TED Talk: Malcolm McLaren- Authentic Creativity vs. Karaoke Culture
Reflection:
As an art student, I found the late Malcolm McLaren's lecture to be fascinating, not only in the lesson of how to find authentic creativity, but also on the struggle between success and failure.
Even though McLaren speaks of the karaoke culture of the United Kingdom, much of what he says I see reflected in the United States. In the education system in the United States, they always put "success" as the key goal in life. I can't count the number of times teachers of mine have threatened my classroom with "You will never be successful if you don't graduate and go to college." With that in mind, I've always been terrified of failing. Anything. Failure meant I was nothing, that I've let down everyone in my life and that they'll now forever see me as a disappointment. However, when McLaren speaks of being a Magnificent Failure, I realized that, as an artist, I can't be afraid of failing anymore. Failing is a part of life, it's messy and scary, but at the same time, finding beauty in it and making something out of it is more rewarding than just having the promises of success thrown at me.
I also found the cultural aspect of his argument to be interesting, despite it being slightly biased. I love learning about other countries and cultures and, while he had an extremely negative view on the United Kingdom, I still enjoyed hearing about it nonetheless, particularly when he began to talk about the Sex Pistols and the Punk movement.
It makes me want to go to the United Kingdom myself and see what exactly he was talking about, what exactly a karaoke culture is. From what he described, it sounds very akin to that of the United States, particularly the strive for instant success with as little effort put into it as possible.
However, I personally find it hard to believe that absolutely everything is in a karaoke world, when I'm surrounded by people who have worked to the bone in order to make it in the world. People who have failed, found success, then failed again only to get up, dust themselves off, and either sink or swim again. Particularly artists. Perhaps my perspective is limited, since I am young and life has been kind to me, but, I hope that there are some authentically creative people around in this karaoke world, and that the number will continue to grow the more people progress in life.
