The scene appears in The Big Night of Pop, a documentary by Bao Nguyen about how the solidarity anthem We are the world was recorded. Surrounded by figures such as Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Cindy Lauper, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan does not share his euphoria. He seems uncomfortable, out of place. When he finally has to record his solo, everyone expects it to leave them speechless. But he doesn't even know what he has to do. Stevie Wonder gets him off the hook.
Seeing his behavior, I remembered a song by Mr. Chinarro that cries: “Timid people of the world, unite.” I also like to spend time being absent, he begins, “but others are going to take you for haughty, that's how people are,” they are going to believe that with this attitude you act profound and interesting, and “they will say atrocious things.” A friend taught me that, after a certain age, shyness is a lack of education. I guess that's why my parents gave my brothers and me points every time we greeted a neighbor in the elevator. When we collected several points, there was a prize.
But maybe Dylan is not shy, but introverted. Which is penalized. To the point that, if you don't relate to others the same as others, they label you borderline, unfriendly, antisocial, or interpret that you have an autism spectrum disorder. The question is: what if it were society that was too extroverted? What if it has reached unbearable histrionics? Especially from the incessant need to attract attention on networks. Those fifteen minutes of fame that Warhol predicted for everyone have ended up being a permanent requirement. The room of intimacy has become a set where emotions are displayed without rest.
As a result, the introvert is the one who has to explain himself. If events bore you, if displays of affection in public or being recognized on the street bother you, if you hate selfies and are suspicious of those who never stop publishing their successes or their love or their creative process, if you don't like what that so many people like, the strange one is you. The problem is that there are more and more situations that are supposed to attract you – or that should not cause you a setback – and that are difficult to refuse in order not to look bad.
The most common is related to promotion. You agree to give a lecture or participate in a book club, you collaborate in a new section, you present a book. And then someone from the organization asks you to record yourself on video to post it on the networks. It was already embarrassing when they only asked you to send a short autobiography and a photo. Let's see: if they propose something to you, it's because they know your career, right? I always wonder if when they invite international authors they also ask them to summarize in four lines what they have done in life and send an updated photo. Or if Quim Monzó, Sergi Pàmies, Carme Riera, Enrique Vila-Matas, Eduardo Mendoza are asked to take video selfies announcing their next interventions.
I am not an actress, nor a comedian. And if it were, I would charge for doing this type of performance. Why are you expected to do it with great pleasure and a good face? I wanted to dedicate myself to writing because I am an introvert. Every time I appear in the media, I tell myself “one point”; Now the prize is to earn my bread. When I see Bob Dylan wondering who put him there, knowing that it is for a good cause, I think that us timid people should unite and stand up. “We are also the world.”
