Society
Summer with Ester •
The romantic note format has arrived in Fiumicino. But let’s at least get them right
Aeroporti di Roma has decided to introduce the social media phenomenon ‘Notes to Passengers’ at Leonardo da Vinci Airport. But why should we spoil a good idea with messages like ‘smile’ and ‘no stress’? Let’s choose exceptional phrases – indeed, brilliant aphorisms – and raise the bar in terms of how difficult the text is to understand
Photo: Ansa
Instagram’s ‘phrase-ism’ is running rampant. Literary musings – some by established authors, others of dubious quality – are everywhere, telling you how to live and how things really are. It is the final stage of contemporary ‘striving-ism’, and the first stones remain on the ground; no one can throw them – we are all responsible for this aphoristic horror. So we’ll just have to put up with it.
The phenomenon is, of course, rife on Instagram, the great news machine: thoughts are broken down and squared off so they fit neatly into a card. That card, which will then rake in plenty of likes under the moral guise of a ‘cultured quote’, is the belief that a thought expressed effectively can brighten someone’s day. Or offer comfort in a moment of sadness, or light the way through uncertainty. It isn’t even brevity that’s the issue. Brevity is one of the greatest talents in writing. Karl Kraus was concise and infallible. As for Flaiano, there’s no need to even mention him – he knew how to be extremely brief whilst leaving permanent damage, either to you or to your view of the world. The problem arises when brevity becomes a standard method of dissemination, not the result of concentrated thought, but of a general inflation that responds to the market’s demand: ‘Tell me something short that can lift my spirits.’
All this preamble to get to today’s little news item in this column: Aeroporti di Roma has decided to bring the "Notes to Strangers" social media format to Leonardo da Vinci Airport, where it becomes "Notes to Passengers". Small handwritten messages were handed out to travellers, and their reactions were captured in a heart-warming video for ADR’s Instagram and TikTok channels. It’s also a rather charming idea: an airport is a strange gathering of people – you find everything there, from hopes and disappointments to boundless enthusiasm and unexpected annoyances. And people are in less of a hurry than at a railway station, because they’ve arrived early, are carrying light luggage and have time to spare for reflection. So Fiumicino, in the summer when ten million passengers passed through between July and August, could become a massive narrative experiment. Why, then, must we spoil such a good idea with messages like "smile", "no stress", "travelling is lovely when shared", "kiss each other"? That’s a bit of a let-down. Let’s write these signs properly. Let’s choose exceptional phrases – indeed, sensational aphorisms – and raise the bar for how difficult the text is to understand. Let’s be bold; the reader isn’t a fool. Flaiano!
Those setting off in a group who would have preferred a different trip – they didn’t want to spend a week in Iceland with the sheep – but in the end their friends decided for them. They wonder why they’ve ended up on this unwanted holiday and can’t find the reasons: “Society, or the company of others, is a vice one can do without, but then one is left alone. You can’t return to the company of others whenever you like. It’s either always, or never.” Those who return and don’t understand what’s wrong with them – why didn’t they enjoy themselves? Shouldn’t a trip fill the heart and restore one’s spirits? “Boredom and melancholy lie in wait wherever you go for fun, for a change. Only the place where we live keeps us from thinking about death, failure and old age. Tourism, what a sad invention. There is no health outside one’s own cave. Stay put.”
To those who are setting off, weighed down by sorrow, trying to forget something yet failing to understand what they did wrong, or where. To those who invoke and give thanks to Divine Providence, let it be noted that there is an equally watchful Divine Improvidence, the one that governs all our mistakes. Good and Evil balance each other out over time, according to the law of large numbers; or perhaps they do not exist at all. There is a course of events that cannot be judged! To parents with apathetic, fed-up children: take them to New York and it’s as if you’re taking them to a reformatory: ‘All authors of stories about young people who struggle, who suffer, who laugh, who love capriciously, are requested to collect them from the school office. Reason: they’re no longer being written.’
(all quotations are taken from "Diario degli Errori" by E. Flaiano, published by Adelphi)