has such… hero worship of people around him and idk… it’s cute?!

[yesterdayiwrote]

One thing that always fascinated me is that George is not as popular as some of the other drivers, even though he is at a top team, doing very well results wise and he is not ugly either. I know it can take some time to "get" him but still! Why do you think the George fanbase seems so much smaller?

No, I get you completely and I’ve thought the same!

To be honest, I think it’s often under appreciated that gaining a fanbase very rarely happens entirely organically. It’s usually the result of lots of things falling in to place at one time in your career and a lot of work on the part of various PR teams behind the scenes as well. The 'big names' in this sport and any sport are not an accident. There's an element of free will, but 'Big Fandom' largely gravitates towards who they want you to gravitate to. I don’t think George even had a PR person (possibly still doesn’t?) which is why building up ‘brand GR’ has perhaps been slower than others?

I think George is kind of a high ‘B list’ driver? Where A are your popular drivers with big fanbases and name recognition, who are pretty synonymous with the sport and probably an ‘S Tier’ of people who’ve kind of got big name recognition outside of the sport too (So Lewis basically although Max is on the verge of getting there)

I’m not sure why George’s personality seems so marmite to people. I think some people purposely look for the worst in him at times or seek out things to criticise. I actually think there’s very little truly controversial about him, which again is something that people get turned off by. I can’t speak to other people’s tastes!

I think he’s one of those people that actually people will grow to appreciate if he starts getting more wins under his belt and some more success. I think he’s one of those people that plenty of people like but he’s less people’s absolute fave and there’s plenty of time for that to change?

[olobersykoislyfe]

Do you ever get the feeling of being scrutinized?

Like a bug under a microscope?

Yeah, that's society for you.