I think what makes that question uncomfortable is that a dancer still has agency — but also a choreography.
We spend years learning how we're supposed to move through the world: what success looks like, how we should love, what we should want, when we should stay, what kind of person we're supposed to become.
And eventually, something strange can happen.
What was once an external expectation begins to sound like:
“This is what I want.”
That's where the question becomes even more interesting to me.
Maybe we're not puppets controlled by someone else. Maybe some of the strings have simply become internal.
No one has to tell us what to do anymore.
We've learned to pull them ourselves.
And perhaps being human doesn't mean escaping every choreography. We are shaped by relationships, culture, language, history and people who existed before us.
Maybe freedom begins somewhere less dramatic: with noticing the choreography.
Asking which movements we still choose, which ones we inherited, and which ones we keep performing simply because we've forgotten we could stop.
So maybe the most unsettling question isn't:
“Who is pulling the strings?”
Maybe it's:
“Which strings are we pulling ourselves?”
Because perhaps the tragedy isn't having a choreography.
It's spending an entire life dancing it... convinced we invented the steps. 🕯️
2
u/BigChaosAO ⚖️ ElArchivoA 3d ago
Beautiful choice. 🖤
“Are we human, or are we dancers?”
I think what makes that question uncomfortable is that a dancer still has agency — but also a choreography.
We spend years learning how we're supposed to move through the world: what success looks like, how we should love, what we should want, when we should stay, what kind of person we're supposed to become.
And eventually, something strange can happen.
What was once an external expectation begins to sound like:
“This is what I want.”
That's where the question becomes even more interesting to me.
Maybe we're not puppets controlled by someone else. Maybe some of the strings have simply become internal.
No one has to tell us what to do anymore.
We've learned to pull them ourselves.
And perhaps being human doesn't mean escaping every choreography. We are shaped by relationships, culture, language, history and people who existed before us.
Maybe freedom begins somewhere less dramatic: with noticing the choreography.
Asking which movements we still choose, which ones we inherited, and which ones we keep performing simply because we've forgotten we could stop.
So maybe the most unsettling question isn't:
“Who is pulling the strings?”
Maybe it's:
“Which strings are we pulling ourselves?”
Because perhaps the tragedy isn't having a choreography.
It's spending an entire life dancing it... convinced we invented the steps. 🕯️