Essential Uselessness

The arts aren’t appreciated. It is a fact that I accept through clenched teeth and dead eyes. In a recession, double-dip or otherwise, the first thing to be executed is culture. No one has time to go to an art gallery when there is overtime to work; why take your child to the museum when they can earn money up the chimneys etc, etc etc. I understand that the health service, the public sector and education come first over libraries and such, but has anyone who makes these decisions actually thought how important the arts are?

One of the main reasons that people have no time for the arts is its terminology. The phrase ‘the arts’ is horrible. It conjures images of berets and thin people and stark lighting. ‘The arts’ covers a number of things. Libraries, museums, art, music, theatre, comedy, videogames, cinema, TV, magazines, dance, radio and design are the main ones. If you say that you don’t subscribe to at least one of them, you are frankly either a liar or so dull that you don’t deserve an opinion. It is culture, and a country without culture is a country in trouble.

How do you relax? Do you do two hours of cardio and sleep? That’s fine. But, if you’re reading this, you probably don’t. You probably watch TV or go for a pint. You relish a night in with a box-set that you bought for a steal on Amazon. You curl up with a glossy magazine and a cup of tea after a day from Hell. You spend your Sunday in bed with a book that you have been telling yourself for the past three years that you’ll read. And it is bliss. It is unadulterated loveliness. The time you spend enjoying yourself is never wasted. Leisure time is the most treasured time that you can spare, and doing things that make you happy is the only way in which it should be spent. However, I’m quite sure that to whatever you subscribe to, a few other people are responsible for creating it.

I am sick to the back teeth of hearing that Bachelor of Arts degrees are wasteful. I am drawn dangerously close to vomiting when I hear people comment on how working in TV or media or other cultural services isn’t beneficial to anyone. If these so-called ‘slackers’ did not do the jobs that they did, you would have no idea of world events, or how to get the most out of your iPhone or what the funniest program on television was. These things matter. A common misquotation of Winston Churchill is that when asked to cut arts funding during World War Two, he replied ‘then, what are we fighting for?’ He may or may not have said that. But it still goes to highlight that these things are important.

The arts are an escape, an entertainment, a service to boredom. By saying that these are worthless – by saying that the Advisory Council for Libraries is quantifiably less than the Review Board of Government Contracts – is offensive not only to those people who work within the sector, but also to those who rely on these services as a form of recreation. Next time you go to the cinema or an art gallery or pick up a book, remember that someone worked on it against the pressures of those who think making people happy is a waste of time. Being a writer or a producer or a musician or a film projectionist is not a drain on the country if it makes people happy.