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I'm trying to write a novel and so far most of it is just characters having conversations about anything that I find interesting. I've haven't even edited this part, but what do ya'll think of this freshly written excerpt?
ART & CULTURE
“I want to talk about art,” said Damion. “I want to list out loud every thought and opinion and theory I have ever had about art and culture.
“Maybe this is an egocentric view towards the universe, but I firmly believe that the purpose of the universe is for sentient beings to observe it. Any sentient beings, not just humans though. That makes it less an egocentric view. So I think the universe is made of art. New Agers are close when they go on about the Infinite Oneness of All being Infinite Love. ‘Love is the only reality’ and all that. They may be right, but up to a point. The greater truth is that love is still only one emotion, even if it is the greatest emotion, that is utilized to produce art and give meaning to the world.
“According to quantum physics, the universe does need to be viewed to exist. Matter is made of atoms. Atoms are made of subatomic particles. Subatomic particles are made out of quanta. Quanta, the deeper building blocks of all reality, pop in and out of existence depending on whether or not they are being observed. They only exist when viewed! All unknowns exist simultaneously in the superposition. It is a known scientific fact that scientific experiments are always affected by the perceptions and preconceived notions of the scientist doing the experiment. In that sense reality is very subjective. The universe is made of far flimsier stuff that we suppose.
“It is the artist that gives meaning to the world. They are the only ones that matter. The artless masses only exist as background and inspiration for those that would put meaning into their lives. This is the meaning of life.
“Scott McCloud defines art thusly: anything done that is not for the specific purpose of survival or sexual reproduction. Everything we do that separates us from animals and makes us so human. Everything to fill up the gaps of the day that are not just survival and instincts. That is a very broad definition of art. It may be correct but I am going to use a slightly more specific definition.
“I like to think that the greatest of all art forms is that of the Story. Maybe I am biased, I do like to fancy myself as a writer. But what other form can inspire so much emotion? Music you say? The visual arts? Actually, when you put all that together, maybe that is the highest form of art. Film. And television. An ultimate combination of story, visuals, and music. I’ll get more into film in a minute.
“As for the high art that is Story, hasn’t it been said that there are only thirty-nine original stories written in human history? Everything else is just a rip-off of them. I believe half are Shakespeare and Greek mythology. Actually, this is another problem with art of all genres. There is nothing new under the sun and we are running out of original ideas. It seems like the only way to create anything new is by making new combinations of genres that have not been combined before. Look at music, graphic arts, etc. How can anyone today invent a new genre?
“You see, I have also observed some limitations and patterns to all different art forms as well. One thing is that the artist always creates art for an audience of themselves. If others like what they do than it works out good. But the true audience is just the one person that is only talking to themselves. Have you noticed that indie movies are always about writers? Who wrote the movie? And look at how super-hero comics are so incomprehensible to outsiders.
“But what of Pop Art? Pop Art is not true art in this sense. But that can work out good too. Pop Art and Pop Culture break the system of the high falutin’ pretentiousness that can also limit an artist. It is made for the masses with the purpose of making money. You see Fine Art is wonderful because it all stems from one person’s vision. It has that kind of integrity. But that can be limiting as well. One person can only come up with so much. Comic books that have the same writer and artist can be so beautiful and fulfilling in that sense. Japanese manga are a good example. But what if you like your comics to be in color, and to come out monthly? One person cannot write, draw, letter, and color on a monthly basis. For that you need a shallow business to organize an assembly-line system.
“Movies. Movies would not exist for not of hundreds of professionals doing work for money. Just to afford the immense creation process you need this system. The pendulum can swing towards an artist’s vision or a corporation’s demographics. Rock bands and symphony’s need lots of collaborative efforts. And a rock band does need to sell out somewhat to record distribution companies to get their name out. We all need that business-oriented capitalism to sustain so much culture, the bad and the good. The over-saturation of crap, and the hidden gems of true quality art. A balance is needed.
“Yet there is still much to be learned in the ultimate shallowness of true crap Pop Art. The shit that the masses eat up. You can learn both what entertains the masses, and how it is that the masses can be told what to enjoy. In some ways the true beauty of the universe can be found in the transwonderness of pop culture. And I’m not even particularly a fan of Andy Warhol.
“Off topic: Irreverence can always be a good way to throw off the pretentiousness found in snobby forms of art and culture. Look at funny punk rock for the music arena. Comedians are also a great example. Are not Seinfeld and Def Comedy Jam profound in their insights? Indeed, stand-up comics are the true philosophers of our age...
“Anyways, back on topic. The 1990s have so far been the ultimate culmination of shallow pop culture. It’s been incredible. Think about it: the return and reign of bad pop music, the namebrand fashions, ravers as the newest counterculture, and Reality TV! What in the name of the Holy Spirit is more ridiculous than Reality Television? Lord, I predict the day when all humanity will have been in a reality show. In America today you do not exist unless you are a celebrity. It’s true. I really need to be famous myself… Well, one good thing about the 90s is the beginning of Japanese culture becoming so mainstream in America. Bringing the good fight over global cultural hegemony to our shores and showing us how its really done. They really have surpassed us in pop culture masterpieces. But I’m partial, being that I’m such an anime geek.
“Oh and I also have a new theory that odd-numbered decades are shallow: the 50s, 70s, and 90s; and even-numbered decades are ‘deep’: the 40s, 60s, and 80s. Will the 00s follow this pattern? (There is no good name for the next decade, its annoying.)
“I will say this about the 90s. This is the most self-analytical time period in human history. This conversation is proof. All art has extinguished itself and went through the inevitable eating-of-it’s-own-tale system; and embracing that. Is that an evolution. As said, there is nothing new under the sun (only new combinations). Let’s shove that rule in the culture’s face.
“Jesus Christ. I have become so obsessed with absorbing all culture. I just keep absorbing and absorbing. My dream is for the planet Earth to be destroyed and for me to be the only survivor. I have become the caretaker of all Terra’s cultural remembrances. Much like Superman and his inherit knowledge of all things Krypton. And I am beloved all the universe over for my tales of lost Earth’s great cultural heritage. They will all revere me for spreading this greatest of all supercultures. There’s a story to write.
“…
“Something else about cultures: Did you ever notice that any culture, race, nationality, etc. can always be described as insane in one way or another. Each has a distinct type of insanity. Americans are insane in these ways, the Japanese are insane in that way, black people are nuts in some ways. Chinese, Mexicans, pervert Europeans, weird third-world Arabs, the list goes on and on. I could go on and on, and in more detail. Suffice it to say that insanity is a very necessary byproduct to the foundation of all sentience. This is much more crucial on the individual level. Look at drug companies and the pseudoscience of psychology: every single personality trait has become a new insanity classification. Hell, having no personality is an insanity classification too.
“Now let me ramble about classifications- all measurements of knowledge are measured such by how many classifications of something one can get. A person gets an MD for memorizing symptoms and illnesses and each type of diseases. A music expert knows every obscure genre of rock, ‘Hey, that band is pop-emo, that band is straightedge California grindcore, those guys founded the Satanic Norwegian Death Metal/Black Metal scene.’ You see? The comic book expert, like me, not only knows every superhero genre fact, but also can tell you the history of Horror EC genre, 80s indie, even, say, romance comics. All diffirent types of Japanese manga- shoujo, shonen, giant robot sc-fi, etc. Political science is rife with classifications that tag you an expert- Goldwater conservativism, ‘progressive’ liberalism, Ayn Rand libertarianism, Marxism, Maoism, fascism. Lots of ‘isms. Hmmm…
“Back to art. Now why does someone as smart as me, I know I’m very humble too, is so into the comic book art form. Let me explain. To me the comic book is the ultimate art form. For multiple reasons. One problem with the film/television form, a contender for ultimate art form, is that there is a tendency for the audience to let the medium do their thinking for them. Very counter-productive. This is not so with reading. Admittedly, reading something with pictures is less work than reading prose, but it still very much reading nonetheless. And there is still something to be said for the mental stimulation of visual art forms. But combining reading and pictures is where the real magic happens. The art of combining these separate brain muscles is so important. There is such a unique language to comics that fascinates me so. How we are trained to understand that panel layouts represent the passage of time, sound-effects, Kirby, Tezuka, it is all so captivating to me. A side note: Osamu Tezuka is the most important cultural creator of all human history. How he created Japan’s amazing comic and cartoon culture from scratch is so incredibly profound. There are so many clichés and formulas traced back to him. Do you know how hard it is to create original clichés and formulas? Osamu Tezuka is truly the greatest cultural hero of all time. But that’s neither here nor there. So, another important factor is the cartoon character art form. This is crucially important. The child in us all needs this. Nothing peaks our subconscious like the over-simplified human face (and/or talking animals), from Disney to the grittiest adult-only anime. Our subconscious loves it so much because we relate. In our mind’s eye we always imagine our own face simplified so. The ultimate example is the simple happy face logo. Two dots and a smiley face. It is so amazing that this even registers as a face at all. It is because in our mind our face is just what we can feel, our eyes and mouth. That’s why the cartoon works so well with uncomprehending children not used to what their face looks like, only what it feels like. I feel obliged to admit that I am again quoting Scott McCloud and Understanding Comics.
“Now you ask, ‘that is fine and all, but why do you read so many of the silly superhero comics?’ A good question. I have already delved into the negatives and merits of corporate control over art and the assembly-line system of editors, writers, artists, etc. and what that means for an industry. But of all genres within the comic art form, why must the super-hero genre dominate? There are many reasons for why the industry evolved that way, for good or ill, but for know let me just say my opinion on that particular genre. It may just be in detriment to the overall art form, but God I love superhero comics. It is just such a perfect uber-genre. Because all other story genres are contained within it. Superhero storylines will always inevitably have time-travel, robots, high fantasy, crime drama, soap operas, outer-space, with every conceivable type of science fiction and fantasy. It’s great. And for a completist nerd like me, I happen to enjoy the never-ending journey of collecting every continuity important issue ever. I think I’m ten thousand strong as of now. Boy, I really shouldn’t be able to afford this hobby. We could also debate the merits of the graphic novel versus the monthly magazine but that’s not important right now. What is important- mainstream comics are wonderful because they employ this important formula: that of taking something corny and making it cool. The ultimate simplification of the science fiction formula is taking something unrealistic and twisting your mind around it until it becomes realistic. In comics we have the superhero, which were created to entertain children. They wear spandex and live two-dimensional lives of fighting bad guys. But after the Silver Age the question was posed, what if this was real? Watchmen may be the greatest example of answering that question. But from Claremont’s X-Men to Stan and Jack’s Silver Age works to the 80s ‘grim n gritty’ comic period to Neal Adam’s Green Arrow to the everyman hero Peter Parker to Superman’s retconned origin; it was thought ‘what if this silly children’s idea were real?’ Or, perhaps a more important question, ‘what if this silly children’s idea were cool?’ And that’s what fucking works.
“…
“Where will the future of art and culture take us? Mass media just continues to evolve and evolve. In 1440 their was the Gutenberg printing press, directly leading to the Renaissance. The telegraph and the Industrial Revolution. Telephones. The simultaneous invention of broadcast technologies, radio then television, and motion pictures. Now we are faced with the greatest communications technology in history, the internet. The most paramount of free worldwide media. No control! The Information Revolution has begun!
“Please forgive my inane rantings. Thanks for listening. You were saying?... |
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