Things might be hard in the wilderness, but you know you can’t go back to Egypt.
The sun burns and blinds you for a while, but you can never return to Plato’s Cave. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we can.
And no, your favorite restaurant as a kid isn’t what you remember it to be, because you’re not that kid anymore. And that restaurant isn’t what it used to be either.
Capitalism is the enemy of art. Integrity, authentic expression, and the creative risk inherent in the artistic process get cast aside for the sake of making more money for the company and for the people in suits who run the company while they exploit the workers.
That’s why Hollywood has become a sequel/prequel/remake/reboot factory. The suits hope that giving you the familiar and beloved will appease you just enough to relieve you of your cash.
The goal of the system is to charge us more and offer us less. It’s bait & switch: McDonald’s stopped being fun and cheap once they got us hooked on their mediocrity via familiarity. And we’ve become so acquainted with those Golden Arches that we spend way too much to eat their food…
Food that’s literally killing us. And capitalism’s greatest ally is a weak healthcare system.
I do love their fries though.
Nostalgia is comfort. It’s familiarity. It’s a security blanket. The suits know this. That’s why nostalgia is weaponized to give us less and charge us more. Regurgitate the same ideas, the same stories, the same old tropes, because it’s easier and safer for the people with power to give us corporate-approved regurgitation than to take a risk on authenticity.
Art is risk. Genuine human connection cannot be monetized. Authenticity cannot be manipulated, but our attention can. Why do you think billionaires want to control social media? Why do you think they’re investing billions in A.I.?
If a human can be replaced by a robot, the human will be replaced by a robot. If authenticity can be replaced by propaganda and indoctrination, it most certainly will be. If real art can be replaced by a simulacrum, it will be.
If McDonaldland can be demolished and replaced by generic square brown buildings that any restaurant can move into because it’s more efficient for the businesses, then…
Well, it already has been. Uniqueness is too risky. Creativity and quirkiness are too expensive to maintain long-term. The clown stuck around long enough to lure us in.
And nostalgia – the comfort of familiarity – keeps us coming back for more.
Dead-Logic 