Journalistic Freak

I miss the days when art was full of life, self-expression, colorful, vibrant, and diverse. Art spoke volumes while breaking down barriers giving everyone a voice. The true nature of art crafted relatable stories from multiple perspectives. It enabled people to see themselves through the eyes of others. It use to provoke critical thinking, innovation, creativity, emotions, and individualism. Art was inspiring and motivating.

Artists back in the day, was serious about their craft. No matter the platform from painting to film production, they use to take time to master their craft. They had passion, drive, studied under their favorite legends, and paid homage to those who paved the way. Being an artist took talent and understanding of how to captivate an audience through storytelling. Nowadays, artistry has plummeted to its lowest point. Modern day art is watered down, underwhelming, and repetitive.

Comedy

Comedy use to be unfiltered and unhinge. It basically slapped you in the face and dared you to do something. comedians back then, knew how to push the boundaries. There was nothing off limits from social to political issues. Everyone got roasted no matter race or gender. Comedians had a their own unique style of story telling. They had special ways of hitting that one nerve that provoked different emotions. Comedy provided a space for comedians to be brutally honest, teach life lessons, and share their personal life journey.

The art of making people laugh at themselves helped those who struggled through life. But don’t be mistaken, not everyone is fit to be a comedian. Comedians had to be funny literally. Audiences use to be very cut throat. I mean, people of all ages use to get booed off the stage. There were no participation trophies nor just giving passes for effort. Oh no my friend. You had to master your craft through artistry development, tough constructive criticism, and failing to impress the audience.

Today, everything is watered down. Comedians are walking on egg shells and most are not funny period. Laughter is forced and everyone is scared of being labeled offensive. Comedians today care more about being politically correct and gentle. Meanwhile, the comedians I grew up with cared more about getting the message through. They didn’t focus on coddling your feelings. Furthermore, it don’t even take talent to be funny anymore. The bar is so low that anyone can be labeled a comedian by doing something ridiculous,

Movies and TV shows

I remember a time when there was a diverse catalog of movies. Regardless of genre, there were movies for all ages. Film makers didn’t care about pleasing everyone, they had a story to tell. Movies use to be top tier with quality story telling, visual effects, and strategic placement. The industry use to drop blockbuster after blockbuster and was very unapologetic if their work wasn’t your cup of tea. Every month had at least 5-6 movies worth seeing. At least two were either family oriented or directed towards little kids.

There was always something that drew you back to the theaters. Film makers today, want to please everyone and care more about quantity. The quality has gone down the drain causing films to be underwhelming and lackluster. The heart and soul is missing from the pages. The biggest annoyance is the constant remakes of classics and ruining what made them legendary. I get that artists want the chance to remake their favorite movie. Yet, the remake isn’t always better.

Similarly, tv shows use to be just as top tier as movies. There use to be a multitude of shows for everyone. From soap operas to educational shows for kids, there was always something to keep people tuned in. Even commercials use to be epic and worth watching. Every show touched upon the issues within society while delivering life lessons. Families of all cultures saw themselves and their community through at least one tv show. Every artistic direction enhanced the plot and complimented the theme of the show. tv shows didn’t need so much fireworks to keep people entertained.

Today, movies and tv shows truly lack creativity and originality. Often, this happens because of lazy writing. They depend too much on aesthetics or a popular actor/actress to carry the project to success. For instance, the need to throw in multiple dragged out sex scenes is a sign of weak story. If there have to be constant sex scenes, then it’s clear that the plot was lost. Adding other unnecessary fillers indicates the story never truly began. My other favorite is seeing random characters. They have no back story. They don’t even have connections to the main plot or characters. They are just there for the sake of representation. They have no purpose other than shutting up people who complains about not seeing themselves. production studios and artists are too worried about being canceled rather than delivering quality work.

Music

What happened to music? Today’s music is straight trash. All these artists are literally the same with no individuality. There’s no skills or structure to these artists. Singers and rappers had to be a triple threat to even earn the title artist. They didn’t just run around stage naked and twerking while letting auto tunes do the work. Real artists spent years working with coaches or even went as far as getting degrees to enhance their skills. Music used to touch your soul while providing a space to express yourself.

Artists focused on making music that was timeless while building longevity careers. Today, everything is just a trend and only here for a short period of time. Furthermore, new age artists can’t even properly sample classic songs. They do not pay proper homage to the legends that paved the way for them. Music use to be fun and made you want to dance. I remember when albums and soundtracks were a thing. Every artists had almost 20 tracks on their album. Furthermore, the whole album had to be good. People use to head to the music store just to sample the whole album. If it wasn’t good, people didn’t buy it.

The soundtracks to movies were better than the movie itself. The soundtracks made you fall in love more with the movie. Additionally, music videos captivated the message. Even though artists worked with the same directors and producers, each video was different. Each video was a visual representation of an artists or group. Soundtracks don’t exist anymore and music is just depressing. Everyone is too busy trying to be the same. No one has the guts to walk in their own lane.

Today’s artists are mainly in it for the money and willing to sell their soul for fame. Meanwhile, other artists who truly are talented are being overlooked. Due to setting boundaries and not selling their souls, they don’t get the same exposures as the main stream artists. Music in general isn’t worth listening to anymore. Today’s music is catchy but not memorable. Years down the line, people won’t even be listening to this era of music. Instead, they will still be listening to music from the 1950 era through the early 2000 era.

Final thoughts

The beauty of art is fading. There’s nothing inspiring and motivating about it. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the many elements that contributes to the downfall of artistry. It is difficult for people to understand the importance of art when no talent and mediocrity is being promoted. There will be more to come because this issue is deeper than the surface.