tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post1762077790752649773..comments2024-03-18T15:45:32.866-04:00Comments on bensozia: The Neurologist and his MotherJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-42360951178775677132015-09-26T17:49:16.084-04:002015-09-26T17:49:16.084-04:00I think that a large part of why traumatized artis...I think that a large part of why traumatized artists garner a certain appeal is because they speak to similarly traumatized audiences. A happy, well-adjusted person is no less capable of creating great works, but they are perhaps less inclined to focus such works on the same topics, thoughts, and perspectives.<br /><br />Clearly there have been a number of very successful non-traumatized artists throughout history, but presumably their works have appealed most to similarly non-traumatized audiences. Trauma doesn't make better art - it just makes different art, which different people identify with to differing degrees.<br /><br />If you have a somber personality, you're more likely to appreciate somber art, literature, music, cinema, et cetera. Meanwhile, if you have a cheerful disposition, you'll probably enjoy similarly cheerful movies, songs, books, paintings, and the like.<br /><br />Obviously there are exceptions, and it is entirely true that opposites can and frequently do attract. But overall the general tendency to gravitate toward the works of like-minded individuals seems, at least to my mind, quite evident.<br /><br />From my own example, I'm a reformed pessimist who turned to embrace optimistic thinking, but who will never quite escape the scars and influences of my earlier cynicism and bitterness. Seemingly as a result, I'm able to enjoy all kinds of media, both of a darkly unpleasant nature and of a sweetly innocent one.<br /><br />In comparison, my significant other has always been a healthy, well adjusted optimist, and consequently has little taste for the more tenebrous materials I sometimes delve into. Meanwhile, I have several more pessimistically minded close friends who suffer from histories of personal troubles, for whom some of my regular fare is sickeningly saccharine.<br /><br />Thus if it actually can be shown that certain more troubled artists have indeed historically drawn larger audiences than their better adjusted counterparts, I'm inclined to imagine that might be explained simply by the audience for their material simply being larger. After all, healthy and well adjusted people seem to almost always be in short supply.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com