Entertainment & Nourishment
Below, a brief quote from a fascinating commentary on the respective roles of:
• schlock entertainment, which comforts & lulls us to sleep,
AND
• serious art, which has the power to challenge, awaken and transform us.
“… we were making jokes about ‘Love Boat’ and ‘Baywatch’ – the really, really commercial, really reductive shows that we so love to sneer at, are also tremendously compelling because of the predictability of popular art - the really formulaic stuff, is so profoundly soothing, and it gives you a sense of order – that everything’s going to be alright, that this is a narrative that will take care of you, it won’t in any way challenge you. It’s like being wrapped in a chamois blanket and being nestled against a big generous tit.” David Foster Wallace
“(Wallace) goes on to say, that despite the comforts of popular culture, serious art eventually wins out.”
A relatively small proportion of people are ready, willing & able to be serious - about art, politics, economics, ethics, spirituality, etc, etc. Like junk food, comforts are seductive and have mass appeal.
Like real food and nourishment, reality is "at hand", yet, seems "out of reach" for many.
