As a kid watching movies, the imperial court looked glamorous…and while it’s definitely an upgrade from the life of the peasant, the idea of being trapped in palace intrigue now is utterly horrific and revolting.
These last few years, I've been thinking about what history I'd like to teach my children. I worked out in the end that I wanted to teach them about good people and progress (I still retain an optimistic view of history!). And then when thinking about kings and queens - the backbone of an old-fashioned curriculum - I realised that they are precisely the opposite of what I wanted to teach. Kings and queens throughout history seem to have been some of the most morally depraved people; and obstacles to progress.
(This is one of the areas where I appreciate what professionals in the field are doing. The British school history curriculum seems to have moved almost entirely away from the kings and queens model, and is now teaching about progress.)
Looking back now, we can read quite a lot of poetry about the royal family as a response to this concundrum: being forced to look up to these people who are absolutely not worthy of being looked up to.
Didn’t think about it, but imagine having a passion and talent to be among the best artists in the empire…and the prize is the obligation to blow smoke up the posteriors of a bunch of corrupt lazy infighting princelings…and the slightest misstep comes with the threat of torture and death.
Hi Phil! Hi Justus. I just luuuv this poem, Phil, luv that it's produced by a Satirist (who I look forward to learning more about) and warmly enjoy embarking on my education about the Tang Dynasty which you BOTH have sparked. So fascinating. So Chic! Justus, as mentioned on your recent Note, I truly appreciate your perceptive observations on palatial captivity and your thoughts on passion, talent and artists (capture!) here -- prompting me to think and reflect upon Empire or State-mandated control over artists & creatives, artist's Vision, artist's or individual's counterpoint to Empire-approved "Art" or messaging or Status Quo -- through the promise of reward (Grants, Status, Academic Exaltation, Fame, $$$, Immortality etc) in exchange for playing the role of Court Artist (aka Jester). But wish to put the question I posed here for Phil to potentially chime in on too. The question I have for you BOTH is..
Do you feel there are PARALLELS between the palatial captivity and horror you perceptively observed and speak to AND attention/creativity capture via digital and otherwise so-called Modern Day Life? I know what I think.
**Note: I curated a group show once called PALACE REVOLUTION
Interesting question! I don't know much about the arts field, but in 2015-2020 we saw so much audience capture as conservative political pundits struggled with Trump and all the thought leaders tribalized over COVID. Audience capture is a real thing. I suspect that those who earn the higher ranks of influence become servants of the mob, much as a court artist might have been in the past. That said, the consequences of not satisfying one's audience is much less dire, even I'm certain it feels apocalyptic when as influencer caught in the center of an angry internet diarrhea hurricane. I wouldn't be surprised if there are similar dynamics for artists playing in the fancy gallery fine arts game....but I've never sniffed that world.
But for regular folks who aren't shooting for the moon (chasing either the masses or elites), I don't think the parallels are there. First, it's a much better time to just be a normal person in society. You can argue being in North America / Europe is in itself being part of the 1% (which it certainly is) but still I feel no desire to climb any further up the hierarchy in society, I already got a private running toilets, what else do I need? Second, even as a nobody, I somehow stumbled into a situation in six short months where I push out an email and 120+ people immediately get it in their inboxes. Those are small fry numbers on the internet, but step back and think — that's insane, it's 3x the more than my extended family of 3 generations! Third, if I fuck up and attract a mob, it certainly will suck a ton, but I doubt the consequences are nearly as dire - in part cause the authorities don't do gratuitous capital punishments and because the floor of daily life is much better than half a millenia ago (point 1 above).
TLDR, I suspect the big/elite influencers feel the parallels, not so much for regular joes....does this make sense?
Howdy Justus! Yup. Gotcha loud n clear. I appreciate your response. Hope this finds you and yours in top spirits and having a warm time tonight as we venture into known and unknown territory. How fun! Sending you and Phil here a smashing NEW YEAR!
Arcadia is the best! I read it recently with friends (would love to see it staged one day), planning to write something about it in an upcoming substack.
Yeah, it's the kind of thing that makes you realise why the theatre still exists in the age of TV. I don't know why writing for the screen can't be that smart, but it just seems to be empirically true that it's not. The play of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest does that for me as well - I love the film with a passion, but the play is just so much *more*.
As a kid watching movies, the imperial court looked glamorous…and while it’s definitely an upgrade from the life of the peasant, the idea of being trapped in palace intrigue now is utterly horrific and revolting.
These last few years, I've been thinking about what history I'd like to teach my children. I worked out in the end that I wanted to teach them about good people and progress (I still retain an optimistic view of history!). And then when thinking about kings and queens - the backbone of an old-fashioned curriculum - I realised that they are precisely the opposite of what I wanted to teach. Kings and queens throughout history seem to have been some of the most morally depraved people; and obstacles to progress.
(This is one of the areas where I appreciate what professionals in the field are doing. The British school history curriculum seems to have moved almost entirely away from the kings and queens model, and is now teaching about progress.)
Looking back now, we can read quite a lot of poetry about the royal family as a response to this concundrum: being forced to look up to these people who are absolutely not worthy of being looked up to.
Didn’t think about it, but imagine having a passion and talent to be among the best artists in the empire…and the prize is the obligation to blow smoke up the posteriors of a bunch of corrupt lazy infighting princelings…and the slightest misstep comes with the threat of torture and death.
Hi Phil! Hi Justus. I just luuuv this poem, Phil, luv that it's produced by a Satirist (who I look forward to learning more about) and warmly enjoy embarking on my education about the Tang Dynasty which you BOTH have sparked. So fascinating. So Chic! Justus, as mentioned on your recent Note, I truly appreciate your perceptive observations on palatial captivity and your thoughts on passion, talent and artists (capture!) here -- prompting me to think and reflect upon Empire or State-mandated control over artists & creatives, artist's Vision, artist's or individual's counterpoint to Empire-approved "Art" or messaging or Status Quo -- through the promise of reward (Grants, Status, Academic Exaltation, Fame, $$$, Immortality etc) in exchange for playing the role of Court Artist (aka Jester). But wish to put the question I posed here for Phil to potentially chime in on too. The question I have for you BOTH is..
Do you feel there are PARALLELS between the palatial captivity and horror you perceptively observed and speak to AND attention/creativity capture via digital and otherwise so-called Modern Day Life? I know what I think.
**Note: I curated a group show once called PALACE REVOLUTION
Interesting question! I don't know much about the arts field, but in 2015-2020 we saw so much audience capture as conservative political pundits struggled with Trump and all the thought leaders tribalized over COVID. Audience capture is a real thing. I suspect that those who earn the higher ranks of influence become servants of the mob, much as a court artist might have been in the past. That said, the consequences of not satisfying one's audience is much less dire, even I'm certain it feels apocalyptic when as influencer caught in the center of an angry internet diarrhea hurricane. I wouldn't be surprised if there are similar dynamics for artists playing in the fancy gallery fine arts game....but I've never sniffed that world.
But for regular folks who aren't shooting for the moon (chasing either the masses or elites), I don't think the parallels are there. First, it's a much better time to just be a normal person in society. You can argue being in North America / Europe is in itself being part of the 1% (which it certainly is) but still I feel no desire to climb any further up the hierarchy in society, I already got a private running toilets, what else do I need? Second, even as a nobody, I somehow stumbled into a situation in six short months where I push out an email and 120+ people immediately get it in their inboxes. Those are small fry numbers on the internet, but step back and think — that's insane, it's 3x the more than my extended family of 3 generations! Third, if I fuck up and attract a mob, it certainly will suck a ton, but I doubt the consequences are nearly as dire - in part cause the authorities don't do gratuitous capital punishments and because the floor of daily life is much better than half a millenia ago (point 1 above).
TLDR, I suspect the big/elite influencers feel the parallels, not so much for regular joes....does this make sense?
Howdy Justus! Yup. Gotcha loud n clear. I appreciate your response. Hope this finds you and yours in top spirits and having a warm time tonight as we venture into known and unknown territory. How fun! Sending you and Phil here a smashing NEW YEAR!
Arcadia is the best! I read it recently with friends (would love to see it staged one day), planning to write something about it in an upcoming substack.
Yeah, it's the kind of thing that makes you realise why the theatre still exists in the age of TV. I don't know why writing for the screen can't be that smart, but it just seems to be empirically true that it's not. The play of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest does that for me as well - I love the film with a passion, but the play is just so much *more*.