Sometimes Instagram can actually be a wonderful place, instead of the soul-sucking hellscape it usually is. It can open your eyes to gaiety never thought possible. This week, while poring through reels urging me to travel to Amsterdam with the first person on my share list, I magically stumbled upon the perfect Insta account.
“Titanium Daydream,” created by artists Jacob Sluka and Ben Crouse, is described as a “3D saga in many parts,” with new episodes being released every Tuesday. The Blender-animated web series follows Benjamin Jacobs, a red-blooded American hero who’s called back to his hometown of Sleeper’s Edge, Iowa after having fateful visions that haunt him “like a “Titanium Daydream”.” Equipped with a killer blue jacket with a dove on the back, 2000s sunglasses and his “father’s gön,” Benjamin meets several Sleeper’s Edge townsfolk while trying to figure out what or who is the source of his dreams. The tone and milieu of the show harkens back to media like Twin Peaks and Blade Runner: The haunting synth score is reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti’s work, while Benjamin feels like an homage to Rick Deckard, the wandering protagonist who finds himself in a world that no longer makes sense. TD’s (“Titanium Daydream”) dialogue is gorgeous and evocative, with lines such as “Music, freedom, and civic infrastructure belong to all.” and “What do you know about those rascals at the jazz bar?” All of this is exacerbated by “Titanium Daydream’s” low-resolution graphics, reminiscent of PlayStation 1. They give the show an almost timeless feel: the characters could be anyone and exist in any time and place, but for some reason, they’re drawn to the mystic of Sleeper’s Edge.
While the show is lesser known on Instagram, “Titanium Daydream” has been getting more and more popular on TikTok, with some episodes reaching tens of thousands of likes as viewers tune in each week. It’s definitely a hit amongst Vassar students. “Every time I go back to my hometown, I have to resist the urge to say that I’ve been ‘drawn back here by a psychic plague of twisted visions.’ Benjamin just gets it,” said Xander Nowak ’25. “He’s so beautiful and sincere. I can’t decide if I want to be him or be with him. Anyway, I got to get back to my Japanese homework.”
If you ever find yourself bored while waiting in line for food at the Deece or talking to your mentally unstimulating friends, I highly recommend cracking open a fresh sugar-free Rockstar Energy and watching “Titanium Daydream.”