The concept of selling out is an
idealized version of what it means to go against your spirit, appease the
powers that be and make decisions focused on gain rather than impact and
satisfaction. That’s one possible definition except that selling out varies
from situation to situation even more so than love. By this I mean, that it’s a
malleable term that is used to refer to various things.
In music, artists who create
music to please the masses are sellouts, especially if they go against their
artistic integrity in the process. Metallica comes to mind when they cut their
hair and released Loaded, which I actually enjoyed. Saliva also comes to mind
since I remember an interview where a woman actually asked them point blank why
they sold out and there are many other examples to choose from.
In movies, there is more of the
same, as in books. In the end, the act of selling out is going against your
inner compass and doing something in search of less than noble results and more
than positive sales. Now some people might have an issue with this and I’m
sometimes on that band wagon. If you see my heroes, they’ve always done
whatever the hell they wanted. Pearl Jam, Mike Stewart, Bill Hicks, Jack
Johnson, JK Rowling all come to mind. As a band, Pearl Jam plays what they
want, where they want and play every show as if they’ll die the next day unlike
other artists who just punch the clock, I could name a couple here. Mike
Stewart is 50, still rips on a bodyboard and has always maintained his stance
that he bodyboards because it is the most functional way to ride the waves he
loves (Sidenote, he is one of the best bodysurfers in the world and will
bodysurf waves people wouldn’t take off on a board). Bill Hicks was from the
Lenny Bruce School of ideology of sticking to your beliefs and going for broke
no matter how much resistance and censorship you faced. Jack Johnson does
things his way and can’t be a nicer guy and JK Rowling insisted on her vision
until she shared her magic with the world.
Recently, I read a different type
of selling out courtesy of an article by Franchesca Guzman which really got me
thinking on the whole concept of selling out in society.
She states that education as is
sold nowadays is a means to an end that promotes bigotry, arrogance, a sense of
entitlement and is also selling out. You studied X or Y profession to get paid,
not because you love it. You work in X or Y company, because you want money,
not because you believe in what that company does and even if that goes against
your vision. This brings forth various types of selling out which I often
mention in the checklists of life (something I’ll elaborate further in another
blog). She also asked for an opinion on this because of some points she makes so
here’s my take.
Studying something for a
profession can be interpreted as selling out, true. It doesn’t make you a bad
person, it just means you are possibly lining yourself up for some misery. For
my part, I started studying Psychology and switched majors to Advertising and
Marketing. I really didn’t know what I wanted to be for the longest of time and
for a long while, I insisted on being a creative in advertising because I
thought it was what I wanted. I also needed to find a job to get money to help
out at home and at one time, pay for most of the bills. These are the types of
justifications many of us give for not pursuing a dream, and although noble to
a point, it still means I sold out, even if I perceived I didn’t have a choice.
For her part, Franchesca was self
employed and an entrepreneur for 8 years before she had to go back to study.
She feels as if this was selling out because she graduated, got a certificate
and got a job that wouldn’t impact her life. She jumped the hoops, got the
paper, got the title, got the job and everyone was appeased she put on the
sheep suit for a change.
Part of what she writes feels as
if she thinks this is what she did. The thing is that I don’t think she sold
out. True, she made have made decisions and jumped through hoops to conform,
appease and be part of the system, the motivation is what makes it not selling
out. She had a need, she adapted, she survived. Some people might want to make
a case that Metallica was also surviving… that’s cute, it’s not the same so
please don’t paint it out to be. She is also clear that she’s doing this
temporarily because although it’s a means to an end, it is not what she wants.
Again, this was done in a form of survival.
The threat in her scenario is
conformity and THAT’S the danger of selling out. If you do something to make
money exclusively, eventually it won’t be enough, people will notice and you’ll
be dead in the water. I know what I want to do, but for need to maintain
comfort, a lifestyle and to be able to provide, I endure a dayjob… Still, that
doesn’t mean I’m not taking steps towards pursuing my passion. EVERY day I take
steps towards that, including this post. Because this is what drives me, this is
what makes me who I am and this is my future in whatever way I
choose to do. Writing is part of me and as long as I’m writing, I am happy. I
have reviews on Amazon and Trip Advisor, I make music and movie reviews for fun
and I love to write objectively to recommend things. It’s another part of me
and if I have to endure a crap job to be able to do this, so be it, as long as
it is always clear what defines me.
I am not defined by my job title,
my professional degree, my salary or the company I work for… I am defined by me
and know exactly where I start, where I end and where I’m compromising… and
every day there’s a step taken to sacrifice a little less to live a little
more.
There are many more things to be
said about what she talks about. Other posts for another day. Now for the topic
at hand, selling out? I disagree with her. I’ve seen people be arrogant with
their path to the point of taking down their loved ones for the sake of a
vision… that is not being true to who you are, that’s being selfish and not
knowing how to adapt and survive.
So here’s to surviving.
Peace, love and maki rolls,
JD
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