They say mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, then we folks have been flattering our way through history for decades. Every new movie or song or fashion trend or art is just a copy of something else. Every movie is based off of a book, a remake of a foreign film, or a remake from 20 years ago. In fashion everything is 80s inspired or from some year that’s coming back in style. Even in music it seems like any new idea gets copied immediately. Why does it seem like everything has been done before? That everything is being copied and there are no more original moments?
It’s well-known that how and what we perceive defines our reality. We’re influenced by what’s around us, picking up nuances from our friends, and social news media. Like durable sheets of paper towel, we are constantly absorbing new things, adding them to our personalities which again affects what we create. But can we do anything original anymore? Is everything a little of this and a little of that, influenced by this, inspired by that? Or, are we simply running out of ideas?
Most films are franchises. The Marvel movies. Look at Disney, who either remakes a movie to be almost exactly like the original or takes the same concept and spins it into something new. Look at Broadway. Cabaret. Chicago. Hair. The Glass Menagerie. The Wiz. Sound familiar? Because they are. All have been revived more times than Donald Trump’s hair. It’s about staying with what works and what works is regurgitating.
In his book, Human Frontiers, Michael Bahskar argues that when it comes to innovation and big ideas, our culture has become a version of “Groundhog Day.” We are stuck on a repeat cycle, the same architectural motifs, the same music genres, the same athleisure fashion items, over and over again. Our culture rebellion has been “neutered, monetized and tamed for a global audience in a theme park version of public extremity.” Music is no longer the “heartland of a broiling subculture so much as an accessible, easily digestible menu to be sampled from at will.” Rather than an underground counterculture we have the mainstream blockbuster; think Ed Sheeran not David Bowie.
Since the 90s measures of creativity among US students have been steadily falling. These include such skills as original thinking and open-mindedness, which doesn’t bode well for the future. Globally, fewer students are majoring in art or creative subjects in university and there are less and less jobs for creative types like artists and musicians. Policy-makers, universities, and even entire nations are cutting out humanities and focusing instead on the almighty dollar. In her book, Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, Martha Nussbaum warns that if we pull the plug on liberal arts, we no longer have the sort of people able to do the things required for democratic citizenship. We are sacrificing history, art and literature for science, economics and accounting.
If all that matters is economic growth, then education for basic math and literacy is all we need. Nussbaum argues that a liberal arts education – philosophy in particular – is important for a meaningful life. We need philosophy to not only criticize and analyze, but also to help us make sense of our inner lives – our feelings and attitudes towards one another. Unfortunately, talk radio and internet culture blatantly encourage narrow-minded tribalism. We don’t listen to what we say, we just want to talk louder and win battles. Courses in humanities teach us to engage and listen to other people’s viewpoints, not shut them down.
Think of the realm of deep thought. Where are the sages, prophets, philosophers of our century? We have more academics than at any other time in history and yet no new major works of social theory have emerged in the last thirty-five years. There are no new versions of capitalism or liberalism or even anarchism. There are just “shades of grey, old, regurgitated political ideas.” Democracy as we know it is unravelling, yet we continue to awkwardly lurch on, comfortably stuck in our old ways.
Instead of any radically new world concepts, we have authoritarianism, strongman tribalism, sectarianism and nationalist populism – hardly new or original. No one has tried to reinvent political theory. From policy to architecture, music to philosophy, big ideas have withered. Instead of being dynamic, we seem paralyzed from having any new thoughts. Bhaksar writes that “we are good at producing things, we are not nearly as good at thinking anew.”
We all know that technology has enhanced our lives immensely – from instant information to global connections. But could it also kill our creativity? When our minds are free from constant input, they naturally start to wander, leading to bright and shiny ideas. With smartphones and endless loops of entertainment, we rarely have to confront boredom. Technology never allows space for daydreaming. Every lull has to be filled with scrolls, clicks and swipes.
If anything, we need bold and ambitious thinking. We need to step outside. Wander far and free. Go where it feels uncomfortable. Try things that are unlikely to work and try again when they don’t. And then, we just might be able to answer the question: What’s the big idea?
