I'm a huge fan of popular culture and entertainment. From music to movies to books and articles. Art, to me is the most worthwhile human creation, because it can so perfectly dissect and breakdown our most personal and harrowing emotions into bite-sized pieces so that we can vicariously experience and analyze them without having to suffer ourselves. We attach ourselves to these characters and feel joy when they complete the journey and feel sorrow when they lose.
Through interesting and engaging storylines and especially through well rounded characters, one can be immersed into a world completely different from the often bleak reality filled with unending suffering we inhabit. This goes back to an earlier blog I wrote about Heroes.
The expression of art is incredibly important to the development of a society. A truly engaging and nuanced piece of art can change the course of culture. It can change the minds of people or act as an intensifier for the thoughts of a community. So art should made with extreme care. Media should be made thoughtfully and should be a reflection of the times so that we may properly digest the awful and amazing truths our world holds. With that said, there are obvious missteps in how we create art and this is especially concerning given the sheer audience any single piece of media can now have. For example blockbuster pictures that attempt to create a meaningful conversation about real issues end up creating more harm than good. If we don't take great care in creating meaningful and truthful art, we will be stuck with mediocre stories that reduce issues into something that no longer resembles the complex core of the problem that is at question. Take for example Netflix’s Bright starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton. It so desperately tries to recreate a world full of racial tension not unlike contemporary America, yet does nothing with it, completely reducing the story to a generic action movie with orcs as a metaphor for African Americans. While not harmful on its own it does muddy the waters of an already treacherous topic. Completely missing the nuance of a divisive and important point of conversation.
In the realm of music it becomes more and more difficult to find music with real meaning. It's out there but does not get the recognition for the most part bar some albums and artists. Some pessimists would argue that good music is dead and is being replaced with generic and flavorless pop music that only follows trends and was probably concocted in a program that deciphered the ingredients for a 'hit’ song. I would have to disagree. The current state of music has given us more options than ever before when it comes yo meaningful, introspective and engaging music. With the current state of technology more people can get their music out there than ever before, no longer being at the mercy of record labels. So good music is out there just not in your face. But, the music that is in your face can often be mediocre, reduced and devoid of nuance or creativity.
In the current world of commoditizing art for the sake of profit, art has been reduced to a retail product and seldom serves as a medium for social and political commentary. Or even when it does it can be quite partisan or incomplete and often misses the idea entirely. For instance, hip-hop and rap music.
I will say hear me out here. This isn't a Fox News smear campaign against black culture. Not at all, I love hip hop, but I also see the potential for hip hop to poison impressionable minds. Yeah, I realize I sound like a 56 year old republican but this does hold some weight. I believe the glorification of gang violence and addiction to money and flashy things is detrimental to listeners. While this is an issue, my problem with it is the reluctance to realistically display the horrors of gang life.
Gang life and the horrible living conditions of impoverished communities should absolutely be highlighted. It should be spoken of, if it’s under the guise of glorification, so be it. But one must also be honest about the horrors that would lead someone into that lifestyle. This would create a more relatable story. It's important to show people that they would be in the same situation if they were dealt the same bad hand. I believe properly displaying the duality of gang life or criminal behavior fueled by both desperation and lack of options, will both create a better more complete experience for the listener and garner some empathy for the listener which would, as I've said before, allow the average person to relate themselves to the struggles and emotions of someone they don't even know.
The state of art seems to have fallen apart, but I don't believe that to be completely true. We live in a time of overindulgence. It seems only fair that art forms would mirror or subvert this phenomenon. But this shouldn't discourage you from actively seeking out good entertainment or creating it yourself. Im of the opinion that any art is good art if it is honest, well rounded and engaging. Don't sit back and shove meaningless entertainment in your face, or maybe sometimes. Just make sure to leave some room for something with a little thought and nuance.
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