I was awakened by the NDRRMC phone alarm that warned us of possible landslides due to category orange to red rainfall. It was kind of hard to go back to a peaceful sleep after that.
It was an inconvenience for me, who is nestled between a lake and a mountain and landslides are not much of a concern for the past 46 years. But it is a life-saving warning to those who are clinging on cliffs on the eastern board.
I’m hoping for a respite in two weeks because that’s when I plan to go on leave and go diving and camping.
The death of GenX creatives
I identify as GenX, or to be more precise, a Xennial — a sub-generation sandwiched between elder GenXers and Millennials. I lived through rotary phones, Kurt Cobain, and MySpace/Multiply.
I started life thinking I can live being a creative my entire life. I naively believed that creatives have a place in this world and somehow the world will find value in us. Yes, we don’t get paid much but at least our spirits are fed.
But this article from The New York Times (one of the reasons why I haven’t cancelled my subscription yet), hit me like a punch to the gut as it encapsulates the pain and sorrow of creatives of my generation feel.
The loss of ABS-CBN (more political in nature though) and eventual sale of its assets and the closure of an institution like Philippine Daily Inquirer (the broadsheet) are the realities we are facing now. Those two institutions were the benchmarks of local media some years ago. It was like when you were working for these two media companies, more or less you will have a job for a loooooonnnnnggg time. Everybody wanted to get into ABS and PDI.
I had classmates in college who went into ad agencies and other corporate creative work. I wonder how they are faring now…😔
I know two photographers—classmates from high school—who have been let go from their jobs in an international institution. One remained jobless until his wife died and the other lives on the gig economy.
I am one of the lucky few who still has a well-paying job (by industry standards) but even I need to pivot. I need to retrain in analytics to be relevant.
This partly answers my question whether I should stick it out and suffer my boss or jump into the abyss, into the unknown for creatives like me. Will I be exchanging my life of daily stress from my manager to daily stress of having to work at the bottom of the barrel (because I would have to start from scratch) in a corporate setting with no soul at all?
Well my work now is soulless but at least I get to use my skill and it’s something I think I’m good at.
Aside from lost income, there is the emotional toll — feelings of grief and loss — experienced by those whose careers are short-circuited. Some may say that the Gen X-ers in publishing, music, advertising and entertainment were lucky to have such jobs at all, that they stayed too long at the party. But it’s hard to leave a vocation that provided fulfillment and a sense of identity. And it isn’t easy to reinvent yourself in your 50s, especially in industries that put a premium on youth culture.
Maybe, just maybe, salvation is in the hands of Gen Z and Gen Alpha (my kids). These kids are digging through their dad’s (and my) collection of DVDs and CDs and asked if we could buy players to play these (because DVD-ROMs have been eradicated). They’re tired of the “instantness” of everything. Twin A (and the rest of her generation) bought a second-hand digital camera online while Twin I asked for her tita’s functioning but hibernated Fujifilm. They wanted go to thrift shops and dig through vinyl records. They’re asking for money so they can watch plays — live with crude setups.
Just as this new generation pushed back against the Duterte-Marcos paradigm during the last elections, these kids may find ways to destroy the poison that we GenXers and older Millennials have created to kill us slowly. With Bam and Kiko topping the senatoriables (and Heidi almost clinching the last spot), Vico kicking the butts of the established political families of Pasig at the polls, I can say the kids are doing all right.
Just as this guy on Facebook said:
Streaming is dead, according to Disney executives. And I can see why.
Every major studio stripped down all of their revenue streams in favor of streaming, trying to compete with Netflix and Hulu. They invested billions into content, software, hardware, and marketing and advertising, and it’s still not nearly as profitable as the days of big theatrical releases and home video.
When someone can pay $15/month to access the entire Disney catalog, including new release movies just weeks after they hit theaters, why would they buy a movie ticket? Why would they rent a movie on VOD, or buy a DVD? They’ve got the entire Disney catalog at their fingertips for one price.
It’s not sustainable. It’s not profitable. And in my eyes, the streaming bubble has burst. Netflix is the new Cable TV, and the movie studios need to go back to what they do best, creating great movie experiences for audiences and selling tickets and making money on individual movie releases instead of a one price for all approach.