Citings of Sightings, in which we sometimes indulge, can be signs of narcissism, impoverished imagination, or a lack of research in quest of fresh things to say. But sometimes quotations of earlier columns—now archived, lost in cyberspace, or almost forgotten—can provide perspective on current topics. Take this week's citation of our August 1, 2016, and September 26, 2016, Sightings on journalistic uses of “moments” as measures of movements. In these recent cases, we called attention to fashionable uses of the term in respect to religion, such as the Mormon Moment or, earlier, the Catholic and Methodist Moments, all of which have passed.
Those moments are no longer with us, but the noun remains in religious discourse. This past week it appeared in a headline in The Atlantic, where author Spencer Kornhaber spoke of a “Metaphysical Moment,” which possessed (or, back then some days ago, he could say, possesses) pop culture. In our fast-paced cultural chronicles, we no longer speak of “epochs” or “eras,” but of moments. Let's explore the metaphysical pop culture version, with reliable author Kornhaber as our guide. He asks, “Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?” He then points to pop culture TV shows as current questioners: HBO's Westworld, The OA, Stranger Things, The Good Place, and Falling Water, or movies like Arrival and Doctor Strange.
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