On The Surface

We live in a society that is dominated by it's subtext. For example, if I'm talking to somebody and I say that I'm going to a concert tonight, they'll most likely assume that it's a heavy metal concert because of my metalhead-style appearance, and while I do often go to metal concerts, I also like to attend classical concerts (orchestras and choirs and operas) and jazz concerts (small and big band) and the occasional open mic night. This concept doesn't just apply to people who put out an obvious message with their appearance, though, it applies to almost every social interaction in a modern (read: neurotic) society. In fact, it's fairly shocking when you consider just how much the public cares about their appearance compared to their (general) lack of value for anything that I would consider to be of substance (literature, philosophy, space exploration, political ideology, etc.). This doesn't just apply to the American blue-collar, everyman types, but to the elites of our society as well. So many musicians, writers, directors, and other supposedly great cultural muses of this day and age care so much more about maintaining a reputation as being a genuinely deep person than they do about actually making any original insight into the human spirit, society, or anything else for that matter. If the human race is to avoid self-destruction, something has to change in the mainstream consciousness.