When it feels like everything is going to shit, there is one comfort that we all love to turn to. Entertainment — or as it’s known in its raw, unrefined material state, “art” — has been a solace to many of us. Whether it’s a series that we binge-watched through lonely pandemic times, a video game that distracted us from our angst, or an album that soothed us through a break up, most of us have had some firsthand experience of art lifting us up and getting us through the rough patches.
Good writing is the foundation of most forms of entertainment. This magical ability to transmogrify human experiences onto a page, screen, or record is a precious one that sets us apart from our incumbent robot overlords. If artists do their jobs right, you forget there’s people behind-the-scenes, crafting and orchestrating everything you’re taking in. At a time when AI is getting better at doing all the things that these talented people do, I think it’s important to acknowledge the invaluable humanity that the folks who create these things bring to their work. AI can not replace the skill, passion, and neuroticism of our creative workers.
The ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is a great example of the divide between those who create and those who package and sell, and how that gap seems to be getting ever wider with each passing year. Those on the picket lines would tell you what every generation of writers who have gone on strike before them have: it’s not just better compensation that they’re fighting for, but the future of the profession in a rapidly shifting media landscape.
As a student publication at a university, these kinds of bigger, meta conversations about the viability of careers in literary or creative fields feel relevant among our ranks. The Cascade provides a unique opportunity for anyone to write, create, and submit content that’s published regardless of clickbait appeal. It’s a safe space for burgeoning creatives to flex their muscles and do art for art’s sake — a privilege that is so valuable in the development of writers and artists.
Whether students who engage with creative extracurriculars like The Cascade go on to be writers, journalists, graphic designers, or mathematicians; art and entertainment will be a part of their lives in some fashion. As livable, steady careers in the arts seem to be evaporating in favor of a gig economy, it’s more important now than ever that we do not let ourselves buy into the false idea that creative expression is a cute little hobby that some people have between their “real jobs.” Creating art is a job — and our lives would be unrecognizable without the fruits of that labour.
The Managing Editor is responsible for providing support to the Executive Editor in respect to editorial workflow and administration, and an educational resource for sectional editors and volunteers. The Managing Editor is also responsible for internal editorial and volunteer relations.