Philosophy Friday - Hard Work And Perseverance

Hello and welcome to Philosophy Friday; that day of the week where I discuss the importance of hard work, and why parents are stopping their kids from learning why.

Anvil, hammer and blacksmith, because nothing hammers out the stereotype of hard work like a burly man beating metal until it has a use.

If you've ever accomplished something of note in your life, you've likely had to do one of two things. To learn the value of hard work and perseverance, or be pretty damn lucky. As obvious an idea, (and ideal), as it seems, it is not actually as readily apparent to everyone as you would expect. Lets talk about why that is.

Some people think life is easy, which, admittedly, is understandable in our modern era. You may be wondering why I say that and, to be honest, the answer is fairly typical of much that I blog about. Personal experience. Having grown up in the ideals and social climate of our times, it comes as little surprise to me how undervalued hard work and perseverance is. In terms of those moving through the education system, as I had been until only just a year ago, everything is done for the children up to that point. There's no need to learn to persevere when you're required by law to go to school. There's no reason to work hard when the reason for effort is not immediately apparent.

Something the older generations often appear to forget is the difference in perceptions between generations. Those who run the education system understand it's necessity and value, as well as it's importance for getting into university, having been through those experiences. Those who have known nothing but school their entire life, don't have that understanding nor the maturity to understand that things cannot remain stagnant. By the time I realized that if I didn't work hard at school, I wouldn't get into university; it was late enough to become a MASSIVE stress in my life, to the point of having heart palpitations. (I suspect I'm not the only one that happened to either.)

Effectively, children are so forced into what they are doing and largely thought for, that they lack the actual skills to properly survive once the education system spits them out on the other side. A common phrase I heard from my peers usually was that "School teaches you so many things, except for everything you actually need to know." Which is not at all an inaccurate statement. Lessons such as how to pay taxes, the dangers of credit, and why hard work is necessary are something that no school teaches and parents oft refrain from as well, stating that their "children need to be shielded from the world."

As nice as that sounds, it's not helping your kids. Think in terms of the calluses on your skin. They develop because the skin is hurt frequently, and stop the skin from being hurt as a result of their growth. So if hard work hurts your kid, how are they supposed to ever grow to deal with it when the parent is no longer there to shield them? Simply: they can't. Some life lessons can only be learnt through experience, and the unfortunate reality is that social norms are making it too difficult for children to learn them and thereby grow into productive members of society. (And that is sad as all hell. *facedesk*)

Anyone who has ever achieved anything can understand that the only way anything of true value is obtained is through hard work and perseverance. Rome was not built in a day, but it was built off the daily labor of those seeking to eventually see the beautiful city in it's finished state. That doesn't happen with people that have never known anything that hasn't been done for them.

I fear for the future generations of children who grow in vacuums of safety, only to be unceremoniously dumped into the harsh realities of the world. You really want to entrust the planets future to slackers? *shivers* I sincerely believe that change needs to happen to help people to help themselves; and that can only happen, ironically, through education. Much as I loathe the idea, parenting classes in schools, (and maybe life classes for doing things like paying taxes), would be an exceedingly good idea in terms of improving the general work ethics and morals of future generations, and make life not so difficult once we have to think for ourselves. 

In any case, change can only happen once people understand the need for it; thought it might not happen any time soon. Thank you for taking the time to read today's blog post and don't forget to leave a comment if you have anything to add about the development of children in today's world, or anything in general. If you think that this is a fair argument and believe more people should become aware of this as an emerging social issue, then please share this with those you think should know as well. If you would like to see more interesting social discussions like this, then don't forget to like my Facebook page and/or follow me on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to your right. Regardless of what you do, I hope that you have/had an FANTASTIC day, and I will see you tomorrow.

Farewell my friends.

Thespian Thursday - Knowledge Makes The Actor

Hello and welcome to another Thespian Thursday; the day of the week where I ask an interesting question about the theory behind acting, and then share an interesting insight about it.

Books. BOOKS! I just realized I've made no mention of books in over 30 days of blogging. Shocking. If you want me to do so, let me know in the comments. Don't be shy.

Have you ever wondered at the intelligence of actors? How smart do you have to be to accurately portray a role in a believable way? Is it as simple as monkey see, monkey do, or can the knowledge of the actor make a significant impact as well? Let's talk about it.

A while ago, (A long while to be precise, 2 years back.), I found this interesting infographic which talks about some of the people with the highest IQ's. Interestingly enough, the last person the graphic mentions is the actor James Wood, who, according to the infographic, has an IQ of 180. While I didn't think much about it when I first found the image, (considering I saw it 2 years ago), I remembered it when the thought of today's topic occurred to me a few days ago. (At random yes. I seem to be under an endless barrage of thoughts at the best of times, not that it's necessarily a bad thing.)

So here's the question, does intelligence play much of a role in acting, or even simply performing as a whole. My guess: Yes. When acting, there are a few things which play a role in how believable your portrayal of the character is. As I mentioned in an earlier Thespian Thursday, understanding is key to a believable casting. In acting, knowing what you're talking about is about as necessary as it is for actually being an expert on the subject. Casting someone who struggles with language as a linguistics professor is about as sensible as letting a janitor oversee a nuclear power plant. On that basic level, it's a good idea for the actor to have the knowledge, (or to find it, quickly), of whatever they're portraying, lest their inexperience with subject show through and ruin the suspension of disbelief.

However, it's not merely as simple as knowing about the subjects the character knows, it's also about having the intelligence to understand more about the character and his interactions both within and outside of the 4th wall. In my personal opinion, the subjects of psychology and acting are very closely related in the necessity for understanding the pathos of the characters. To use another analogy, a mechanic can be good at putting engines together, but to properly ensure it functions as intended requires a fundamental knowledge of the parts and what they do. Similarly, how can a character be accurately portrayed if you only know what he does, but do not understand why he does this; a subject I also mentioned in the aforementioned post.

There is also, of course, the need to know how your actions on the stage, as well as the pacing and tone of the story, can influence your audience, much like a book. There are a multitude of things which have an interesting effect upon the audience as they witness it, and the manipulation of these factors are often the difference between a good production and a fantastic one. A fantastic example of this in personal experience, was during my portrayal of the character "Shadow" in one of my old school productions. The character was designed somewhat around the shock value of a completely black individual who enjoyed the suffering of the play's victim, and was often mainly the characterization of her inner thoughts. As such, one such "factor" as I called them earlier, was the facile guise of humor and friendliness that I portrayed as it slowly dissolved into anger and hatred, much as you would expect of the inner thoughts of someone who has been through a traumatic incident. While never originally part of the script, this allowed the story to lull the audience into believing that perhaps the character was not as black as his appearance portrayed, (teehee, see what I did there), eventually adding an additional angle of betrayal to the production as the girls own thoughts seemingly turned against her. (The ending was strangely poetic that her eventual suicide was characterized by her own thoughts murdering her.)

Thus, my manipulation of appearances allowed the play to become that much more enriched in it's frightening development. As much as it sounds like bragging, someone that did not understand how people identified with first impressions and the words someone uses, would not have been able to pull that off.

Which effectively answers the earlier question, does intelligence play a role in acting? Most certainly, for without it, accurate portrayals of characters and the manipulation of the audience in order to create a more impact experience would be the work of chance of luck and serendipity alone, rather than acting skill.

And thus, this interesting Thespian Thursday discussion draws to a close. I hope that you have found this post interesting and insightful, and perhaps even useful in your own pursuits. Do you have anything to add to the discussion, or perhaps have a suggestion for next week's Thespian Thursday? Please leave it in the comments section below. Also, if you enjoyed this post, perhaps consider sharing it with other people who enjoy the theory behind acting. If you especially enjoyed this post and would like to see more like it, consider liking my Facebook page and/or following me on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the right so that you can get the newest posts, when they happen. Of course, regardless of what you do, I thank you for reading and hope that you have/had a FANTASTIC day.

Until next time.