# The Clear and Present Danger of Dorian Gray *What a cautionary tale from the new Broadway play can teach us about ourselves, including the parts we don't want to see...* By [Hard Mode First](https://hardmodefirst.xyz) · 2025-03-28 broadway, play, theatre, ai, technology, psychology --- A man becomes so jealous of the beauty of his own portrait that he makes a risky gamble: To let his portrait bear the burden of his aging and sins, so that he can stay in a young body forever. [_The Picture of Dorian Gray_,](https://doriangrayplay.com/) an Oscar Wilde novel now set as a Broadway play, is an ambitious example of what happens when you take an actor with superhuman capabilities (see: Sarah Snook) and then you supercharge her with state-of-the-art technology in the way of video projections. While Snook is the only performer, she plays every single character (26 in all) without a break throughout the entirety of this one-act show. (You might say it's fractional work at its best. On stage. With camera angles and selfie shots so close up that there's literally, nowhere to hide.) The show is an ambitious technological feat that elegantly fuses the cautionary tale of obsessive narcissism and pleasure with modern-day cinematic elements. Snook is followed around the stage with five camera operators who simultaneously broadcast their live feeds from different angles of her performance, or other characters. It's giving, _"Andy Warhol meant modern-day memes."_ There are times when Snook live broadcasts selfies of herself, altering in real time snapchat filters or her own face on a massive oversized video monitor, all while effortlessly delivering a pulsing monologue. Ultimately, the character Dorian Gray is forced to reckon with the reality that all of that hectic, self-obsessive behavior is doing more harm than good, and even though his face still carries youthful trust, his choices wreak havoc on everyone around him. It begs the question: ### **How much is too much? At what point have you gone too far?** * * * A Cautionary Tale ----------------- As an audience member, I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into my seat throughout the show, reflecting on the very nature of the mass-market selfie culture that's even more remixable now than ever before. That, bolstered by technology, a single character _can_ play every role in a complex play, is not unlike the confusing neo-egoism of founders in today's AI-supercharged tech sector. If you, too, can play all of the roles, who else do you need, really? After all, if you can take any photo of yourself... ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/965c43629552faa2046c7c274c98f790.png) My headshot And remix and remix it and remix it and remix it... ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/15b0885046b31bbc7937405f209fec67.png) Remixed with ChatGPT If you can invent a character trained on your personality quirks and anxieties... ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/279728030b341eca5f9f4c508b647ef9.png) My invited AI persona, Taylor Script And then give them a voice to _literally_ talk back to you... ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b91ec4c81fc65ceb2d1b98aaa21fc00b.png) [See my short video sample of my AI interviewing me here](https://youtube.com/shorts/_TeCycysRbc?feature=shared) or [listen to the podcast here](https://hardmodefirst.xyz/i-let-my-ai-alter-ego-interview-me-heres-what-happened) If you can take [someone else's copyrighted brand essence](https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/03/27/the-ai-generated-studio-ghibli-trend-explained/)... ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5770dcfc9077bc55c96a3944bf048c38.png) [Studio Ghibli](https://ghiblicollection.com/pages/about-us), one of the most esteemed animation studios in the world But then co-opt it with AI for your own personal benefit... ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b1ca5dc1bfcf1e37c8ba916705fad429.png) ChatGPT + the prompt, "Make this photo in the style of Studio Ghibli" Even when you know it's wrong. [![User Avatar](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/05e6093b5435e93f983e7300c6ac3729.jpg)](https://twitter.com/shilstone_arts) [Robbie Shilstone](https://twitter.com/shilstone_arts) [@shilstone\_arts](https://twitter.com/shilstone_arts) [![Twitter Logo](https://paragraph.xyz/editor/twitter/logo.png)](https://twitter.com/shilstone_arts/status/1904946796708708408) Miyazaki spent his entire life building one of the most expansive and imaginative bodies of work, all so you could rip it off and use it as a filter for your vacation photos. Not into this one bit. Protect artists. [![Like Icon](https://paragraph.xyz/editor/twitter/heart.png) 55.8K](https://twitter.com/shilstone_arts/status/1904946796708708408)[ 1:21 PM • Mar 26, 2025 ](https://twitter.com/shilstone_arts/status/1904946796708708408) Even when you know the artist himself doesn't want it. [![User Avatar](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/33979c397ff30956fdb183677a1d9330.jpg)](https://twitter.com/nuberodesign) [Nuberodesign](https://twitter.com/nuberodesign) [@nuberodesign](https://twitter.com/nuberodesign) [![Twitter Logo](https://paragraph.xyz/editor/twitter/logo.png)](https://twitter.com/nuberodesign/status/1904954270119588033) Since this utter garbage is trending, we should take a look at what Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, said about machine created art. ![](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1904954182408253441/pu/img/6bvGf1CnaOdRC9LF.jpg) [![User Avatar](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/6e9565ea10f09aa661b288890603c935.jpg)](https://twitter.com/GrantSlatton) [Grant Slatton](https://twitter.com/GrantSlatton) [@GrantSlatton](https://twitter.com/GrantSlatton) [![Twitter Logo](https://paragraph.xyz/editor/twitter/logo.png)](https://twitter.com/GrantSlatton/status/1904631016356274286) tremendous alpha right now in sending your wife photos of yall converted to studio ghibli anime ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/548e800ae07deca869e5d1a97dbb97a9.jpg) [![Like Icon](https://paragraph.xyz/editor/twitter/heart.png) 57.1K](https://twitter.com/nuberodesign/status/1904954270119588033)[ 1:51 PM • Mar 26, 2025 ](https://twitter.com/nuberodesign/status/1904954270119588033) Will you stop? ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1d30a79a1e69b2ccb240b5e9262b9e0c.png) Source: [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/studio-ghibli-chatgpt-images-hayao-miyazaki-openai-0f4cb487ec3042dd5b43ad47879b91f4) Or will you do it anyway? [![User Avatar](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/8af2a7f68d5b501573d63a3ec475640b.jpg)](https://twitter.com/venturetwins) [Justine Moore](https://twitter.com/venturetwins) [@venturetwins](https://twitter.com/venturetwins) [![Twitter Logo](https://paragraph.xyz/editor/twitter/logo.png)](https://twitter.com/venturetwins/status/1905338712583799128) Presenting The Office x Studio Ghibli ![](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1905338614646800390/pu/img/dRr2isAFKqD-fyW_.jpg) [![Like Icon](https://paragraph.xyz/editor/twitter/heart.png) 19.2K](https://twitter.com/venturetwins/status/1905338712583799128)[ 3:18 PM • Mar 27, 2025 ](https://twitter.com/venturetwins/status/1905338712583799128) * * * In a way, today, we are all Dorian Gray. ======================================== ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/660657fef60117cd874decaddfb01767.webp) Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray (image source: [Variety](https://variety.com/2025/legit/reviews/the-picture-of-dorian-gray-review-sarah-snook-broadway-1236350253/)) We are living with our portraits on the wall. Infinitely malleable. Infinitely fantastical. Infinitely surreal. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4fb4c5524fa679acdcad0144da80ca02.png) Dorian Gray, as portrayed by Sarah Snook, as portrayed by ChatGPT We can be whomever we want to be. We can stay young online forever. We can choose when to show different sides, different angles, different faces at any turn. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1738107ddb7b101de0cc104ff3cd4092.png) Me, portraying Dorian Gray, as portrayed by ChatGPT We can reach new audiences, seek out new perspectives, always with a shield of defense. Whether it's a screen, an anonymous avatar, a social media profile, or an infinitely remixable AI likeness. But in the end, it's worth asking: > Is it really worth it? > > ### How much is too much? > > How do you know when you've gone too far? > ----------------------------------------- ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b032994a0b07c7d5c028ccb18aaa6317.png) Me, portraying Dorian Gray's not-so-nice side, as portrayed by ChatGPT The point of theatre and literature and all of the arts in general is to make us think about these things. So if you're wondering about any of these things today too, I strongly suggest you [go see the play on Broadway](https://doriangrayplay.com/). It's a _Wilde_ ride... --- *Originally published on [Hard Mode First](https://hardmodefirst.xyz/the-clear-and-present-danger-of-dorian-gray)*