The Wire, an HBO television series that aired between 2002 and 2008, tells differing stories of illegal drug trade and corrupt city government in tough, inner-city Baltimore. During the show's five season run, the show received consistently low ratings and failed to win even a single major TV award.
Today however, nearly six years after the show's "death", The Wire is more popular than ever. In 2013, both Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide placed the show on their list of top ten television series of all time. The Wire is yet another culprit in the online “binge watching” trend thanks to HBO Go. It's streaming numbers have been rivaled only by shows such as Game of Thrones.
Speaking of Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin published the first book in his epic series in August of 1996. Outside of mild popularity among high fantasy enthusiasts, the novel did not prove at all appealing to the mass market. That is, until 14 years later, in July of 2011, when the book hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller's List.
Now, with millions of copies sold, five Bestseller's in the series, and a TV adaptation that dominates both ratings and the Twitter-sphere, Game of Thrones has made Medieval power struggles more relevant than ever.
And speaking of the medieval! At the close of the Medieval Era, far from the Seven Kingdoms, in a land known as Italy, Galileo Galilei was making breakthrough discoveries in modern science. However, at the time, discoveries like the phases of Venus, sunspots, the military compass, and the telescope were not thought of as ground breaking. They were thought of as heresy.
It was only years later, after Galileo's death in 1642, that the breakthroughs he made were finally accepted by the ruling authorities and the general public. Today, Galileo is praised as the "Father of modern physics, astronomy, and science in general."
After it's initial creation, art leaves the hands of the artist and takes on a life of it's own. This is a life that cannot be controlled, and it doesn't always pay off immediately. It can be so easy to become discouraged when our first efforts to create do not receive the rousing response we imagined. What's comforting about the stories above though is the sobering truth they represent, that good content eventually hits it's mark.
We cannot control when or where it happens, or on what scale, or even if we'll be around to see it. The only thing we can do is continue to bravely answer the call within us telling us to create.
Stepping out in faith means stepping into the simple action, and letting God take care of the miracle.
Today however, nearly six years after the show's "death", The Wire is more popular than ever. In 2013, both Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide placed the show on their list of top ten television series of all time. The Wire is yet another culprit in the online “binge watching” trend thanks to HBO Go. It's streaming numbers have been rivaled only by shows such as Game of Thrones.
Speaking of Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin published the first book in his epic series in August of 1996. Outside of mild popularity among high fantasy enthusiasts, the novel did not prove at all appealing to the mass market. That is, until 14 years later, in July of 2011, when the book hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller's List.
Now, with millions of copies sold, five Bestseller's in the series, and a TV adaptation that dominates both ratings and the Twitter-sphere, Game of Thrones has made Medieval power struggles more relevant than ever.
And speaking of the medieval! At the close of the Medieval Era, far from the Seven Kingdoms, in a land known as Italy, Galileo Galilei was making breakthrough discoveries in modern science. However, at the time, discoveries like the phases of Venus, sunspots, the military compass, and the telescope were not thought of as ground breaking. They were thought of as heresy.
It was only years later, after Galileo's death in 1642, that the breakthroughs he made were finally accepted by the ruling authorities and the general public. Today, Galileo is praised as the "Father of modern physics, astronomy, and science in general."
After it's initial creation, art leaves the hands of the artist and takes on a life of it's own. This is a life that cannot be controlled, and it doesn't always pay off immediately. It can be so easy to become discouraged when our first efforts to create do not receive the rousing response we imagined. What's comforting about the stories above though is the sobering truth they represent, that good content eventually hits it's mark.
We cannot control when or where it happens, or on what scale, or even if we'll be around to see it. The only thing we can do is continue to bravely answer the call within us telling us to create.
Stepping out in faith means stepping into the simple action, and letting God take care of the miracle.
