My Secret Mentor: Michiko Kakutani

Vogue

Michiko Kakutani sits surrounded by her love for literature. 

As someone who loves to read and prides herself on the vast amount of books she has read over the years, it is only fitting that I also spend the majority of my time reading book reviews. I use these reviews as guidance when choosing my next literary adventure, however, I am adamant that regardless of what the review says, I still allow myself to form my own opinion. 

To choose a new book, I often turn to The New York Times book list as not only is it carefully curated, but it has also proved to be very trustworthy time and time again. Next, I tend to read a review of the book, which I typically also find in the New York Times. Over the years, I noticed that more often than not I chose the same critic to read.

Michiko Kakutani. 

Kakutani was the former chief book critic for The New York Times and is a massively influential individual in American literary criticism. Shortly after joining The Times in 1979, Kakutani became a chief book critic only four short years later. In 1998, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, “...for her passionate, intelligent writing on books and contemporary literature.  This highly esteemed recognition propelled her to become not only a pivotal voice for the literary community but also held a strong influence on the reputation and success of numerous novels. 

Vogue Magazine

Kakutani poses for a magazine profile

on her career. 

I greatly admire Kakutani’s style as not only does she provide readers with insightful reviews, but also her intelligence, quick wit and sharp intellect lend to riveting articles that capture her audience’s interest. At times, she has used the voice of infamous characters to form the structure of her reviews; a style I greatly admire because it takes the monotony out of a simple book review and transforms it into a work of creative genius. 

Vanity Fair called her, “the most powerful book critic in the English-speaking world.”

Kakutani is a perfect example of an individual who holds great influence over my writing. After reading her reviews for many years, I have begun to transform my writing into a mere semblance of her artistry. As someone who wants to form her career around her passion for literature, I frequently turn to Kakutani to inspire my writing, provide me with direction and ideas, and influence my next book purchase. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

Liv Schmidt and her Toxic Online Platform

I am not the kind of person to block creators on social media. Rather, I typically just choose to scroll past the post, trusting the Tiktok algorithm to stop showing me certain content if it appears that I am not interested in it. However, one creator I have had to block on all platforms because her content was detrimental to my mental and physical health. 

Liv Schmidt, a toxic social media personality, has built her platform on promoting an unhealthy standard for women’s bodies. 

Covergirl

A girl checks her body before eating breakfast. 

“Put the fork down.”

“Eat less, weigh less.”

“Need some motivation? Try putting on clothes that no longer fit.” 

These captions aren’t even the most problematic ones. There are countless more that are too triggering and demeaning to even write down. 

Schmidt was banned from TikTok due to her dangerous weight loss advice. She violated the TikTok community guidelines by posting content that promoted harmful weight-loss behaviors and actions. 

Barely eating 800 calories a day– and I would know as she provides the daily total at the end of each video, Schmidt dedicated her time and energy to preaching that women should eat less than the bare minimum to achieve their “dream body.” 

A favorite caption of hers is, “What I eat in a day to stay skinny.” This is always followed by the whale, cow, and pig emojis. A combination that she uses on the regular. 

Some might say: “Why do you care so much? Just don’t pay attention to her videos.” What people don’t realize is, the path Schmidt is on is simply a competitive mind game. 

I was diagnosed with anorexia last summer and almost ended up hospitalized because of the starvation I had put my body through. The first time I stumbled across Schmidt’s TikTok page was at the height of my recovery. I spent an entire night watching her videos, getting sucked into her mindset, and ultimately decided that my recovery wasn’t worth it. I hate to say that I let a random influencer on TikTok affect my thoughts so much, but I did. I ended up almost not being able to come back to school for my junior year because I had become so wrapped up in the “Liv Schmidt mentality.” 

How social media's relationship with

someone's body affects their mental health. 

And she doesn’t just affect me. In an article written for USA Today, “mental health experts warn content like hers can negatively impact young users’ perceptions of body image and influence disordered eating habits.”

Even though Schmidt is blocked on TikTok, she still uses other social media platforms to spread her toxic message to her thousands of followers. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, the NEDA helpline is here to help.