The Spectacle of Competence
"Competence porn" is an indistinct genre of media that showcases people doing their jobs (loosely defined) exceptionally well, often using niche skills or uncommon expertise. You've no doubt seen it in documentaries, in short-form video, and even in a courtroom procedural or medical drama.
What is it that's so appealing about competence porn? And why call it "porn?" And what can it tell us about what's missing from our work? This episode gets into all of that. But first, I gotta tell you about the day I became a boulderer.
There are just 6 open spots in my next cohort of Making Sense! If you'd like to communicate more clearly and help others make sense of our complex and oft-confusing world, check out this 8-week interactive workshop. Get all the details and register here: makingsense.fyi
Footnotes:
What is it that's so appealing about competence porn? And why call it "porn?" And what can it tell us about what's missing from our work? This episode gets into all of that. But first, I gotta tell you about the day I became a boulderer.
There are just 6 open spots in my next cohort of Making Sense! If you'd like to communicate more clearly and help others make sense of our complex and oft-confusing world, check out this 8-week interactive workshop. Get all the details and register here: makingsense.fyi
Footnotes:
- Read the written version of this episode.
- "My Summer of Strategic Incompetence" by Kate Manne
- Free Solo (2018 film)
- "Competence Porn is Comforting" by Rachel Ayers in Reactor
- LFG (2021 film)
- "The Uses of the Erotic" by Audre Lorde
- Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks
- The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord
