The Mainstream

A few weeks ago we had a lecture about the Mainstream in CIU. I have always been interested in the “Mainstream” and how the level of someone's popularity affects the level of seriousness or artistry that they have for their craft. Why do humans automatically dismiss someone who has made a name for themselves by what they love? Is it because people assume or can see through the marketing of big business or is it because they assume the only way that an artist can get to a position like that is by selling themselves out to those big businesses. Would we even have the “mainstream” ecosystem if big businesses weren't involved in music? And why is some cases is commercial success and artistry okay like in the case with Kurt Cobain, and other times it is mocked like Lady Gaga.

I was recently listening to Flight Facilities Album,Down To Earth, and I came across Two Bodies featuring Emma Louise. At the start of this song it features a quote form Screenwriter Rod Sterling, it talks about the relationship between the mainstream and suggestion that is is something to be ashamed of.

"I remember the quote, (...)I presume he means that inherently you cannot be commercial and artistic; you cannot be commercial concurrent with having a preoccupation with the level of storytelling that you want to achieve. And this, I have to reject I don't think calling something 'commercial' tags it with a kind of an odious suggestion that it stinks, that it's something raunchy, to be ashamed of. I don't think if you say 'commercial' means to be publicly acceptable, what's wrong with that? As long as you are not ashamed of anything you write if you're a writer, as long as you're not ashamed of anything you perform if you're an actor, and I'm not ashamed of anything This is the area I know But I think innate in what he says is the suggestion made by many people that you can't have public acceptance and still be artistic. And, as I said, I have to reject that"

- Rod Sterling

I love this quote because it really challenges and questions why we think the way we do about mainstream media. Lady Gaga is an incredibly talented writer, performer and musician but is dismissed because of her popularity. Her music doesn't really appeal to me but i can appreciate an artist when i see it. The other side of the coin is that maybe the perceived hate people have for her is actually no more than any artist gets but due to her international success the people who don’t like her music are just in larger numbers and have a larger voice. Compared to an artist that doesn't have as many followers, the people who dislike their music are more sparse and don’t have the strength in numbers to voice their opinions. Another factor could be the fact that the music that Gaga produces is pop and that inherently has a bad reputation for being non artistic. There are many factors at play here and i think they change for every case that you look at but as a person i try and see everything on an equal playing field and not judge something based on its popularity. I think that will be the only way forward.