Read any Jane Austen novel, and you’ll find that young ladies were often asked to sing and play the piano to entertain family members and guests. Even those who didn’t have particular musical talent, such as Elizabeth Bennet, were encouraged to share what they could. It didn’t matter if one didn’t have a voice like Celine Dion or a smash record — friends and acquaintances enjoyed playing for each other.
Likewise, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo and the Fellowship passed their traveling time by telling stories, poems, and riddles of their own creation. Unaided by playlists of professional musicians or studio-recorded audiobooks, they relied on each other for intellectual stimulation and entertainment.
These classics reveal humanity’s unwavering ability to create art and entertain. Has mass media damaged our ability to do so?
Nowadays it is more likely that friends will get together for a movie night than to tell stories around a fire. They might share Spotify playlists, but rarely their voices. Part of this is because the expectation to be exceptional has never been higher. We are surrounded by professionally produced entertainment, invoking the question, “If you can’t be good enough to be professional, why do it at all?”
Striving for excellence is a virtue, but not all of us can be Michelangelo. Yet the point of art isn’t to be legendary, but to bring meaning and joy to ourselves and our community.
Lack of Small Communities
In 12 Rules for Life, Jordan Peterson explains, “It was easier for people to be good at something when more of us lived in small, rural communities. Someone could be homecoming queen. Someone else could be spelling-bee champ, math whiz or basketball star. There were only one or two mechanics and a couple of teachers. In each of their domains, these local heroes had the opportunity to enjoy the serotonin-fueled confidence of the victor.”
It’s no secret that small, tight-knit communities are unraveling in today’s world. Kids are more likely to play in Little Leagues than with neighbors. Phones make it more likely for kids to watch YouTube than put on performances like the March sisters in Little Women. Entertainment that used to be provided by friends and family members is now greatly monopolized by industries and viral internet stars.
Our society has gone from small, intimate, and local to vast. Along this vein, people are more likely to focus on national rather than local politics. Think of all the problems that would be solved if people spent as much time in local politics as they did following the national scene. The effect one individual can have on the nation is infinitesimal, but the impact one individual can have on a small local community is huge.
Our nation needs healing largely because our communities need healing. If we revived customs like spending evenings together sharing artistic achievement, no matter how small, we could strengthen communities and heal this country. But we need to overcome the pressure to be extraordinary to do so.
No Need to be a Sensation
The home I grew up in was full of artists. None of us are TikTok sensations, but everyone in my family enjoys sharing some form of music and storytelling. When my sister was in high school, she wrote and produced a musical with friends. It has few views on YouTube, but our family and her friends enjoyed watching it immensely.
My brother will probably never play at Carnegie Hall, but his banjo act complete with jokes and tricks brings joy to all who are fortunate enough to listen. And while I would love to publish my comedic novels, I am glad many of my friends find them hilarious and insightful even if they may never see a bestseller’s list.
I’ve heard girls say they wish they could sing on a stage in front of vast, cheering audiences like Taylor Swift. Honestly, it’s an enticing dream and the desire for excellence and recognition is very human. But so is our ability to perform not for strangers but people close to us. And this is part of humanity that our fame-obsessed, media-infused society is apt to neglect.
Meg Marie Johnson graduated with her master’s in English from Brigham Young University. She writes adaptations of classics for children and young adult social satire. You can follow her on X at @MegMarie24601.
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