Forbes.com recently compiled the lists of jobs that experts believe will not be making a comeback after the recession. Yahoo then reposted this list on their website. Out of curiosity, I scrolled down and was shocked to see that the second type of job listed was "Stage Performers."
Perhaps it was because the title of the article is: "Careers Headed for the Trash Pile"
As someone who has done theater since he was eight, I was immediately angered by the fact that Forbes.com has deemed what I do "out to pasture."
The arts are not just a group of jobs that can be phased out when the economy is bad. They are an integral part of every city, state, and culture. When Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D, a job researcher, says that "live performances have fallen out of fashion and have been almost entirely replaced with movies and home entertainment technologies," I have to respond with "Dr. Shatkin, I'd be curious to know who gave you that Ph.D."
The matter-of-fact tone with which the article reported these facts was also irritating to me.
So that's it? The arts are dying? Everybody find another trade? Dancers, go learn computer science. Actors, go figure out how to repair cars. This is ridiculous.
There is no doubt that this is a bad time for the arts, but they have survived bad times before, and have come back even stronger. In some cases, the kind of art that can be done under strained resources can actually be even stronger in depth and quality.
What bothers me the most is that people are already dissuasive enough when it comes to promoting the arts. I don't know many parents who celebrate when their child says they want to be a singer, dancer, actor, etc. So now here's an article confirming their worst fears. Steer your child clear of the performing arts, they're a one-way street to failure.
I don't particularly care what any job researcher says. I do what I do because I love it, and because it contributes something to my community--and I'm not just talking about the artistic community.
Ironically, I know many people who now go to theater and concerts and dance recitals because the economy is bad, and because experiencing the performing arts helps them take their minds off the fact that they're losing their jobs and their houses.
Allowing the arts to go into "the trash pile" is not an appropriate description of what would happen if we did live in a society where the only culture came from home entertainment systems. The more accurate image would be a body without a head. Without a mind. Without the ability to think, analyze, or understand.
Perhaps a bigger article is what's needed about the decline in arts jobs, rather than just an item on a list above "mail sorters."
Perhaps it was because the title of the article is: "Careers Headed for the Trash Pile"
As someone who has done theater since he was eight, I was immediately angered by the fact that Forbes.com has deemed what I do "out to pasture."
The arts are not just a group of jobs that can be phased out when the economy is bad. They are an integral part of every city, state, and culture. When Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D, a job researcher, says that "live performances have fallen out of fashion and have been almost entirely replaced with movies and home entertainment technologies," I have to respond with "Dr. Shatkin, I'd be curious to know who gave you that Ph.D."
The matter-of-fact tone with which the article reported these facts was also irritating to me.
So that's it? The arts are dying? Everybody find another trade? Dancers, go learn computer science. Actors, go figure out how to repair cars. This is ridiculous.
There is no doubt that this is a bad time for the arts, but they have survived bad times before, and have come back even stronger. In some cases, the kind of art that can be done under strained resources can actually be even stronger in depth and quality.
What bothers me the most is that people are already dissuasive enough when it comes to promoting the arts. I don't know many parents who celebrate when their child says they want to be a singer, dancer, actor, etc. So now here's an article confirming their worst fears. Steer your child clear of the performing arts, they're a one-way street to failure.
I don't particularly care what any job researcher says. I do what I do because I love it, and because it contributes something to my community--and I'm not just talking about the artistic community.
Ironically, I know many people who now go to theater and concerts and dance recitals because the economy is bad, and because experiencing the performing arts helps them take their minds off the fact that they're losing their jobs and their houses.
Allowing the arts to go into "the trash pile" is not an appropriate description of what would happen if we did live in a society where the only culture came from home entertainment systems. The more accurate image would be a body without a head. Without a mind. Without the ability to think, analyze, or understand.
Perhaps a bigger article is what's needed about the decline in arts jobs, rather than just an item on a list above "mail sorters."
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