Micro is Macro

It’s nothing new, but the problem is growing. Art is being evaluated on profitability. Auction results, box office debuts, resale prices. Regardless of medium, we’re using ROI as a critical evaluation tool. We need to stop.

Cord Jefferson’s Oscar speech, in which he begged the studios to make 20 $10 million dollar films instead of 1 $200 million dollar film, has been stuck in my mind since I heard it. To your everyday capitalist, this is not appealing. It’s considered high-risk, limited leverage, and is seemingly putting your professional neck on the line. Let’s just put the three biggest action stars in a data-optimized story and market the ever-loving shit out of it. That’s much safer. Everyone wants to be the Avengers.

But that’s wrong.