Greetings, friends!
Maximalism is a tendency to extremes, in which a person always strives to ensure that everything is done to the maximum and in the best possible way. This character trait manifests itself especially strongly in young years. Therefore, a stable combination of “youthful maximalism” was formed. Today we will analyze in detail what this character trait is, how and when it manifests itself, and also consider some practical advice for parents who want to help their children cope with this problem as quickly as possible.
What is youthful maximalism?
Youthful maximalism is a specific feature of the psyche that forces teenagers and young people to judge everything categorically and straightforwardly, not allow flexibility of judgment, not agree to compromises, exaggerate their abilities and make grandiose plans. This character trait appears in early adolescence and gradually disappears as one grows older and accumulates life experience.
The very concept of “maximalism” is not age specific, and to varying degrees it is characteristic of almost all people. Any adult who adequately perceives his own capabilities may well strive for the ideal in some areas. For example, when organizing a romantic date for your wedding anniversary, it’s not a sin to allow yourself to be a maximalist even at 40 years old. And some people even retain certain maximalist views throughout their lives.
At what age does maximalism appear?
This mental feature may appear later or earlier, but the most common age is 12 years. Psychologists divide the entire period of youthful maximalism into three phases:
- Early phase. At the age of 12-15 years, the child realizes himself as a separate independent personality, and his consciousness begins to restructure. He wants to make independent decisions, but at the same time he is not ready for the responsibility that others demand from him. This causes him to have an internal protest and a reluctance to comply with the demands of adults.
- Middle phase. At the age of 15-18, boys and girls experience puberty and hormones radically change their psyche. In addition, they experience a whole range of previously unknown feelings: falling in love, attraction, resentment due to unrequited love, jealousy, etc. At the same time, they pretend to be real adults and try in every possible way to prove their adulthood to others.
- Late phase. At the age of 18-22 years, boys and girls are already physiologically mature. Their thoughts are no longer confused due to raging hormones, but there is still very little life experience. They think a lot about the meaning of life, philosophize, try to find their purpose in life, make grandiose career plans and dream of creating an ideal family.
[edit] In silence
Teenagers are the target audience for “adventure” anime. And most of the series are based on manga, which is created by the same otaku - single artists with an ambiguous social status and a rich escapist imagination, that is, great experts in teenage complexes. As a result, the main characters are almost always mortally ill with youthful maximalism. Ordinary Japanese schoolboys and schoolgirls strive to save the world or, on the contrary, “bring revolution there,” and on the way to their goal they easily defeat more experienced opponents. This is true for Death Note,
and
Code Geass
, as well as
Sailor Moon
, where many started.
With all this, even anime and the culture associated with it quietly make fun of youthful maximalism with the help of such a local meme as “chunibyo”, aka “eighth-grader syndrome” - a collective concept that unites geeks, role-players and others who are especially immersed in the world of fantasy from 14 years old. The idea is actually simple: just at this age, every schoolchild begins to feel a hormonal explosion and a strong desire to somehow stand out and assert themselves. Someone goes in for sports or studies science, someone goes into creativity or tries to fuck someone/be fucked by someone as quickly as possible. And some, due to limited conditions and low self-esteem, withdraw into themselves and try to look like a tragic Byronic hero, a warrior with non-violent abilities, or a discoverer of unknown astral anals. This term is actually about them. The pretentious clichés of teenage anime described above and the symptoms of chunibyo are often indistinguishable and even regularly influence each other, which cannot but hint.
How does youthful maximalism manifest itself?
To better understand what youthful maximalism is, you need to understand its main manifestations. Everything here is quite individual, but there are a number of characteristic signs characteristic of the majority of adolescents experiencing this period:
- Discontent. The child begins to have an internal struggle and constantly expresses dissatisfaction. He doesn't like his own wardrobe, he begins to be indignant when his parents offer him an unfavorite dish for breakfast. Many teenagers criticize “extra school subjects that won’t be useful in life.”
- Feeling like an adult. It is during this period of life that the child first feels like an individual and experiences an internal need to make independent decisions. This leads to arguments with parents and teachers, because the teenager now believes that the value of his opinion is no less.
- Selfishness. Teenagers and young men already feel independent, but have not yet learned to think about other people. Their needs grow, so they demonstrate extremely selfish and sometimes aggressive behavior.
- Categorical. A maximalist teenager does not allow any concessions, does not make compromises and does not accept intermediate “gradations of gray”, but prefers absolute extremes.
- Rejection of criticism. Of course, any person is sensitive to criticism. But maximalism makes teenagers react extremely painfully to any critical remark, no matter how constructive it may be.
- Nihilism. Analyzing the values, principles and views of the parents, the teenager does not accept them and challenges them. This also applies to universal human values, which the young maximalist refuses to take for granted. (Read this article for more information on nihilism.)
- Ultimate extremes. Teenagers are characterized by a painful perception of any situations that do not suit them. At the same time, they react in the form of an ultimatum: they refuse to have lunch, do not do their homework, or ignore some of their duties that they previously performed unquestioningly.
Psychedelic maximalism
Takashi Murakami.
Japanese artist Takashi Murakami was born in 1962 in Tokyo. I dreamed of becoming a cartoon director. Studied at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music (1986-1993). In 1989, his first personal exhibition took place. Takashi Murakami created a new Japanese culture - psychedelic paintings of smiling flowers, crazy eyes, crazy bears - that made him a world celebrity.
Now Murakami has his own studio, Kaikai Kiki, with a team of 30 people, which also creates cartoons in the spirit of “Cat Soup.” Collaborates with the Louis Vuiton brand. He painted classic brown and gold ornamental bags milky white and “populated” them with colorful ornaments featuring signature characters – nervous teddy bears, cheerful flowers and poisonous cherries.
In this interview we will try to define the meaning of the word “maximalism”. In terms of aesthetics, it refers to large-scale creations - sleek designs, detailed detailing, bright colors and bold patterns. In terms of mentality, the meaning of this word is even broader - it refers to people with a rich imagination. What do you think?
I recently discovered a science TV show called Battlestar Galactica, as well as a new animated film called Macross Frontier. The common thread between these shows is that they both represent stories in which humanity has no choice but to leave Earth and fight for survival in outer space, fighting unearthly creatures and robots and questioning the meaning of life. I guess you could call them stereotypical. But what interests me most is the question of outer space. I have never flown into outer space, so I have not experienced the terrible boundlessness of this pitch-black world - but I think this is, perhaps, the real maximalism that we are discussing here.
Who can be called the greatest maximalists of all time?
George Lucas and Walt Disney. From them I learned the importance of completely immersing myself in a surreal world.
And have you always been attracted to such a world?
My sense of beauty was shaped at an early age by my surroundings: the narrow residential neighborhoods of Japan and the imagined escape from those neighborhoods that took the form of manga and anime.
Minimalist impulses defined much of Japan's post-military architecture. In homage to Richard Meier and company, what are the problems with minimalism?
The idea of minimalism is about relaxation. Like a Zen meditating monk, he brings balance. I don't think minimalism necessarily has any problems, but if I had to force myself to name them, I would say that since the sense of minimalism already includes its own universe, I think it can kill the energy that we need. needed to accomplish the physically impossible and try to fly into outer space.
In popular science films, the design of the future is often seen as ultra modernized and bright white - huge iPods and the like. Are you worried about this vision of the future?
Is it true? In the world of P-Funk, Parliament flies from outer space into a UFO. I think that the aesthetics you describe are a survey of only a small part of a huge field, which does not take into account all directions. I'm sure fun space clothing will become popular again in the near future.
The main character of Takashi Murakami's works is Mr., invented by him in 1993 . DOB is a psychedelic boy with a huge white-toothed smile and wide eyes. Later to Mr. DOB was joined by his friends - a pink, cross-eyed female of the same breed, acidic mushrooms and flowers, flying eyes, and other evil spirits.
Interview for Esquire magazine.
What should parents do?
The time when a child goes through youthful maximalism is a very crucial period for parents, since a variety of unpleasant situations are possible. But the first thing to do is to stop the indignation. You cannot blame a child for strange actions, since he is young and inexperienced, it is difficult for him to curb his hormones, and he is not at all to blame for what is happening.
To help a maximalist child get through this period of life with dignity, parents are recommended to use the following approaches:
- Accept as an equal. A teenager wants to feel like an adult and independent. You can allow him to be so, but explain that another integral attribute of adulthood is responsibility. It is necessary to make him understand that he must earn and regularly prove the right to call himself an adult.
- Provoke protest. Even if a teenager behaves calmly, internally he still protests against the decisions of adults. This can be used, for example, by insisting that he spend less time on the playground or walk outside less (if you need him to do this more often).
- Presented with a choice. An adult must understand that one has to choose between pleasures. Therefore, if a teenager gets involved with bad company, you can tell him that he must choose - spend time with them or go with his family on the weekend to the lake or sea.
- Instill critical thinking. Developed critical thinking is also useful for understanding one’s own behavior. At the same time, a rebellious child is unlikely to dispute that this is a useful skill, so he will be happy to develop it. It is very good if the child knows in advance what youthful maximalism is and can identify this state in himself when it occurs.
- Encourage intellectual development. Everyone wants to be smarter, especially young maximalists. It is important to simply find educational and developmental literature that will really be interesting to the child. And the smarter he is, the better he will be able to understand his own experiences and the faster he will cope with maximalism.
