A Response to Sudhir Mishra ... Talking 'bout my Generation

This is my reaction to a tiny fragment of a loaded post by Sudhir Mishra on PassionforCinema.
I loved his post and it gave me plenty of material to chew on but the point I find interesting is the one he makes about the current generation and how "..they can live simultaneously with Ayn Rand and Bob Dylan and Fellini..these are all disparate people who actually hated one another and they had conflicting philosophies and therefore I don’t know if they have read Ayn Rand correctly"

As a somewhat close representative of the current generation(in my late 20s..does that count ?), I agree with him on the often superficial and pseudo-intellectual motives behind our pursuit of art,books, movies and music. Bur here's where I give my generation the benefit of doubt. It is often beneficial for the intellect to analyse two polar opposite thoughts and synthesize one's own opinion. Without this faculty of opinion synthesis,we tend to pass judgements based on one and only one side of the story. And we all know how far that is from fundamentalism.As Aristotle once said,"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

(Introspection moment: Am I a pseud for quoting Aristotle?)

As a personal example, I may read Chomsky and agree with his criticism of US foreign policy but have to come to terms with the fact that my job that provides disposable time and income, allowing the luxury of reading an Amazon-ordered Chomsky, is itself a result of corporate greed.

*Switch to right brain, with example more relevant to filmmaking*

Budding jazz musicians often transcribe and play recordings from the masters such as Coltrane or Monk (I had to throw some names around, didnt I? ). But over time, they may gradually develop a style of their own, which may be influenced from classic recordings in varying degrees. It may, at some point transcend "Coltrane-ness" or "Monk-ishness" and become their unique signature. At which point, enoughyears have passed by, so that another generation grows up copying this unique blend and goes on to generate another. And so the innovation torch gets passed from generation to generation. To expect this to happen rapidly, in a medium that transcends generations, is to ask too much. Time-consumimg phases of absorption, assimilation and reproduction cannot and should not be short circuited.

So yes, superficiality has always been a part of the "high culture" scene and it will always be.But it should not be used as an excuse to label an entire generation as lacking depth and originality.