…[R]eviving culture requires a new generation of outsiders willing to create their own movements from scratch.
Unfortunately, the current media ecosystem discourages this. The major internet platforms encourage creators to chase virality rather than cultivate smaller, self-sustaining communities. Global brands tease lucrative deals to emerging artists and micro-influencers, reinforcing the idea that “getting the bag” is the ultimate goal. […] In an era when we live as personal brands, every decision is made to increase our own shareholder value.
Making art with lasting meaning requires resisting the pull of instant exposure and early buyouts. We must think through ways to encourage artists to disappear into their own worlds for a while, developing ideas away from corporate influence and assimilation. Not everyone will have the discipline or capacity for this, but those who do or can will shape the future. And the least that critics and fans can do is give them esteem—when justified—for attempting to move culture forward, instead of ignoring them as marginal, castigating them as pretentious, or belittling their view counts. The past 25 years have taught us that the contemporary economy and media will not prioritize creative invention. The question is: Will you?
— from W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century in Make Culture Weird Again, originally published at The Atlantic.
On Culture and Subculture
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12 responses to “On Culture and Subculture”
So much of what we get bombarded with, whether on TV, Radio, Internet…etc is copy/pasted or designed to make you feel inadequate if you don’t have ‘the thing’ they are selling. Sigh I shouldn’t be surprised as BS is probably good fertiliser 😅
Which is why I reject their reality. I’m sick of the homogeneity of our cultural existence and I want something new.
The next big thing is going to be something we don’t even recognize. So keep working on your art. Keep trusting your instincts. Stop worrying about money or fame. We live in a truly amazing time. What you put out there has the potential to be saved and stored on the interwebs, forever and for all time. As a result of this, you might not end up being “Big in Japan.” You might end up being “Big in 2725.” Who can say? Not you, not me, not anyone.
Well, you know me. I could care less about either fame or fortune. I write to write and to try to do something interesting when I write (music or scrivening).
My confidence in the permanence of what is stored online is not as robust as yours, however. If there is anything I’ve learned in life, is that the only constant is that everything is impermanent. I cast words to the ephemeral void!
The void is real. As is entropy. But humankind is making great strides in the areas of storage and retrieval.
We’re possibly just one (big) CME away from data catastrophe.
True that, but let’s please hope it doesn’t happen. Imagine some alien life form finding Voyager 1 and that golden record and few non-operational gizmos being all that’s left of humankind.
Ludo is sad. 😭
And here we are, listening😁
You poor poor folks. 🤣
It’s dire. I remember back in the day, when publishers, music producers etc left a space for the new and original. Now it’s a race to the bottom in pursuit of the money. I do my best to seek out the quality hidden under the slush, but it’s not easy. And I write the sort of books I’d like to read. That’s about the best I can do. 😐
Yeah, aside from demanding better, I don’t know that anyone can do much more.