The tweet promptly went viral, partly for what it said—the idea of #Bowie as cosmic load bearer was, as explanations go, absurd & amusing & plausible—but mostly for what it didn’t. ∗Gestures broadly at everything∗ was a punch line to a joke that was all too familiar. It turned #overwhelm into a knowing melodrama. Soon, people…were posting, emailing, & texting their own versions of Loewy’s stage-whispered aside: [gestures wildly at everything]; <gestures vaguely at everything>; [gestures around].

The tweet promptly went viral, partly for what it said—the idea of #Bowie as cosmic load bearer was, as explanations go, absurd & amusing & plausible—but mostly for what it didn’t. ∗Gestures broadly at everything∗ was a punch line to a joke that was all too familiar. It turned #overwhelm into a knowing melodrama. Soon, people…were posting, emailing, & texting their own versions of Loewy’s stage-whispered aside: [gestures wildly at everything]; <gestures vaguely at everything>; [gestures around].