Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
If anything, we are entering an era where people can access far more content, across all kinds of borders, with lower barriers than at any time in history. Even if literature becomes less popular in the short term, there is absolutely no way to know what kind of social pressures will influence various mediums. How many foresaw the cultural impact of music circa 1967, even in the early 1960s? Or the enduring influence of cinema, which was supposed to be utterly demolished by now by TV and/or the Internet? It could even come down to a single individual whose work happens to strike the right chord at the right moment, and voila, a medium can soar in popularity, a rising tide if you will.
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I find this one interesting. Followers of the 2012 saga believe that one of two things will happen: Armageddon or renaissance. I've always been leaning more towards the later than the former, though recent world events may lead one to believe otherwise (rant for another thread)
It's believed (new agers correct me if I'm wrong) that 2012 will spell an end to things as we know it. A new digital revolution is under way. If you were to take the advances in technology over the past few years, it seems that may be true. More people are connected to the internet than ten years ago. You may be hard pressed to find someone in any household in a more wealthy country (US/Canada/UK/etc) that does not have some electronic entertainment in their household. I've been in houses that don't have any food in the cupboard or furniture on the floor, but damned if they don't have an LCD and a Playstation 3. Same with an ipod.
It's interesting to think about the new art. It seems that the major and more traditional content providers are losing ground to the internet and the homebrew crowd.
MoeJoe mentioned gaming, so I have to point out that in almost every major gaming publication, indie games (Machinarium, Torchlight, etc) have received editor's choice awards for the 2009 year.
Thanks to the advent of youtube, we now have Jackass Too streaming digitally on youtube. And by that, I mean all the idiots out there who are accident prone for laughs and entertainment. We also have critically respected internet television shows (Dr. Horrible, The Guild)
More people vote in American Idol than presidential elections. Independent authors and musicians are now getting market share they never would have had ten years ago. And it's all for the fraction of the cost. How many musicians would play gig upon gig upon gig and travel the country and the world in hopes for that one drunk music executive to say "Hey! That's pretty cool" and sign them up for a life of wealth and prosperity.
Unfortunately, a lot of people also have gotten big heads with the sudden digital distribution (Robert Stanek comes to mind)
But there's also the MTV Cribs culture coming of age now. These are the kids who think they can rap in the streets and become the next Lil Wayne, or sing in a local punk music bar and become Green Day. Or write and self publish a book and become the next Christopher Paolini. Or have their fiends smack them over the head with concrete blocks and publish it to youtube...only to find out that the brain damage they suffered does not make them the next Johnny Knoxville or Bam Margara.
If only the real world was that easy
