Standing Ovation
Stole this post lock stock and barrell from HERE! I just stumbled upon it looking for an image of a standing ovation. Found it to be a good read. Sorry Baby Boomers....
Today, every performer and ensemble on every occasion in every venue across the country now receive a standing ovation, unless they are absolutely dreadful. What was once a tribute to high artistic merit has become a tiresome, meaningless ritual.
How did we get here? How did discerning audiences become permanent residents of Lake Wobegon where every child is above average and every artistic performance is exceptional?
I have a theory. Over the past three decades Boomer's childrearing practices and educational expectations have twisted their responses to artistic performance. Boomers are the most intrusive and indulgent parents and their children the most over-managed in American history. Why? Many Boomer parents, coaches and teachers believe their children's feelings must never be hurt. Hurt feelings, they believe, lead to low self-esteem and a lifetime of under-performance. The belief that low self-esteem leads to poor academic achievement is a fraud, and yet it persists year after year. So, instead of giving Johnny the B he deserves, his teacher gives him an A.
When Kiley gives a half-hearted performance on the soccer field, her coach gives her an encouraging pat on the back. And when Jack doesn't thank a waiter for prompt service in the diner, his parents don't correct him for thoughtless behavior. Enough is enough.
The next time you experience an enjoyable but thoroughly ordinary concert, play or ballet, applaud warmly but stay seated. Don't give in to the urge to leap to your feet like your neighbors. Together, let's flee Lake Wobegon where every artistic performance is exceptional. Like me, save your standing ovations only for superlative performances.
It may take years but eventually we will restore the original meaning of a standing ovation.
Locating MOG account...
Comments (4)
Here Here...I am giving a stand ovation to this article...oh, wait. Maybe not.
I agree with much of what the author has to say; I see people daily who have high expectations for low efforts, people who are no longer kids who have their hand out for their "due" without having earned a thing. The concept of "anything worth having is worth working for" is gone and we are not better for it.
I have a theory: 90% of child raising is telling your kids "no" but this is not fun to do. Now that most families have all adult members working, when mom and/or dad get home, the last thing they want to do is be the heavy and tell the kid "no, no, no, not now, never, pick that up, eat your spinach, go to bed, no no no NO" and so they say "yes" when they shouldn't...over and over and over. Now, in their 20's and 30's, these "kids" are still spoiled.
OK, I'm off my soap box. phew...got worked up there for a minute. sorry.
Add the mandatory encore to the list. When did that happen? Hang on - it happened when overweening narcisistic rock bands heard the sound of the crowd and went back for more. If self-involved classical musciians could stay in the dressing room, why couldn't the rock musician?? Encores were meant to be a priviege, not a right.
But knowing of the mandatory encore scored me big Dad points when I took my daughter to her first concert. When the Music God walked off she was ready to go, but I told her to wait because he would soon be back. "How do you know?" she innocently asked. She was well impressed when He came back on, but on the way home she told me she liked His record more. I could have been Boomer and wheedled that I would feel better if she took that heresy back, but instead I clipped her on the ear for being disrespectful.
yes.. the mandatory encore. Then the second, the third... what gives?
I think its more of a case of the audience just being polite. Though I go to a lot of shows where there are no seats - so - we're always standing - through the entire show!
;-)