• rumschlumpel@feddit.org
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    11 hours ago

    I hate it when people insist that creative work isn’t “real” work. With a standard job, you do your thing for 8 or so hours and just go home. Creative work tends to be an all day, every day thing because you’re constantly thinking about it, it’s usually longer hours than a standard job because of deadlines, the non-deterministic structure of the work and the competitiveness of most creative fields and you’re probably self-employed anyway. And you often have to put in the work even when you don’t feel inspired or motivated - turning your hobby into a job is a great way to suck the fun out of it. Same way many people have fun doing handyman stuff at home, but being a professional handyman is one of those stereotypical “real jobs”.

    • Return_of_Chippy@lemmy.worldOP
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      12 hours ago

      But only creatives can choose monetize their creativity. Everybody else HAS to trade their time for money by using a learned skill and/or destroying their body. Being in a creative self employed line of work is incredibly rare and an unbelievably privileged position that one chooses. Imagine the ditch digger picking up overtime and hitting 70 hours a week to cover his bills. If he could, he would talk about politics and make millions in a heartbeat. Anyone can be a competent ditch digger, a tiny fraction of a percent can be a successful multi millionaire creative. It’s a disrespectful and out of touch statement.

      • rumschlumpel@feddit.org
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        12 hours ago

        Creativity is not innate, though, it’s mostly about being motivated to put in the work to learn it (i.e. it’s a “learned skill”) and professional creative workers very often do trade their physical health for success - it’s high stress, the market is usually very competitive which forces long hours, several creative professions do include direct physical hazards (e.g. dancing is all about physical exercise and might involve risky stuff on the stage like pyrotechnics, visual artists often have to deal with chemical fumes).

        Also, most creative workers don’t get rich and famous, they make barely enough to get by.

        • Return_of_Chippy@lemmy.worldOP
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          12 hours ago

          So anyone could have painted the Mona Lisa or written Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony if they just tried hard enough?

          • i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca
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            10 hours ago

            I actually wrote Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the bastard stole it.

            My fault, I suppose. What did I think would happen when it named it “Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony”?!

          • rumschlumpel@feddit.org
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            12 hours ago

            You don’t have to be one of the greatest painters ever to be a professional painter, or one of the greatest composers ever to be a professional composer. Same way not every business owner is a billionaire.

            Either way, even for creative geniuses, painting, composing etc. is still hard work that is often not well-rewarded in their lifetimes.

            • Return_of_Chippy@lemmy.worldOP
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              11 hours ago

              I wouldn’t dispute it’s work. I would say pursuing it is a choice and extreme point of privilege the majority do not have. So complaining about it is kind of a slap in the face to those without the ability/opportunity. Especially when that complaint at the same time diminishes the their efforts.

              • Techno-rat@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                2 hours ago

                Right, so your criticism boils down to you being jealous of his nice job and also being mad he isn’t appreciative enough about it.

                Grow up man, fucking deal with it. Sourcing and posting a whole ass meme to smear a person because you think they aren’t being thankfull enough about their job is some freak ass shit, and not in the good way.

                Please get a hobby or something, instead of sitting here, roleplaying as some sort of privilege police-force.

              • rockerface🇺🇦@lemmy.cafe
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                6 hours ago

                Maybe we should direct this energy against people who actually stand in the way of the opportunities being available to everyone. As in, billionaires and corporates. Small time artists and streamers aren’t at fault that they got lucky and the time and effort they put in is as valid as anyone’s.