The message is the medium, but when medium is imperfect, it becomes unique. It becomes yours.
At the end of 2024, I got to see Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre in London. The performance was incredible, the acting great, the music of course phenomenal. Each beat hit at just the right moment and the tight choreography led from one moment to the other in perfection.
That was, until, the final scene.
As the old Jean Valjean attempted to light two candles, the first wouldn’t catch. He spent a bit of time working on it, then turned to the next wick which lit just fine.
He turned back, still it would not light.
So he continued the scene as normal, singing as he died in bed before the triumphant finale song rang out and the audience applauded.
But over a year later I still remember that wick which wouldn’t light.
That slight imperfection, made by a musical played countless times, its own.
It made it unique.
What do I mean by uniqueness?
In the age of streaming, with everything perfectly shot and composed and edited and made just right, we no longer have that uniqueness in media. Nothing to say that yes, this is my own story.
I have a lot of books, and some of them have strange defects in them. This can be something as simple as a typo or a bit of ink, to incorrect paper sizes and damaged covers.
This isn’t a huge problem (unless it becomes completely unreadable), as it makes these books my own. Not with a name written in the cover or with my notes.
But with the book itself.
Where to look
How can we get this sense of uniqueness back? How can we get the feeling of a stage performances uniqueness across literal thousands of copies? Well, you can’t.
Or at least your shouldn’t try.
These stories are for you to find in your mediums. Not just art, but everything. Your plates having the cracks only you have. Your shelves leg not being fully supported.
You have uniqueness in your life.
You just have to find it.
Image courtesy of ‘Pexels free photos’
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