michael-dean-k/

I get the sense that creativity used to be seen as a form of artistic mastery, but in the 1990s, creativity turned into catharsis, therapy, self-help. It’s an “if I don’t do it, I’ll get sick,” attitude. I resonate with that—I often refer to writing as a release valve; without it, my head would get clogged and blow up—but not at the expense of technique!

Mastery is about breaking what you made, trying again, breaking it again, pushing the boundaries, and demanding an answer to “how do I make things?” Once you've made a bunch of things, you start to intuit your limitations, and the question is do you accept or interrogate why.

The process of interrogating is not only hard/heroic, but it’s rewarding in a gentle way. 1) The things you work hard on will be special to you for your whole life. 2) You slowly enhance and develop skills in and out your domain. 3) You build community through working together on hard things. 4) It reframes other elements of your life: pain is a puzzle.

I wonder if there is a Trojan Horse version of sneaking mastery into society through a self-help framework.

Just saw The Substance, and my general reaction after was “I can’t believe somebody did that” (particularly, the ending). That’s what movies should evoke. Almost any exclusive series served on a streaming service is designed to appeal to the mean. There is no demographic for mutated and grotesque Demi Moore.