The Death of Creativity

The digital age has turned us into constant consumers. Our phones are the biggest culprits, providing us with an unlimited supply of entertainment for us to ingest at our leisure. As a result, we become reliant on external sources to think for us. We live for the next stimulation and refuse to think for ourselves. Why memorize when Google has all the answers? Why attempt to articulate your position in an argument when a YouTuber has already done the work for you? We become no worse than artificial intelligence, plucking content from everyone else and smashing it together to produce an “original” result. Creativity is dying. How, then, can we remedy this? It sounds simple, but we must make time to simply ponder ideas in our heads. When all we do is ingest content others have created, we become human echo chambers and refuse to actively engage our minds. It is so much easier to scroll social media or throw on a YouTube video or podcast instead of taking a moment to think. More times than not, I am guilty of this. But it is those times I have taken a break to simply consider an idea, play guitar, or enjoy nature, that I have felt truly alive. We are not meant only to consume, but to also produce. It is when we neglect to produce that we are left empty and depressed.

This dichotomy of producer and consumer can be illustrated through the ways we consume movies and television shows. It can be tempting to turn one’s brain off when watching a movie and simply enjoy the spectacle. Undoubtedly, some movies are made to be purely entertaining, lacking deep themes and character growth. However, even these movies have an underlying worldview behind them that pervades the entire story. So much can be gained from taking the time to analyze a fantastic film or show and appreciate the deep themes and character growth it showcases.

We must not stop at mere appreciation of quality media. Consuming such media should inspire us to become producers in turn. Even those who love to analyze the deeper aspects of media of ten neglect to actively strive to emulate the characters they admire. Samwise didn’t carry Frodo to Mount Doom on his back for us to turn around and refuse to help a comrade in need. Iroh didn’t cling to his ferocious love for the wayward Prince Zuko for us to give up on a struggling family member we love dearly. Captain America didn’t face down Thanos’ entire army alone with a broken shield for us to give up at the first sign of resistance.

These heroes are meant to inspire us, to rouse us to take steps toward becoming better people than we were before. It is easy for us to place ourselves into our favorite fictional characters and pretend as if we are the ones going on a grand quest or bravely protecting those who cannot protect themselves. When we extract ourselves from these heroes and reenter the real world, we feel as if we’ve accomplished something great. But we haven’t. Witnessing greatness should not make us feel as if we’ve arrived at greatness ourselves. It should show us how far we have left to go in our individual journeys and embolden us to take steps toward personal growth.

We must move beyond the mere praise of good themes in the media we consume. Let us take quiet moments to consider the deep themes and character growth in the next great movie or television show we watch. Then, let us work to become better people than we were before.