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Fynn's positive life blog

Creativity ramble thing

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You know what I'm tired of?

People saying something must have been "made on drugs".

I mean, it's such an ignorant and dismissive statement that really undermines the creative power of the collective human consciousness. Yes, we can create things that go way beyond what we could normally imagine without the help of drugs, be it through teamwork or by one individual's highly evolved imagination.

The thing about imagination and creativity is that it is effectively limitless. Throughout our lives, we can hone it, expand it, so nothing is impossible in our mind. You can achieve a state where you can come up with something others wouldn't dream of and may consider it titillating/disturbing/mind-blowing/any combination of those things and more. It's amazing how much we as humans are capable of and I am so happy we have so many diverse pieces of art. They're a testament to how different everyone thinks.

One of the biggest paradoxes about humanity is that we are all the same in the sense that we are all unique. And art allows us to expand our world so much more by seeing the world from the perspective of someone else, as they have brought a little piece of the world in their mind to the collective. And then someone inevitably comes around and says "this dude was on some serious crack, yo" or "I'm scared, this person needs therapy". It seriously diminishes the weight of what art really is about and sets a standard of normalcy, mediocrity, and thinking only in the confines of what is regular and realistic as healthy or achievable. Because everyone who comes up with this stuff is either on drugs or some messed up individual, apparently.

But I believe everyone has that little bit of "crazy" in their mind that they're just unwilling to admit, partly because this trope exists, and in turn this perpetuates it, creating kind of a vicious cycle of willful ignorance. Which is why I'm tired of this notion and I wish it could go away. Let's celebrate the creativity and weirdness and not dismiss it as someone's drug-related dream. Of course there are cases when people actually did create art under the influence of such substances, but it's still nonetheless not true in a lot of cases and only serves to undermine the true potential of our collective imagination.

So yeah. End rant. Art is great and we need more of it, and artists should all get the respect that they deserve and sadly do not get enough of.
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Comments

  1. Pumpkin's Avatar
    I agree completely!
  2. Karifean's Avatar
    I agree. This sort of dismissing by slapping simple labels on it and never thinking about it any more deeply than that rubs me all the wrong ways and not just in the context of art either.
  3. Slothy's Avatar
    Agreed, though in the case of rock music from bands like Led Zeppelin, it is absolutely appropriate to say that their stuff was made on drugs.
  4. Formalhaut's Avatar
    Agreed!
  5. Wolf Kanno's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Vivi22
    Agreed, though in the case of rock music from bands like Led Zeppelin, it is absolutely appropriate to say that their stuff was made on drugs.
    The blog is right except in the case as Vivi22 has point ed out, when we do know it was actually made on drugs. David Bowie apparently has a whole album he doesn't remember making because of "reasons"
  6. Slothy's Avatar
    Not remembering an album is actually pretty good I'd say. If i did as much coke and other things as some of histories greatest musicians i wouldn't remember making albums because i didn't. I'd be dead.
  7. Fynn's Avatar
    I did mention that it does happen in some cases, but it's still not a valid excuse to use this phrase as often as it is used, IMO

    Also, the phrase is also mostly used against visual media, of which I'm pretty sure there are fewer instances where this happened than in rock music.
  8. Midgar Mist's Avatar
    Ive never heard this term 'made on drugs' before, but I do know exactly what youre referring to. Those that have created successful albums/art on drugs have either been lucky or unlucky in terms of their lifespan.

    I am very much against drugs. There's no point being a drug induced creative if its just gonna end your life before you have a chance to grow into something even more talented. Being drug free has never stopped me from being ultra-creative. Sure, I could've done with some more sleep over the years, but at least it's all me :-)