Something From Nothing
One of the main things I love about comics is how they can somehow use their wildly imaginative universes to reflect what’s going on in our realm. You may think that they’re fighting sentient robots bent on destruction or gifted vilians with mommy and daddy issues, but there is a real possibility that the writer and artists behind the pages are inspired by real-world events.
Take Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lenshurr, also known as Professor X and Magneto, two of the most popular and most powerful characters from the Marvel Universe. Given the context of their creation and how their characters have developed, many a fanboy have speculated that they, as well as their own mutant bases, reflect the Civil Right Movement of the 1960s and 70s. People have drawn connection from Professor X to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Magneto to Malcolm X; each are two individuals with similar goals but wildly different methods.
Tony Stark’s story is quite interesting these days.
If you’ve seen the popular 2008 movie, you know about his capture and how he was taken away from all of his resources, of which he had many. Seriously. Dude had dough for days.
Suddenly, he was in a position where he had to literally create a way to escape, using scraps and leftovers from other pieces of machinery. Iron Man was born from nothing, and had to be, otherwise, Tony probably would have died at the hands of his captors.
At this moment, the Trump administration has proposed some budget cuts, which isn’t really surprising. With any new administration, changes are to be expected and budgets are to be readjusted. Priorities are revealed and a new direction is charted. What is alarming for us here at The Listening, Inc., as well as other like-minded organizations, is what is being placed on the chopping block. In addition to other programs like NASA and the Small Business Administration, the Trump administration is proposing to end funding for four cultural agencies and their budgets, including those that support nonprofit organizations and groups across the country. This includes the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Museums and galleries run the risk of closing their doors. Musicians may end up putting down their guitars and microphones for good. Poets and writers may trade their pens in and dancers may decide to never grace the stage again.
This feels scary for some of us. And at this point, it is a proposal, but it’s not something that we want to see passed by Congress. I personally hate the fact that it’s even being considered.
But I refuse to see it as the end of the story.
Whenever there has been a threat to something we hold dear, and when it has seemed hopeless, with little to no opportunity to respite or recourse, there has always been something that has been resurrected from the darkness. Call it grit, call it grassroots, call it stick-to-it-iveness or gumption, when the people decide that they want something, they make the necessary moves to make it happen. They create something from nothing.
We have an opportunity here to keep the arts alive in a way that it seems we have forgotten as a culture and a community.
We can support by reaching out to our congressmen and women, but we can also support the arts by creating art. We support artists by buying their work. We support the arts by going to events and shows and festivals. We keep the arts alive by donating a couple bucks a local open mic or evening of performances in a historic theater.
What this does is place the responsibility back in our hands. We get to decide how bright and how active and musical and diverse our community can be.
The cave is dark and the threats are there. The light is dim and the options are few. But the tools are in our hands. This is our chance to create something from nothing.