I’ve talked a little bit before about how the culture war is often won with art and how art goes far beyond simply entertainment but provides the source of drastic change as well as the shaping and molding of a society, for better or for worse. And while you may not be an artist there are still two important things that you can take from understanding the war of art and its effects on the culture as a whole.
The first is to understand yourself what you see and hear and how it affects you. In the same way that I think everyone should study marketing, sales, and copywriting, not just because they’re the quickest and fastest way to make money but also because they are a great instructor on human nature and provide you a way to make sure you don’t get taken advantage of (as much) by those who have these skills in spades.
The same holds true with understanding art and its effect. Now if you are an artist or plan on becoming one then this will hold even greater meaning for you. Through art the world around us is shaped. This may sound like a cheesy saying but it is far more than that. Look at the spell that Hollywood casts over the world at large. More powerful than any newspaper, website, political body, or just about anything else except maybe banking systems.
The Culture War Predominates
There was a time when physical war was the predominate means of gaining power and expanding one’s kingdom, safety, and power. However in the modern age war has been reduced to something strange and alien to those that came before. Wars are fought as schemes in the grand designs of those that profit and pay for both sides. Whether no one except those that set it up ever truly win.
Many think it’ll be a physical war that’ll change the culture and bring back order and balance, however I just don’t see that happening. However the culture war is alive and well and what is good (not necessarily in a moral/religious sense (though there may be some overlap) but in a deeper, truer, more primal, cosmic sense) is losing hand over fist. What is good is getting its ass whooped, to put it in cosmic terms the darkness is winning (and by darkness I mean that which is against what is primal, right, and natural).
In order to fight back against this it’ll take more than essays and ideological discussions. Sure those have their place and can aid things but it is great works of art that ultimately inspire people and cause deep level change. Things like movies, TV shows, novels, songs, paintings, and the like. That is what changes society even if it does so without the awareness of the society that it is changing.
Fighting The Culture War
Like I said in the beginning not all of us are going to be artists and that is just fine. But if you do have any artistic inclination and you are bothered by what you see in the world around you then you know what it is that you must do. You must create art that speaks what is inside you and share it with the world so others can also hear and learn from it. This will require not just having something to say and skill with your art but also an understanding of marketing and broadcast.
And if you’re not an artist then you can still help fight the culture war by supporting art that speaks to you and that resonates with you. For example even though they are expensive I collect the books of the paintings of Frank Frazetta. Even though he has passed his art still lives on and has certain ideas it puts forth that I support and that resonate with me. Same with the Conan tales that can easily be found online. Yet I have various collections in leather, hardcover, and paperback simply to support the ideals and ideas. Same reason I’ll purchase the Book of Pook (found free online) or Heartiste On Game (again could once be found free online).
To support the artists and their ideas. Also I’d caution you to not count yourself out as an artist. You never know your ability until you try and you may surprise yourself. Or you may not, regardless if the culture is something that matters to you (and it likely does even if you don’t know it) then art is something you’ll want to understand the power of and be able to use it in whatever way possible to help create the world that you want around you.
Why Culture Matters
I know that the “enjoy the decline” mentality is prevalent on this side of the internet and I understand. However with this mentality I also see many who are unhappy, not satisfied, and still complaining about the way things were. And that’s because as men we weren’t meant to simply be okay with bending over and taking it. We were designed to fight and resist even against overwhelming odds. And while it’d be foolish to fight physically (not to mention pretty much impossible). One can still fight with art and word.
And don’t underestimate the power and importance of these things. The pen can be mightier than the sword, especially when the penalty for drawing the sword is too high. You can affect change in the world around you and change things for the better. And there is nothing more effective than this at the current time than art. Art changes those that are touched by it. Remember the Iliad helped inspire Alexander the Great to conquer the known world. What else could good stories do for our world today?
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
