Somethings Aren't Meant for Discection

I've been listening to a lot of Doctor Who podcasts recently.

Super nerdy, yes, but no surprise given your author.  So whether you're a "Whovian" or not, stay with me.

The podcast I listen to (link here if you're curious) often has the opportunity to interview many of the creative, production people that made the show.  And as I've listened to quite a few lately, I've noticed something.

The host/ interviewer will often ask questions about this show that was made 30 years or more ago that often sound like this; "when you decided to have the character do that thing, was it an intentional choice because of X?"  To which the production assistant, trying to recall 30 years back, responds with "no, we were just trying to get the thing done by the deadline."

At which point you can almost hear the host deflate just a bit.  Because they've spent years thinking that every choice was intentional or that every plot point was a planned idea.

In truth, often in "art" choices are made because we (the artists) must ship.  The product must release, the show must go on, and so compromises are made and bits are left unfinished.  

But it's funny how, if we're lucky enough to have our work still dissected and discussed many years later, those who are looking to our work for inspiration try to find meaning in everything (even where none exists).

I think that's good.  I think that comes from a place of aspiration in all us artists who wish we could be so thoughtful, so deliberate with our choices, so detailed in our work.  And I understand why we feel deflated to learn that something we thought was such a nuanced choice was really no more than a rushed "happy accident."

But I think it's important to remember the powerful lesson that the truth can teach us as well.  That for those of us who have to ship and worry about "did I get it right? was it good enough?  I wish I could have fixed X or made Y better or added Z" until those thoughts have us spiraling in self-critiques; it's okay.  Because most people won't notice the small flaws and someday, if you're lucky, some might come to see such beauty in them as to think them intentional.

But most importantly, that the art that gets remembered- the art that gets discussed for 30 more years- is ALWAYS the art that shipped.