Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash
With forthcoming notions of incited ‘professionalism’ perpetrated by the likes of capitalism and artificial intelligence, creatives are slowly losing their place within the already confined margins presented to their demographics in our society. It’s no wonder that, of course, the concept of art in itself is a dying art form. Given our society’s perpetuated necessity for ‘glitz and glam,’ living the high life should always be a known priority for everyone within it. However, such luxurious standards are unattainable for most within these fields. It’s no secret that within these rapidly decaying ambitions, poverty has served as a muse, much of which has been normalized within such communities; it’s a lifestyle, a rite of passage. From author to actor, this period of instigated suffering is simply customary; high risk, high reward!
Except within these spaces, most don’t end up attaining such. Especially now, with the rise of artificial intelligence, its presence diminishes the need for creatives; why pay a dime for soul when you could prompt a bot to do the (almost) exact same thing? Why bother with literary analysis and composition when you could have it done for you? From literary composition, to acting, to designing, to you name it, none of these are sustainable. Not anymore.
Whatever cited notions of creative ambition were once venerated in the past are no longer held to such a standard, overshadowed by our society’s never-ending incitation of capitalistic tendency; reduced to nothing but empty caloric intake for any brave enough to proceed in the pursuit of such reprehensible professions (if they can stand to be deemed such anymore). As counterintuitive as it may seem, the notions presented by capitalism serve not as our society’s greatest motivator, but may instead play a vital role in our economic downfall.
With these so-called perpetuated ideals of sustainability (within an ever-increasingly expensive world), many abandon all forms of shadowed ambition, turning their gaze to professions deemed more ‘financially secure’. However, when mass demographics stand to turn their faces away from their desired aspiration to a more economically sufficient career, such (obviously) would play into the erasure of art culture, not just socially, systematically, but also economically; as more and more like-minded individuals continue to flood into more high-paying professions, overturning their now voided ambition, such may serve to place a great amount of strain on the economy. The more people flock to these careers, the more payment of such caliber is then expected, thus further inducing notions of economic inflation. As a result of such, art culture as a whole would tend to further lose its relevancy, both internally and economically; less demand for these voided ambitions would, in turn, instigate a further depletion in financial (as well as social) funding. The worst part is, it’s already happening. There simply just isn’t enough space, enough leeway for these communities to thrive anymore. Creativity and the art forms attributed to such may, within this capitalistic, egocentric society, serve to liberate us from our conformities; yet, at the end of the day, as long as these crippling ideals remain intact, art may never stand to liberate us from the projected greed of others. In the eyes of many, to chase these futile visions is to condemn oneself to a lifetime of poverty and suffering.
“When I grow up…”
“Born to be ___, forced to be ___”
But we don’t have to perpetuate these narratives. Our generation doesn’t have to concern itself with the continuation of these overtly debilitating ideals. Open that bakery, write that book, go to art school. Become the fashion designer you never got to be. Perhaps creativity is a strenuous pursuit, a curse within the parameters of these modern-day ideals; but if it’s one thing I know: curses can always be broken.
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