Youngry
As an artist, I've always liked the idea that up-and-coming artists can be refered to as 'young and hungry'. It's so fitting. Young and hungry implies everything that's great about the imediacy of trying to make your mark on the world, and following every opportunity, before you've had the experiences that make you tired and jaded of what can be an unforgiving or unrewarding reception to your aspirations and creations, unless you truly make you art only for yourself.
Then, I pictured what the literal sense of being 'young and hungry' might be, and the first thing that came to mind was the ever-growing number of overweight, diabetic, sugar-powered kids. A group that seems to be quite the opposite of driven and ambitious. Lethargic and lazy, the donut grazing video-gamers see all the action they can handle right from the comfort of their couch. I grew up around one of those kids, albeit I was nearly eight years older than she.
For one, she couldn't talk until she was three, and mostly just grunted and pointed for things she wanted (a byproduct of early-onset laziness?). For anyone who has ever owned a dog, you notice that the dog quickly learns and recognizes the word 'treat'. Therefore, if you're not prepared to give one, and it comes up in conversation you spell out T-R-E-A-T and their furry little inability to spell keeps them calm and naive over the mention of the word.
This girl however, could hear and understand the word 'Ice Cream' within 200 yards, and would grin and flip out like an excited dog. When Ice Cream wasn't available, the grin disappeared but the flip-out would remain, only in a more violent tear-filled manner. So I remember everyone in her presence had to spell out 'I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M' or feel the wrath.
It was disgusting that a desire for sugary sweets could inspire such tirades, so in our own wicked way, we had fun with how far we could take the disguised-only-by-spelling word. We would place it within context using other key words like 'sprinkles' or 'toppings' but our favorite was probably ending the spelling with the blunt word 'cone'. The little Pavlovian child was never the wiser.
It's hard to say where this rampant epidemic will take our culture. Obviously there are overwhelming health concerns, but I'm talking in terms of seeing new art and ideas emerge, when kids aren't interested in being exceptional at much other than video games, and extreme energy drink snacking. The lure of being comfortable and cozy on the couch involves so much less risk than exposing yourself to failure. In a time when the biggest new movie releases are (usually) tired remakes of older movies, I'm hoping this environment may allow the creative cream to really rise to the top.
Or maybe I should say....the creative C-R-E-A-M.
Then, I pictured what the literal sense of being 'young and hungry' might be, and the first thing that came to mind was the ever-growing number of overweight, diabetic, sugar-powered kids. A group that seems to be quite the opposite of driven and ambitious. Lethargic and lazy, the donut grazing video-gamers see all the action they can handle right from the comfort of their couch. I grew up around one of those kids, albeit I was nearly eight years older than she.
For one, she couldn't talk until she was three, and mostly just grunted and pointed for things she wanted (a byproduct of early-onset laziness?). For anyone who has ever owned a dog, you notice that the dog quickly learns and recognizes the word 'treat'. Therefore, if you're not prepared to give one, and it comes up in conversation you spell out T-R-E-A-T and their furry little inability to spell keeps them calm and naive over the mention of the word.
This girl however, could hear and understand the word 'Ice Cream' within 200 yards, and would grin and flip out like an excited dog. When Ice Cream wasn't available, the grin disappeared but the flip-out would remain, only in a more violent tear-filled manner. So I remember everyone in her presence had to spell out 'I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M' or feel the wrath.
It was disgusting that a desire for sugary sweets could inspire such tirades, so in our own wicked way, we had fun with how far we could take the disguised-only-by-spelling word. We would place it within context using other key words like 'sprinkles' or 'toppings' but our favorite was probably ending the spelling with the blunt word 'cone'. The little Pavlovian child was never the wiser.
It's hard to say where this rampant epidemic will take our culture. Obviously there are overwhelming health concerns, but I'm talking in terms of seeing new art and ideas emerge, when kids aren't interested in being exceptional at much other than video games, and extreme energy drink snacking. The lure of being comfortable and cozy on the couch involves so much less risk than exposing yourself to failure. In a time when the biggest new movie releases are (usually) tired remakes of older movies, I'm hoping this environment may allow the creative cream to really rise to the top.
Or maybe I should say....the creative C-R-E-A-M.
posted by Charles Junk at 7:01 AM
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