Phile the Argonaut wrote:
quoted 5 lines PS My personal theory involves oppressive society / government leading
>PS My personal theory involves oppressive society / government leading
>to creative frustration, and a need for release. See also Detroit,
>and France for that matter.
>
>
Something to be said for the relationship between misery and deep music.
Without getting into the whole suffering artist thing in detail, consider the usual paradigm of the artist and the Muse. Not surprisingly, the artist would be most creative when the Muse is an unreachable temptation, the whole unrequited love deal, the ideal which inspires poetry. Once the love is no longer quite so unrequited, then let's just say that the creative person finds more direct means to express his/her passion, the results of which are generally not published as art in polite society.
Replace "Muse" with any unreachable ideal - be it personal or political freedom, psychological happiness, or whatever.
I think the key factors are the cultural levels of COMFORT and PASSIVITY. Both easy access to comfort and to passive entertainment tend to nullify the active creation of original and profound art. Hence the black U.S. subculture serves as creative cauldron, while white youth adopt black slang and fashions, along with music.While the person in difficult conditions needs that creative outlet as self-definition, self-realization, and so on. It's the rare person who can keep the creative demon alive in conditions of comfort. Conflict and adversity (not to mention impending execution) focus the mind quite remarkably.
In the former Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries which pre- and post-date that misguided empire, everyone sings. A party is not a party unless someone passes around the guitar, and people sing, often their own songs written from their own poetry. I fear that the dawning age of hyper-Americanization of post-Soviet youth may eradicate any traces of this cultural phenomenon within one generation.
There's yet another relation: to be an original creator requires a basic tolerance for discomfort. Those who have lived through adversity are already prepared for this, while those raised in comfort may find the challenge distasteful. By comfort, I mean physical,material, psychological, political, intellectual, emotional comfort. To be truly original, one must be willing to confront one's own comfortable preconceptions - a risky endeavour. Not to mention sleep deprivation.
Best,
Zenon M. Feszczak
Philosopher ex nihilo