Sarah Morra (11) | STAFF REPORTER
We, as a society, have been the architects of our destruction. Every day, we unravel the intricacies and beauty of society and we must analyse the celebration of mediocrity, the subsequent death of one’s self expression, and the importance of studying the arts.
We have become enveloped in a systematic trap of consumerism imposed on us by large production companies such as Netflix, HBO, Hulu and more. What once took time, effort, and detailing has now become a quick fix internet fad that circulates and teeters on the edge of relevancy. The very value of timely planning and the brewing of creativity when curating new episodes, videos, and internet content has depreciated massively over the years.
Many people have developed a fear of missing out on life, on not being part of the latest conversation piece. With this quickened cycle of shows moving in and out of the conversation, people are increasingly compelled to binge, and catch up on the latest trends as to not miss out. This has caused a large difference in the gap between supply and demand and sprouting new, bright, and creative creators and artists, which has put a strain on their ability to flourish. This is the beginning of the death of self expression and individuality, the ability to produce content that is true to oneself is lost in the battle of staying relevant. New creators are now taught to unlearn the art of their creative nature and instead conform to the ideology that they must create content that will gather the most watch time. Quantity over quality – a cycle which forces artists to succumb to mediocrity.
Many things in our lives pass us by, and the grasp they have on our lives is next to none. Though, the divine essence of creativity moulds the human experience profoundly like no other force. Creativity is the vehicle of our very own self expression, and without this conductor to the discovery of our beings, we would become dislodged from humanity. Creativity marks each experience we have with such definitive nature making each and every thing we view through the myopic lens of our mind, individually divergent – despite having indulged in the same situation, each experience is exponentially unique to us because our minds mould the depiction of our very reality.
Creativity is a dying art, and time is of the essence. We as a society have become geared to celebrate mediocrity, the encouragement of unoriginal recycled trends that are reclaimed as “different” and “the next big thing” have ultimately been slowly killing the creativity of humanity. Our tendency of such devastating celebration has been manifested through the pressure to stay relevant, to keep up.
Art is a form of expression of our creative selves. No interpretation of an art piece will ever precisely match up with another’s analysis, and or the “true” meaning of the piece. Art and creativity are closely linked and one cannot survive without the other, as creativity is an art and art is creative. Art is a tool used to allow us to make sense of our presence and identify with others’ experiences. Creativity is the vehicle of our self expression and art is merely the driver. Without the arts our lives have no merit, for we’d live in a colourless dystopia.
With lack of understanding and compassion for the arts, we are deficient in an overall understanding of who we are. The arts provide an environment for self discovery that recedes any conventional standards that society expects of us to conform to – The art of knowing, the art of creativity, this art is beauty.
