Tick, Tick... Boom! and the Need to Have an Impact
The moral case for suffering for your art.
All of us want to believe that we'll make a difference.
We want to believe that something we do is going to matter to someone in some way. That when we exist, it's for a purpose of some kind that will make the world better. At some point someone will come to us and say thank you for what we've done. In response, there will be a feeling of completion or satisfaction or whatever we're searching for and it will make things perfect. It's the whole reason why we want to create in the first place. Otherwise what was the point? What kind of life were we working towards if it doesn't end up that way?
Artists in particular have this need within them. They are driven by the idea that what they are making will reach people on such a profound level that it will change them fundamentally. Those who watch it are going to be different people after seeing their art then they were before they saw it, or heard it, or experienced it in some way. For creative people, this is what justifies what's often a deep sense of pain and suffering they go through in order to achieve this, what they hope anyway, remarkable piece of art. Why suffer if not for the end result of getting that satisfying feeling.
Sadly, for most artists and really people in general, that day always feels like it's going to be tomorrow. No matter what they go through or what they did, the inspiration they need is just around the corner. That at some point, the spark they're all looking for will ignite a fire within them. But until then, they have to suffer. Of course, if they wanted to they could give up that pain and suffering by not doing everything they have to in order to get that spark. It would make their lives so much easier. Lessen the suffering they go through and make it somewhat bearable. But they don't, because in their minds doing so would reduce the chances of achieving that spark.
Tick, Tick... Boom! is all about going through that suffering in the hopes that what comes of it will create that impact. Jonathan Larsen, as played by Andrew Garfield, had to live with a lot of pain in his life to achieve the impact he did. And he wrote down the circumstances which brought him to that point. To express the suffering of his life in a profound and moving way. Something that pretty much any artist would understand. Because they've been through it too.
They've felt the long, endless seconds ticking away as they wait for that moment of inspiration. A moment of pure joy which will allow them to share it with the world. And for everyone else to thank them for creating it. But for many that second part never really comes. They never reach that moment where people express their gratitude for the suffering they've endured.
Or at least they don't live to see it.
Learn to find a way to understand that need for a greater impact by checking out Tick, Tick... Boom! as as soon as you can on Netflix.