JUDGED!!

Lately I look upon the work of an artist with a different eye. An artist being the work of a: painter, actor, musician, dancer, or, of course, writer.

I often find myself making rash judgments:

I hate that song.
He/she can't sing.
I hate the words to 'such and such' song.
I hate that actor.
He/she can't act!
That movie sucked!
That TV show is . . . stupid, boring, dumb, etc.
That book is so slow, dull, silly, etc.
He/she can't dance.

You get the idea.When it comes to our entertainment, we all have the right to pass immediate judgement. After all, it's a matter of opinion. The arts are so very subjective.

But now that I'm a published writer, I look upon this so very differently. I find myself looking at an artist and wondering what that person went through to get to where they are. How long did it take them? How many times were they told NO? How many times have they experienced rejection? I find myself thinking about their tireless efforts to get to where they are now. I think about their dreams, their hopes, their desires and wishes.

It doesn't  mean I'll love everyone and everything I see, watch, listen to, and read. It just means it makes me think: someone put their heart and soul into this endeavor.

And I look at them differently now.

An interesting tidbit:

After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, read, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.

Oops!

Just something to think about.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net