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Zhirinovsky, the populist leader of the LDPR party with ~20% of the seats in the Russian Duma, put suffering and otherness at the center of creative process. In

by aleyan 10y ago

Zhirinovsky, the populist leader of the LDPR party with ~20% of the seats in the Russian Duma, put suffering and otherness at the center of creative process. In his lament to Putin about the lack of cultural development in Russia he said the following:[0] Why did Dostoevsky become a great writer? 10 years of hard labor. What conclusion do I draw? We must incarcerate. After being in jail for three, four or five years, a Dostoevsky will appear... [sic] The history of art and culture is developed by jail or by sexual minorities. We utilize neither today, therefore we don't have any great cultural creators. A straight person living in a luxurious Moscow apartment will not create. For creativity you need a trouble maker. A freak will create. I don't subscribe to his views, but I do find his opinion relevant to the article. Hope you are richer for having read it. [0] https://youtu.be/Hl_VvgpwNMw?t=4m54s https://youtu.be/Hl_VvgpwNMw?t=4m54s

api 10y ago
A friend of mine recently said something similar. He said that there's basically no new music or movie plots because antidepressants and abundant entertainment have killed everyone's muse by doping them up and making them... well... too happy. He said something that stuck with me too (paraphrasing): "I was driving with my daughter the other day and listening to her music and I was constantly thinking about how it was just like what I was listening to in the 80s and 90s. That's perverse and wrong. Her music should be strange and alien and vaguely alarming to me. I find this really terrifying. I am afraid for her future." I am not totally convinced of the suffering angle but I very much agree with the second part. I find the lack of cultural creativity alarming as well, and maybe as the leading indicator of a coming dark age or something.
- Neeek 10y ago
  Creativity hasn't bottomed out, you're just not looking in the right pond. Of course your huge money making pop label isn't going to be pushing the boundaries of contemporary music, take a moment to go looking for something new and alien if you're that worried. The driving forces behind popular music, Hollywood, TV, video games even, have never been larger. It's easier to just say their shadow encompasses everything than it is to walk over to the edge and look out.
- nether 10y ago
  Usually these "[art form or creator] isn't as good as it used to be" views come from finally noticing the repetition and formulaic structures that were always there. See /r/lewronggeneration. Your daughter could also just lack taste, I'm afraid. If you listen to any of top Pitchfork lists on Spotify you'll hear radically varying styles, even among the 2010s.

by aleyan 10y ago

api 10y ago

A friend of mine recently said something similar. He said that there's basically no new music or movie plots because antidepressants and abundant entertainment have killed everyone's muse by doping them up and making them... well... too happy. He said something that stuck with me too (paraphrasing): "I was driving with my daughter the other day and listening to her music and I was constantly thinking about how it was just like what I was listening to in the 80s and 90s. That's perverse and wrong. Her music should be strange and alien and vaguely alarming to me. I find this really terrifying. I am afraid for her future." I am not totally convinced of the suffering angle but I very much agree with the second part. I find the lack of cultural creativity alarming as well, and maybe as the leading indicator of a coming dark age or something.

Neeek 10y ago
Creativity hasn't bottomed out, you're just not looking in the right pond. Of course your huge money making pop label isn't going to be pushing the boundaries of contemporary music, take a moment to go looking for something new and alien if you're that worried. The driving forces behind popular music, Hollywood, TV, video games even, have never been larger. It's easier to just say their shadow encompasses everything than it is to walk over to the edge and look out.
nether 10y ago
Usually these "[art form or creator] isn't as good as it used to be" views come from finally noticing the repetition and formulaic structures that were always there. See /r/lewronggeneration. Your daughter could also just lack taste, I'm afraid. If you listen to any of top Pitchfork lists on Spotify you'll hear radically varying styles, even among the 2010s.