The Search

This past weekend, in the midst of some puzzling about life and my place in the world, I ran across an editorial by Paste Editor in Chief Josh Jackson that piqued my interest. I thought i'd share it for those who might be interested.

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The Search

I think I may have a problem. When I got to the office this morning, the firs thing I did was turn on I'm from Barcelona's "Paper Planes," and turn it up loud. And when it was finished, I played it again. Last night I fell asleep reading Thirteen Moons, Charles Frazier's latest. And I'm starting to get hooked on two new TV shows, Fringe and True Blood, to add to an already crowded fall lineup of shows that automatically get recorded to my DVR. With nearly every CD released coming through my offie, most every film I want to see already in my Netflix queue and more magazine subscriptions than would be humanly possible to read, I'm never at a loss for some form of entertainment to fill the gaps in life. Even when I'm standing in line at the bank, I've got a phone in my pocket with access to free games, YouTube videos and the rest of that wonderful composite of all the knowledge of recorded human history; the Internet. I'm in danger of, as Neil Postman put it, amusing myself to death.

It's been 47 years and billions of entertainment options since that great "malaise" Binx Bolling, in Walker Percy's The Moviegoer, found more meaning and purpose in his trips to the cinema than in his own life. To counter that, he became enamored with the search-"To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair." I like to think I'm on that search, and I find that books like The Moviegoer, as well as music, film, magazines-and even TV an video games-can illuminate the path ahead. But only if I'm vigilant about actually living, and separating the wheat from the chaff when I do stop to enjoy a piece of our culture. [emphasis mine]

Nothing is worse than watching a movie (like say 10,000 B.C.-damn you with your enticing CGI saber-toothed tiger) and then wishing I had those two hours of my life back. I could've put them toward attending my first Sacred Harp singin' or reading the new Roy Blount Jr. book or listening to the new Lucinda Williams record or checking out a Deerhunter show-or, you know, actually contributing to humanity.

At Paste, we see it as our job to help you discover entertainment options pertinent to your search-not to serve as a replacement for your own story. I believe we were put on this earth to help redeem it. The best music, film and culture will do you no good if you're buried under it. Become a wise consumer of culture. Or, better yet, become a creator of it. [emphasis also mine]

-Josh Jackson
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I have several thoughts related to this discussion, but i'll hold on sharing them. Would love to hear what others think in the meantime.