(no subject)
We genuinely need to get rid of booktok this is horrific.
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This is a symptom of a larger unwillingness to experience art without first being certain that you’ll like it. You see it in trope tags, movie trailers that spoil the whole movie, microgenres, algorithmic playlists, you get exactly what you want every time without ever exploring.
And so of course someone who grew up in that kind of environment isn’t gonna be willing to, say, go to a random local show where they’ve never heard of any of the bands just to see what’s up. And of course their “poetry” is just sentences that directly state the intended emotions.
It doesn’t help that everything’s so fucking expensive these days either. You used to be able to just walk into a movie theater with $10 and roll the dice on whatever movie happens to be playing right now. Now that shit is $30 so you damn well better know it’s gonna be good first.
And yet even being able to stream any movie, show, or song instantly, people seem so unwilling to take a chance on anything. And most of the best movies I’ve ever seen were not stories I’d have been interested in just based on a synopsis because the intrigue is in the art itself.
Bring back the art of wandering!
Bring back buying an album because the cover looked cool without knowing what it will sound like!
Bring back checking out a random book from your local library and give it a chance!
This is literally how we discovered new things for generations.
And then they start complaining that there’s nothing innovative. Like... you just consume one thing.
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Personally I get that. Due to a combo of trauma and autism I don't like going into something without knowing if it'll trigger me or if I'll like it (at least on paper). But! My experience is not the norm.
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Can't quite articulate it but the algorithm slowly trains you to like less. Less variety, less complexity, less effort. Your mind stops craving anything that isn't easy.
***
When I published my first book two years ago, the marketing advice everywhere was pushing tropes as advertisement so hard. Making these instagram-ready word clouds of every fanfiction phrase you could imagine. Deeply deeply grim.
***
The fantasy section of the local library when I was a kid wasn’t very big, and I literally just read my way through all of it. Some of those books are still among my favorites.
***
This is a symptom of a larger unwillingness to experience art without first being certain that you’ll like it. You see it in trope tags, movie trailers that spoil the whole movie, microgenres, algorithmic playlists, you get exactly what you want every time without ever exploring.
And so of course someone who grew up in that kind of environment isn’t gonna be willing to, say, go to a random local show where they’ve never heard of any of the bands just to see what’s up. And of course their “poetry” is just sentences that directly state the intended emotions.
It doesn’t help that everything’s so fucking expensive these days either. You used to be able to just walk into a movie theater with $10 and roll the dice on whatever movie happens to be playing right now. Now that shit is $30 so you damn well better know it’s gonna be good first.
And yet even being able to stream any movie, show, or song instantly, people seem so unwilling to take a chance on anything. And most of the best movies I’ve ever seen were not stories I’d have been interested in just based on a synopsis because the intrigue is in the art itself.
Bring back the art of wandering!
Bring back buying an album because the cover looked cool without knowing what it will sound like!
Bring back checking out a random book from your local library and give it a chance!
This is literally how we discovered new things for generations.
And then they start complaining that there’s nothing innovative. Like... you just consume one thing.
***
Personally I get that. Due to a combo of trauma and autism I don't like going into something without knowing if it'll trigger me or if I'll like it (at least on paper). But! My experience is not the norm.
***
Can't quite articulate it but the algorithm slowly trains you to like less. Less variety, less complexity, less effort. Your mind stops craving anything that isn't easy.
***
When I published my first book two years ago, the marketing advice everywhere was pushing tropes as advertisement so hard. Making these instagram-ready word clouds of every fanfiction phrase you could imagine. Deeply deeply grim.
***
The fantasy section of the local library when I was a kid wasn’t very big, and I literally just read my way through all of it. Some of those books are still among my favorites.