Bullshit

Idolization Is Bullshit

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Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;

I’m tired of finding out that people I respected are assholes.

I’m a firm believer that the media we consume affects us and shapes us. The creators, writers, and to a lesser extent the performers, touch us and leave their mark. It’s a horrifyingly intimate experience.

Because of that, we start to identify with, idolize, and even worship celebrities. In it’s worse cases, it leads to forgetting that those people are human and thinking they owe you their attention. A recent example is what happened to Chappell Roan. On the opposite spectrum, we have celebrities that actively try to hurt minorities, like Trump, Musk, and Rowling.

In the best case, we start to forget that a celebrity is more than what they appear to be. The recent news that Dave Grohl is a serial adulterer, or that Neil Gaiman is a creep shows that they are flawed people who managed to hide the worst parts of themselves from the world for a while.

Some people argue that they are creating a product and it doesn’t matter. In the case of Grohl, I feel like that’s between him, his wife, and his mistresses. Frankly, if it was all consensual, I really don’t care. When the celebrity is actively hurting people, it’s harder for me to forgive.

The problem is worse with writers, because their attitudes are reflected in their art. There are anti-trans, homophobic, and anti-Semitic passages in the Harry Potter books. There are sexist and misogynistic themes in Joss Whedon’s work. And I’m sure if we did a deep dive into Gaimain’s works, we’d find some concerning ideas of consent and sex.

You can’t divorce the work from the artist but you can acknowledge it and work to better yourself.

It’s easy to think this is all new but it’s not. There’s a nearly forty-year-old song by the band Styx called “Show me the Way” and it has a line that still strikes me as relevant.

And every day I’m more confused as the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I’ve lost my faith

Show me the Way by Styx

As long as we idolize people, we are going to be hurt. Power corrupts and worship is a form of power. And a lot of people are jerks even without that power.

Is there a way to love art without hurting when the artist turns out to be some degree of monster? I don’t know, but if you find out, let me know.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

P.S. Please don’t support creators that are actively hurting people.

Muse BS and Why It’s Hurting Your Art

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Try telling this to a woman who's giving birth.

So you consider yourself a “Creative Type”? That means you’ve either spent your life being told you’re special and sensitive or you’ve been told that you’re a useless dreamer that needs to get a haircut and a real job. (Whoa flashback…)

If you consider yourself a creative type and want to feel you’re special go read this Article and don’t come back.

If you want the truth go read the article and come back to read the rest of this post.

Lies

You came back, great. Do you feel like you were just submerged into a giant vat of corn-syrup?

I’m not going to comment on all the points. Most of them are just sily.

First off there is no such thing as a creative type. It’s the same crap as the myth of “Talent”. My definition of creative type: Do you create something? Yes? You’re a creative type. The text before the list does say that everyone can be a creative type.

The biggest lie is the first point in the article:

They work when the work comes to them…meaning that they only paint, draw, write, sew, dance, or write out business plans when they feel like it. Creative people know the mind performs best in small bursts of concentrated work.

If you consider yourself creative and you only create when you feel like it then you’re doing it wrong. That might seem like a harsh judgement but it’s true. The only way to improve or get anything done is by doing it. Even when you don’t feel it!

The myth of the magical muse that will spray you with inspiration is not only a myth it’s an excuse to not create.

Try telling this to a woman who's giving birth.
This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Sometimes you need to force things.

If creating something was as easy as waiting for inspiration or a muse, everyone would be doing it and Memes like this wouldn’t happen.

Dangerous

It takes ten years, or a million words, or ten thousand hours, to get good at something. If you waste your time waiting for inspiration you’ll never get to that point. (Something I wish I’d been told at 18.)

Art takes work. I know that’s not what you want to hear but it’s hard, it hurts, and it takes a long time.

If you don’t work through the difficulties and wait for magical assistance, you’ll never create anything.

That’s the danger of making creating something mystical, it gives people an excuse not to do it. Only the chosen ones can create. So many times people say, I’d love to do this but I’m not good enough.

If a 5 year old kid told his parents he wanted to be a soccer player but he felt he didn’t have the talent they’d laugh and tell him to practice. Why don’t we do that with artistic pursuits?

Hard Truth

No one is born with the talent for art. No more than they’re born with the talent to walk or talk. They are learned skills that you have to work at. I haven’t worked that hard at the walking thing and the bruises on my legs prove it.

What you are born with is an incredible mind and body that can learn and adapt. The important thing is to do it and then re-do it over and over again.

Will your first attempts suck? Hell yes.

Will it be worth it? Immeasurably! You know that feeling when you listen to a great piece of music, read a great book, see a great movie, hear a great line, or see a great piece of art? You know that feeling of elation that comes with it, and the need to share it with others? Now Imagine, that you could see that in someone because of something you created. Effectively seeing someone geek out over what you’ve created.

That feeling combined with the sense of accomplishment is one of the greatest feelings I have ever had.

Be Your Own Muse

Go out there and make something, bring something new into the world. Prove to all the evil out there that you can make something beautiful.

It will be hard but all you need is a way to make yourself do it, even when you don’t want to. Make a schedule, set up a system of awards, create deadlines, do what works to make you work.

Use Habit, Persistence, Stubbornness, and hard work to create your own muse; one of practice and experience.

And when you feel like you can’t or it’s too hard, remember the feeling of joy and power you get when you create.

 

Good Luck and You should be creating,

Éric