The Middle of the End by David Hopkins
Author:David Hopkins [Hopkins, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-10T22:00:00+00:00
An Account of Things That Did Not Survive
Mass entertainment.
Before all this, it felt like the entire universe existed to entertain me and me alone. Everything was working for my attention and approval. It may sound pretentious, but for those who remember the old world, we all felt this way. With minimal effort, I could find the music, the television, the movie, the video game, the book, or the magazine that absolutely spoke to me. My television could make actual recommendations of what it thought I would like with reasonable accuracyâchilling. Social media was far savvier. In the margins of every webpage, something new was always catching my eye. I could waste an entire day hopscotching from a how-to video to a celebrity quiz to a silly article written in list format. The old world greatly admired lists.
Not only was there amazing talent, there were producers and publishers who made it their business to only fund art, which targeted the right demographic. The artists had to be marketable. Thus, these publishing gatekeepers were able to give us exactly what we wanted. This is what I mean by mass entertainment. Who gives a damn about individual inspiration and expression? There were units to move and deadlines to keep, making way for the next flood of entertainment experiences.
The infection that wiped out the old world has set us so far back, there hasn't been enough time to work on our artistic craft while we're scavenging for food and supplies. That is a concern for the next generation.
Obviously, entertainment still exists. Artists and performers still exist. How could they not? The creative impulse doesn't leave us because only a small percentage of the human population remains.
That doesn't mean the cream of the crop survived. Why would they? We lost some amazing talent. Those who are left? They try their best. Navel-gazing writers, like me, are obsessed with documenting our personal journeys through the apocalypse, which is the last thing readers want right now. We're living it. Why do you need my pity-me account of how things transpired and spiraled out of control? You have your version of these events. Most people would prefer an indecent love story or a comedy to read.
The musicians have taken up the mantle of preserving songs from the past. Few, if any, are writing new music. It's nostalgia, not art. The acting troops aren't traveling. Even the idea of a nomadic group of actors and musicians would be insane. Why risk going from settlement to settlement, especially when you might end up in a ghost town? All communities have a precarious existence. Weâll perform in Toronto, if it still exists? I think not.
Surprisingly, vaudeville acts have made a comeback since the collapse of societyâbalancing acts, juggling, fire breathing, contortion, and random feats of daring. Since existence is so precarious, entertainment has taken a similar turn. If you can ride a unicycle on a tight rope while juggling flaming pins, you will be a hero of the masses, what remains of the masses.
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