Thanks to Arts & Letters Daily, the clearinghouse for all things interesting, for linking to this article with Passionate Realist implications. If you have no use for your audience, why do you bother making your movies, stories, or anything to be distributed to a mass audience? If you can't respect your audience, how can you respect your work? You are, after all, publishing, recording, and producing for an audience. Otherwise, you could be content to keep notebooks and personal recordings and films without ever distributing them.
- posted by Earnest @ 7:25 AM

 
Ultra-provocative article on youth culture and cultural immaturity:

Political correctness and so many of the political fashions of our day--from academic feminism to cultural studies to queer theory--could only be perpetrated on adolescent minds: minds, that is, that are trained to search out one thing and one thing only: Is my teacher, or this politician, or that public spokesman, saying something that is likely to be offensive to me or members of any other victim group? Only an adolescent would find it worthwhile to devote his or her attention chiefly to the hunting of offenses, the possibility of slights, real and imagined.
- posted by amy @ 12:39 AM

 
Passionate Realism Pep Talk

Frustration on so many different levels fueled the creation of Passionate Realism, which is what makes it the most like any other movement you’ve ever read or heard about. Frustration alone, however, can not sustain any movement or idea. What good is the reaction without action?

That question is actually central to the passionate realist movement because for much of my lifetime, the dominant attitude among people my age was “who cares?” The attitude was especially abhorent because it wasn’t only destructive on a personal level, but it was maliciously leveled at anyone who did, in fact, care about something. What was worse was that the more one cared, the worse the criticism. The ability to care about something is the ability to nurture it. Nurturing should not be just an ability, but it should also be a responsibility. Whether it is a parent nurturing a child, a politician nurturing a society, or an artist nurturing his or her art, the ability to nurture should bring the responsibility to do so along with it.

In the nineties, “irreverent” was probably the most overused mention of praise you could give someone. Somehow, irreverence came to consume everything, and that may have been what ruined art and entertainment. People become so obsessed with not taking anything or anyone seriously, that they stopped taking themselves seriously, abandoning their responsibilities to nurture their crafts, and we paid the price by having to watch awful movies and television. Never caring about anything leads to irrelevance because one who cares about nothing becomes useless, not only to society, but mostly to himself. After all, half-hearted irreverence is not worth anyone’s notice. One has to at least care about the craft into which he or she will funnel their irreverence. Even if one doesn’t possess the ability to write the most hilariously scathing satire of the twenty-first century, that does not mean that one shouldn’t attempt to make the create the funniest work they possibly can. It most definitely does not mean that one should give up altogether, saying “who cares?”– It means that at the end of the day, the artist should make an assessment of his or her work asking “what could I have done better?” Irreverence can be a welcome respite, but absolute irreverence can lead only to irrelevance.

Times are changing though. It’s as if the entire world is waking from a coma, and it’s become a better place for it. Whether you’re a celebrity using your status to speak out against the war in Iraq, a pop musician attempting to create lasting pop music, a filmmaker who can take yourself seriously long enough to put together a great movie (Finding Nemo, anyone?), you’re down with the passionate realist cause. Nurture your skills; nurture your gifts. Build them into things you can be proud of. Yes, there are people who will never tire of the destructive habit of saying “who cares” but when all is said and done, what will they have to show for their attitudes and what will you have to show for yours?

I know that when all is said and done, I personally intend to have created some of the funniest television shows ever to be broadcast. That’s a promise.
- posted by Earnest @ 10:20 AM

 
Passionate Realism = Honesty + Bravado
- posted by amy @ 12:51 PM

 
Eep dug up a fantastic article on Slate that links Passionate Realism with Justin Timberlake through an analysis of rock's walled-off musical snobbery. Good research on both accords!
- posted by amy @ 2:03 AM

 
It's up to a Passionate Realist to strive toward their own constant self-improvement. There's no footprints in the sand short cut to becoming awesome and then more awesome on top of that. But Passionate Realists can help other Passionate Realists strengthen their skills by offering support, motivation and constructive criticism. With that in mind, Styles Bauer and I are proud to announce the creation of The First Writing Club of the Greatest Artistic Movement Ever. The fun times and weekly assignments will be starting in October, aka, Passionate Realism's First Designated Month of Pure Passion, during which the First Radio Show of the Greatest Artistic Movement Ever will also be taking flight. Los Angeles-area Passionate Realists feel free to email passionaterealism@hotmail.com if you want to take part. Non Los Angeles-area based Passionate Realists can take the lead of Earnest Pettie and take part in the festivities through email and phone calls. Wordariffic.
- posted by amy @ 5:26 PM

 
It's been a slow quarter for Passionate Realism. Between jobs, vacations, and other things, Passionate Realism had taken a backseat to other interests. It is alive and kicking, and I have had many ideas gestating in the back of my mind. Here's to hoping that the Passionate Realist Radio Program gets off to a good start. I would like to send audio pieces in from New York.

I think that we're off to a good start as Passionate Realists. As Passionate Realists, I feel it's necessary that we dedicate ourselves to honing our crafts, whatever they may be. My craft is comedy. We've accepted as a fact that dedication to craft is essential for doing the remarkable work we know we're capable of. Case in point-- Amy has just recently upgraded her review-writing skills by studying a style guide, and she will be enrolling in a class on theatre at the LACC. That is passionate realism. Kudos to Ross and Styles for publishing pieces in the latest Ostrich Ink. I need to publish something. In fact, that is what our movement is lacking at the moment. We're not really being published or produced anywhere. We need to work on getting our names out.

At the moment (and for the last couple months), I have felt awkward about pursuing any kind of advancement, not knowing where I'd be living, having no idea how I would be contacted, but now I know that I will retain my current cell phone number, and I have a new address. Now, I can begin the task of building, and I hope that everyone else will do the same. This will be the season of passionate realism.

Ross, you should write a query letter to the mens' magazines regarding your tanning piece.
- posted by Earnest @ 1:23 PM