The Discontent of Content
The Discontent of Content
I love how those two words have the same base, yet mean completely different things and sound different in pronunciation.1 Regardless of the play between the words, I have this growing sentiment that the endless content mill has generated a mountain of discontent.
The rat race.
Keeping up with the Joneses.
Always be closing.
Hustle.
Grind.
Whatever you call it: content demands constant churn.
The machine is always running. We’ve taken contemplative, spiritual practices and creative efforts - like music, art, illustration, cinema, and writing - and turned them into an endless goal of publishing. The industrialization of the human spark.
What has (blank) released lately?
Why haven’t they posted recently?
They haven’t made a good movie lately.
Why is their book taking so long?2
The race for always releasing content has turned our creative pursuits into an endless, mindless task that sucks all of the spirit out of the act of creation. We are drowning in content, punished like Sisyphus.
Sisyphus defied the gods and put Death in chains. Of course, Death escapes and as punishment: Sisyphus must push a rock up a mountain for eternity.
“After finally capturing Sisyphus, the gods decided that his punishment would last for all eternity. He would have to push a rock up a mountain; upon reaching the top, the rock would roll down again, leaving Sisyphus to start over. Camus sees Sisyphus as the absurd hero who lives life to the fullest, hates death, and is condemned to a meaningless task.”3
Except, we aren’t Sisyphus: we can’t grind for eternity. We create and caffeinate. We automate. We analyze the data. We suss out our audience. We brainstorm and make calls. We email… wait, I’m doing this right now. Whoops!
SEE. It’s constant. But it’s not endless. Whether by choice or by circumstance, the content mill does end.
I think one of the largest factors in peoples’ discontent with Marvel films right now is just the constant churn; they can feel the creative energy waning in each new project. There’s no more block to bust when there is no gap between releases. And films are released because they have to. Films are no longer a creative’s passion, they are part of a big release schedule planned out years in advance and touted on earnings calls and comic con stages.
Where do we go now?
Yes, I heard the song too. I think it’s funnier because that part of the song was - factually or anecdotally - improv’d by Guns n’ Roses because they didn’t want to end on the guitar solo in Sweet Child of Mine… Where were we?
Oh, right —
Where do we go now?
Creative energy is not an ‘ALWAYS ON’ thing. It feeds off the downtime in our lives. One of the greatest Reddit sub-threads ‘Shower Thoughts’ is a testament to this idea. Our minds need a break to discern, parse, collate, conclude, and ponder the problems before us. Solutions don’t come from endless grinding for a solution. We think they come from moments of eureka, as if spontaneous. But they are a long-term brain project that’s finally had time to draw its conclusion and dream of a solution.
Give yourself space to create.
Don’t rush.
Pause the churn.
Take a break.
Let the machine idle.
Your mind — and soul — will thank you.
By love, I mean I am puzzled by the English language. It’s weird, y’all.
Okay, this may be the one for me… I know, I know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myth_of_Sisyphus