I’ve just started reading Nietzsche (biography and works), and already I feel like I’m being pushed—not just intellectually, but personally.
I have had early introduction to the man- his sister- misunderstandings... etc.
But I took a rabbit hole to read a little more about the relationship of Nietzche and Wagner.
Nietzsche talks about Richard Wagner, this larger-than-life composer who tried to bring everything together—music, story, visuals—into what he called “Gesamtkunstwerk”- a “total work of art.” The goal was something immersive, almost sacred. Not just entertainment, but something that could restore depth and meaning to culture.
At first, Nietzsche believed in him.
But later, he became disillusioned. Not just with Wagner as a person—but with what his art was actually doing. It started to feel like the experience was powerful… but disconnected. Emotional, but not grounding. Impressive, but not transformative.
(So I find an early disillusionment in life is when a hero shows he is human, our discipleship leaders are flawed humans- and it feels almost like a betrayal. But we have to be careful when we project too much hope in any human- if you are looking for hypocrisy, you WILL find it.)
And it is an over-simplified symbol- The 'divorce' of the philosopher and the artist is representative of a current cultural crisis....
Because I wonder if we’re living in a version of that now: Is art lost? Or maybe losing?
That might sound dramatic. We have more art, more content, more access than ever before. Everything is sharper, louder, more immersive. Entire worlds can be created on a screen..
I don’t leave most things thinking about them days later. I don’t carry them with me the way I used to. It’s like I’m impressed in the moment—but unchanged afterward. I scroll endless choices on streaming services and it is like one big “blah”.
We’ve pushed art so far—more effects, more intensity, more spectacle—that maybe we’ve overloaded something in ourselves. Our sense of wonder. Our ability to suspend disbelief. Our capacity to be moved.
It’s like everything is trying so hard to get our attention that nothing really reaches us anymore.
And I don’t think the problem is creativity- I think it’s disconnection.
When art detaches from meaning, it has to rely on intensity. And intensity doesn’t last. It fades. It has to keep escalating. And eventually, we stop feeling it the same way.
So I’ve been trying to put words to what I think is missing.
The best way I can say it right now is this:
Belief-Immersed Art.
Art that doesn’t detach from meaning or purpose.
Art where everything—story, sound, image, emotion—is aligned toward something deeper.
Not just immersive… but grounded.
Because the most meaningful experiences I’ve had with art weren’t the most technically impressive.
They were the ones that felt true. I know we are losing the idea of truth... but we also know it is there, whether we admit it or not.
And maybe that’s the tension I’m starting to see, both in Nietzsche and in our culture:
What happens when art becomes powerful… but untethered?
Could that be a clue to the growing irrelevance of Hollywood?
What makes movies- plays- music- pictures meaningful?- All of the elements allow the story to touch deeper. We don't finish an artistic experience and say, 'those were impressive wires and computer chips'- we are impressed with it as a story it resonates somehow in the soul.
BTW- this INCLUDES our studies and theology.... These are not conventional gadgets to take out play with and put away. They go beyond the mind, soften the heart, and get us into the story of the God of Victory and Love. This is not a cold test tube tale, it is a drama, full of conflict and courage- love and healing, hope and joy.
And what would it look like to create something that doesn’t just capture attention—but actually reaches the soul?
I used to worry that we are losing a generation who no longer wants to think- but in some way we would even be worse off if we lost the ability to feel!
I don’t have a clean answer yet- to be continued……
Spring break will be a little bit on the Appalachian Trail and a few days in D.C.- good time to get away, read, pray, and ponder....
No comments:
Post a Comment