Find Your Interstellar: Why Some Art Ages Well
The art that ages well usually has something to say. It can’t just exist as a replica of what is broadly popular.
Scarface was quite polarizing when it debuted in 1983. Some critics thought it was too gory, ridiculous, and over the top, but the film still had something to say about immigrants and the American Dream. That point of view resonated with hip-hop culture decades later.
The same point of view that makes a work unpopular can be the same thing that makes people change their minds as society and culture evolve.
1. Critiques are more about expectation than execution
A lot of the initial criticism about 808s & Heartbreak was that it was a departure from Graduation. That “Stadium Ye” sound that people wanted more of. A lot of the mixed reviews on Interstellar were people wanting it to be more like Christopher Nolan’s other movies, like Inception and The Dark Knight.
That’s a very different critique than “the writing was bad.” It’s hard for bad writing to age over time, but work that’s tied to expectations can often be reappraised over time.
2. The creator’s status grew over time.
Interstellar becomes more noteworthy after the critical and commercial success of Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Freaks & Geeks becomes more relevant after decades of popular work from Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Busy Phillips, and that crew of actors.
3. Society evolved to catch up
Some themes are simply ahead of their time. The Office was certainly popular 20 years ago, but its mockumentary style hadn’t yet become the standard for a generation of comedy.
Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope album was also popular in the late 90s, but ages even better when self-care and depression are much more common themes in society, especially for Jackson, whose career suffered a setback after the 2004 Super Bowl incident.
These are just a few themes we discussed in the episode. We also broke down:
My personal picks for favorite bodies of work that aged better over time
Which recent works have the best chance to become more valuable in 10 years?
What can creators and investors do to help make this more likely to happen to their work?
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