The Problem of Content

 

There is a lot wrong with how The Boys comment on society, and most of it is that they don't go nearly hard enough. Blinded by their progressivism they ascribe Disney's moves to Fox, which is just... manifestly wrong... but those are small quibbles on what is the most accurate take of the modern world I've seen in a popular format. Because otherwise The Boys is right on the money. See, we're not getting art from the modern age of streaming, by and large. I don't even know if I'd count The Boys as art, but it's definitely not content. 

What's content?

Let's go over what art itself is, first.

Art is nourishing to the soul. You interact with art and your soul wakes up a bit, becomes all the better for it, and is able to face the world in a better place. Art is not necessarily comfortable, but it is comforting. Art uses plot, technique, to communicate one genuine perspective to you. It is person packaged into an object.

So content? Content is just all the material stuff that art is, but without the soul: the plot hooks, paint strokes, all the stuff a soul would use to leave a bit of itself behind. Except there’s nothing really behind it. It may be well done, entertaining, and even moving… but that doesn’t make it art. And let’s be clear art can be really badly done. Art may even be harmful. But art is attempting to show something beyond itself. The object is commentary, is not an end in itself.

But content is soulless, no matter much you may like it. 

Sorry. 

Now, the issue I have isn’t about the existence of content. Comics and most popular culture is content, not art, almost by definition. Hell, that's what pulps really were to begin with: a ton of well-done content. Content streams themselves are not a problem either. One frequently needs to just be able to check out, even if it's for a moment, and content helps you do that. But the problem with too much content is that it numbs your brain and shuts it off. if you take in too much. The world has changed, and content has a reach that is getting much more pronounced than it ever has. And, since art has a pesky habit of actually changing people (which can dramatically change the type of content you consume) it behooves folks with influence to keep art as far away from people as possible.

If you doubt me and are reading this post on a phone I've got prime landscape in Florida to sell you. If you're not reading this on a phone the fact that the above sentence is thinkable is a problem.

Because, see, the problem is that art? Art needs needs interior space to grow. You need to be open to it. You have to seek it out. Content helps maintain a status quo, art always shakes it up. Whether for better or worse, art is problematic for those in power. And if you have a bunch of media giants having access to your eyeballs all the time, there's going to be a constant push to keep your eyes on their stuff.

Good graft, ain't it?