#I've never seen anybody able to give across 'I'm swearing but I'm not confident about it' so subtly

[drbased]

Hands down, the absolute BEST representation of what it looks like to live symbolically is Kendall Roy in Succession.

The guy absolutely exudes insecurity out of every pore. Even though he literally lives the life of a big business man, it's as if he got every understanding of his own life from TV. He tries to play the big man, swearing too much with not enough conviction, using all the stereotypical phrases. He's even addicted to cocaine, the most stereotypical drug to be addicted to (you bet your ass that people like us will absolutely get addicted to drugs if they 'fit the aesthetic'). When he realises he can't handle it anymore, he switches up his narrative to be 'rebellious leader of the people' but he's never willing to give up any of his comforts. He named his birthday playlist 'All bangers all the time' because that's an archetypical playlist name. His plain baseball cap that he wants to signify how hip he is costs over $600. He's clearly terrified of his own life, never fully at the wheel, completely lacking in authenticity - but you can see so much of it swimming beneath the surface, he has more self-consciousness in him than the others but he doesn't know how to channel it into any real courage or conviction - he flip-flops all the time, falls at the last hurdle, never wanting to ever take a risk or lose anything. 110% pure symbolic energy.