Welcome to the weekend!
As we head into August and the later days of summer (where hopefully the heat finally begins to taper off), lets take one look back at the loneliness epidemic plaguing the modern world. We've discussed it plenty of times before on this blog and elsewhere, and have gone through plenty of examples both in the arts and in general where it remains prominent, but I don't believe we have ever compiled it in one easy to digest source like the above documentary from ColdFusion has. Where did it come from, and where is it going? And how do we escape?
Suffice to say, everyone is aware of the overall problem on some level and many even realize the cause, but attacking the source is a whole other ballgame that is going to take some time. It's not going to vanish overnight. It's not country exclusive either, as it has roots in not only the West, but also other areas like Japan, China, Korea, and is even starting to grow in places like Africa. Alienation and atomization is quickly becoming the legacy of the 20th century, and it's not one we should be proud of.
At the same time, there has been a vibe shift in the overall culture. This goes beyond politics and voting habits, though those have obviously changed as well, and moves more into the space of the intangible. As someone who was around in the nadir of materialistic nihilism (the '00s) it is very easy to see the change in the way the average person sees meaning and the purpose in their lives. The snark and the irony poisoning is finally falling to sincerity and hope, something we have all needed desperately since the pit that was 2001. Sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better, after all.
Part of admiring the past today comes from hating the present, but it should never be forgotten that said era is also what lead us here to where we are now. We cannot mindlessly ape it, but take what we need to move forward and understand the context for it all.
.jpg) |
| It's over and gone. |
It's been said before that the middle is disappearing, but outside of the context of the middle class it also refers to the neutral ground on the purpose of your existence. Lines are forming everywhere that we had once deliberately blurred. You either believe your life has meaning and that we can fix things, or you don't believe it does and will fight to destroy everything while fooling yourself into thinking you're helping. The two attitudes are very different, one straightforward and one backwards, but the latter is dying as materialism has been exposed to be a dead end ideology. Only by realizing what we lost can we hope to make it better.
I don't tend to talk politics here because I don't have much to say on the topic. There are too many talking heads, grifters, and opportunists to count, most of which share and don't share aspects of my views. However, the default in that segment of modernity has changed so much that I think it is worth mentioning at least a little in regards to this topic. It's also another area where neutrality has disappeared which is probably a good thing because no one caring about the overt self-destruction of everyone and everything is how the problem outlined in Bowling Alone went unaddressed for over a quarter of a century. We all saw it coming, but we did nothing.
This piece by Dave Greene, also known as the Distributist, outlines in detail how the default thought of the 20th century, materialist progressivism died. I'm not going to go into it here as it is very long and in depth, but as someone who came from that place and knows others still there, he goes over where the ideology is, why it's dead, and why the sooner we finally give up on it the sooner we can finally build something better. Institutions like Hollywood, big business and big tech, and those with skin in the game are also starting to realize it, but they are behind on everything. This is the big reason why independent creators and artists have seized control of the arts and entertainment so abruptly: they see the writing on the wall. It's just up to the people in charge to finally process it.
Of course I'm not claiming to know all the answers, but as someone who has been blogging for over a decade now I can tell you things are most definitely not where they were back what I started. It's been a long time coming and the shift is very subtle, but the small things always add up. Within the next decade we will finally escape the grasp of 20th century materialism and despair and build something better. It's inevitable now, it's just a question of how much you're willing to let go of to make it happen. People like you are already helping with that right now simply by supporting NewPub, independent, and smaller artists, writers, creators, and entertainers, and contributing to the undeniable vibe shift currently occurring in the culture. Again, you might not have noticed it but the change is real. We just have to be engaged in it. Soon enough we will be able to form new connections and leave this present behind for better things.
It's only a matter of time.
In other news, I recently did a podcast on the series Cobra Kai and looked at just why it resonated where just about every other cash grab reboot and remake failed, and the answer turned out to be quite interesting. It might also be a sign of change, just not in the way anyone might think. We all realize what a waste the early years of the 21st century are and now we need to make up for it with something more than we had.
That is what the reason anthologies like Rock and Roll Mercenaries exist for: they highlight part of the 20th century we loved that is currently fading away. Those days are gone, so we must take what we learned, celebrate them, and move on into the new times ahead. We need the past to move into the future, but we also cannot live there, not forever. The last 25 years spent clinging to the previous century has told us that much.
I was also on the Scifi4Me podcast about a week ago with some of the guys in the above anthology. We talk about writing and stories in it! It's well worth the watch though we only show up in hour two the whole thing is worth it. Watch it here!
Like I said, there's a big change coming. Nothing will be the same again.
So what comes next? I guess we're about to see.
Check out Mistcreek Tales featuring my story "Lightning Jim"! 14 stories of weirdness highlighting what makes the world so full of wonder.
