By now there is no secret that Covid-19 abruptly changed out lives. Covid-19 is responsible for the loss of our loved ones, professors and students leaving their beloved classrooms behind and transitioning to online learning, parents having to readjust their schedule to accommodate having their kids home all day, and people loosing their jobs.
I think it is fair to stay that Covid-19 swept many of us by storm and destroyed our lives. It still feels weird to acknowledge the damages Covid-19 has caused.
Does anyone else find it weird that society is acting like Covid-19 is over?
The Entertainment Industry: Pre Pandemic
In the entertainment industry, there are two types of people: the artist who have made it and live a lavish lifestyle and the artist who tremendously struggle to make ends meet. For many artist, they fall under the artist who struggles to make ends meet.
Knowing that many artist struggle on a daily basis and for most of their career is a hard pill to sallow.
Joe Wilson Jr, an assistant professor and artist- in residence of Theatre and Dance at Wheaton College, once told his Beginning Acting students a small anecdote about his acting career. Wilson told his students that he was “once dirt poor that we couldn’t afford to ride the subway, so always walked to auditions”.
In Death By An Artist by William Deresiewicz, Deresiewicz focuses on the ways art is changing (who is considered an artist), the necessity for connections when working in the industry, and gives several anecdotes on how most of his friends who identify as artist have to choose between eating and work.
The Current Climate: In The Mist of it all
When Covid- 19 first hit the states, I did not think it was a big deal. The weight and seriousness of Covid-19 did not register to me until my school, Wheaton College sent out an email stating due to the increase in Covid-19 across the country and state, we need to evacuate our dorms as soon as possible.
That email changed my life forever.
After leaving my campus life behind, I began to vigorously search for Film & New Media jobs. I was determined to land an internship. Despite my eagerness to land a job in my field, I had to realize that the rest of the world was adjusting to life during a pandemic. Truthfully speaking, I was scared for the future of my professional and academic career because so many things were placed on hold.
My older cousin, Samantha, was a personal assistant to La-La Anthony for eight years and when the pandemic hit, my cousin was left with nothing due to the lack of work. Unfortunately, my cousin’s story is relatable too many.
With people forced to stay home, people heavily relied on streaming services for entertainment. In 2020, global revenue for theatrical and mobile entertainment marked totaled $80.8 billion, which is one of the lowest figures since 2016. Although in-person entertainment took a major hit, digital media and entertainment increased by 31% and now over 1.1 billion people are subscribed to some form of streaming services.
Did anyone else’s heart drop when they realized that they maybe a part of the 31% who has given money to a streaming service during the pandemic?
The Comeback: Broadway
One department of the entertainment industry that took a major hit from the pandemic was broadway. Now that cases are somewhat declining, jobs are resuming back to in-person, events are reaching full capacity again, and broadway is making their way up the economic and social ladder again.
In general Broadway shows have always served as a connector for friends, family, and co-workers. To get back on their feet, Broadway has opened its doors to the public but with a few Covid-19 restrictions. In New York, Broadway shows require audience members , backstage crew, and theatre staff, for all performances to be fully vaccinated and wear mask at all times, expect if you are actively eating or drinking. In my personal opinion having Covid-19 polices in place in efforts to gain some form of normalcy founds like a fair exchange.
Conclusion
How many of you identify as an artist? Identifying as an artist can be hard because there’s no middle man. It’s either you’re a struggling artist or a well-known artist. For the first time ever, artist from both categories fell into the same box due to the lack of work. Aside from the chaos mental, physical, and economic struggled the pandemic has caused, one aspect that is often left out of conversation is how covid impacted social capital and connections. Now of course, zoom and other video call platforms is the quick fix but there’s beauty in connecting with people in person.
Journalism 2.0 