The US's First Modern School Shooting Was In Carrie
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Can movies predict the future? Can art in general? Kurt Vonnegut thinks so, even coining the 'canary in the coal mine theory of the arts' to describe it. I believe Carrie is one of the best examples of this theory, predicting the modern US school shooting epidemic decades before it actually happened.
Movies Under The Surface is a series of video essays that explores what makes great films great. The videos are about understanding movies at a deeper level, beneath plot and story, at their heart.
For educational purposes only.
Footage from:
Carrie (1976), Dir. Brian De Palma
Network (1976), Dir. Sidney Lumet
M (1931), Dir. Fritz Lang
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1997-2002), Cre. Lynn Lehmann
Titanic (1997), Dir. James Cameron
Stephen King on Media and Violence - Interview with Anthony Mason (2013)
The Dead Zone (1983), Dir. David Croenberg
Music from:
Carrie Soundtrack - Pino Donaggio
I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me - Katie Irving
King based Carrie's character on two girls he knew in school: two ostracized outcasts bullied; King said in interviews that one of the girls committed suicide.
Yeah, he talks about this in his book "On Writing". The whole book is an amazing read, but this part was especially.
And the other one of the girls (who died of an epileptic seizure) had a mother who was a deranged religious fanatic.
Yes. The 70s movie is such a masterpiece and I think it does justice to King's writing as well.
I agree!
Another brilliant analysis! Funny story about how I first watched this movie, this was about 10 years ago when I was 13, and I was flipping through my Foxtel (Australian cable tv) in the mood to watch a light hearted family type film and on one of the movie channels I saw Carrie and I read the synopsis and all it said was "A bullied highschool girl gets her revenge" and thought sweeet this will be full of fun silly 70's highschool shennanigans! So I settle down and watch the movie and as it progresses I'm like damn these bullies suck, and the shower scene with the tampons happened and her mum was really weird but i was still naively thinking okay so this is a tad messed up but OH LOOK the popular guy asked her out this is getting cute! And *THEN* ..... the bucket of pigs blood got tipped on her head.... and holy shit when sissy spacek looks up and starts fucking murdering everyone in the room my jaw dropped to the floor and I pretty much shat my intestines out, and I was so shocked and taken by surprise I just sat there and watched the rest of the movie in absolute horror. As soon as it finished I furiously googled the movie because I was so damn confused about the entire experience and then as soon as I read it was Stephen King it all made sense. It COMPLETELY mindfucked me at the time, but looking back I am actually glad I accidentally had the experience of watching Carrie with absolutely zero prior knowledge of it, because when the massacre began it shook me to my core and essentially maximized the horror of the experience.
TL;DR Foxtel in 2008 omitted the part of the synopsis of Carrie where it was a HORROR FILM and as a result my 13 year old self almost had an anal prolapse when Carrie started murdering everyone
lol, this is amazing. I had a similar experience with Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? The DVD cover said the film was a comedy so I watched it before going out one night, expecting it to put me in a good mood. It didn't.
Movies Under The Surface Hahaha oh god I'm picturing it that defs would have killed your vibe XD I keep gushing on all your vids but MAN you are criminally underrated, you will probably see me pop up again and again on other vids repeating this but I just can't help but admire your work and the effort you put into each analysis!
thanks so much! I'll look for your comments and I appreciate it!
I’ve actually compared Carrie to School Shootings and how Carrie is a perfect representation of kids snapping when bullied eventually and then they target their bullies
A great video essay should always bring something new to the analisys of a piece of media, just like this video. Very well done.
thanks! this is definitely the most different video I've done so far, so its good to hear that it works as well as the others
"Similar to shootings, the only difference being that there aren't any guns."
Actually there's a MAJOR difference: school-shootings are premeditated beforehand.
Carrie's massacre wasn't premeditated; it was an impulsive outlash of extreme emotion in the heat of the moment of a traumatic heartbreaking experience.
That is true, as someone else pointed out in another comment. Another difference you could point out is that (as far as I'm aware) no school shootings have been perpetrated by girls, and Carrie is a girl.
My statement "Similar to shootings, the only difference being that there aren't any guns" was referring specifically to the massacre itself, not who caused it. Perhaps I should've made that more clear.
Also, I mention the difference you cite at 3:30
@@MoviesUnderTheSurface I just don't think the title - saying Carrie is a school shooter- is fair.
@@MoviesUnderTheSurface actually, there was a female 16 yo, school shooter named Brenda Spencer, who shot an Elementary school back in 1979, 2 decades before Columbine. She only killed 2 adults, yet still shocked the nation. Her reason? "I don't like Mondays". (Side note: she was also suffering from mental illness. But back in the 70s, those issues were taboo. Even her father didn't want her to go thru therapy or such. She asked for a radio, but her father bought her a gun instead. She thought he wanted her dead. Instead of suicide, she committed homicide.) The Boomtown Rats made a song of that same name within the same year. It was basically the "Pumped Up Kicks" of 1979. Some people have compared her to Carrie, only in terms of looks.
@@anaidhd I remember hearing about her. So I guess she makes one?
@@MoviesUnderTheSurface yes. She is, pretty much. Based off behavior/character, tho, Carrie & Brenda are totally different.
Carrie 1976 was the best addaption
definitely, and by far in my opinion
This is really interesting. It makes me wonder what else art will predict next..
me too! Its so hard to tell, but you can definitely feel it in some works and not others. The best thing to do is to look at the artists who've done it in the past
@Go Jojo We now wear the masks that the hand maids wore. Blessed be Fauci. Blessed be “the science”.
This is a great video. I would like to see your thoughts about Black Swan.
I loved Black Swan. I'll add it to my list of videos to make!
Well I think you're completely off on this one. Carrie didn't want revenge at all, she did however want the tormenting to stop but her anguish grew to the point where she could no longer control the gift. She did not want to hurt any of her tormentors but we've all had moments when we've snapped and this was Carrie's moment of losing self control. The movie does not depict somebody sitting there planning out there revenge and pre writing their anarchist manifesto or racial warrior manifesto, its simply a girl went was finally humiliated so bad she stepped out of her own mind and the negative spirits she had manifested over the years took over
You bring up a good point. As I said, its not a perfect premonition, but I still think it is a premonition nonetheless
@@MoviesUnderTheSurface do forgive me if I'm wrong but your voice gave me the impression of somebody young? I don't mean insult I only mean to present you with a back drop for the time period where Vietnam had just ended and the news of MK-Ultra was like the sound of shattering glass on a dead still night which people only spoke about in whispers because the idea of it terrified us, as it still does now. The idea of Genetically Modified and Psychically Enhanced Super-Soldiers was gripping, it was Satanic and the Church was in an uproar lobbying Politicians. Senate Hearings were happening and the 'Satanic Panic' was hitting top gear and movie producers were cashing in on our fears big time. Carrie was only one of the front row of an onslaught of this specific type of the Horror genre, culminating around 'Firestarter' in 1984 but could be argued the specific genre didn't die but rather crossed over from Horror to Mainstream Movies. I hope this helps and do forgive me if I am wrong and you are not that young
I am young compared to what you are discussing, but I also am familiar with a lot of it. Carrie can be about everything you are discussing and also be a premonition into the future, it doesn't have to be one or the other. As I say in my video, I was discussing the power behind the film and what made it impactful. And in this case, odd as it may seem, the power and impact from the film may be different than what the film is actually about.
In the book, she definitely went from tortured kind girl to sadist, actively wanting to see them suffer
@@CourtneyHammett Yes the book reveals she was planning to kill them all along
It's so sad when random people pay the price for what the real bullies do. Everybody's guilty. Great video 👍👍
I haven´t seen this film for ages but I remember that Sue survived and yet she was haunted by the memory what happened. The sensitive artist survives to remind people that the massacres can be stopped.
to remind people or to continue to be ignored?
Carrie was a warning, a morality tale about the consequences of bullying and treating others in our society as objects of torment.
I'm in no way defending school shooters but what do people think is going to happen when a person is tormented for so long and in such a consistent way? They are going to have one of two reactions, harm to themselves or harm to others.
When I watched the MFOL kids railing against the school shooting at Parkland, I had to ask myself, "how many of you either ignored that kid or actively bullied him?" No thats in no way a justification for shooting up a school but it is a cause.
I've seen kids who grew up popular in loving homes act with such disgust towards kids who didn't and situations like Parkland can often be the result of that.
How we treat others will most often come back on us. As they say "karma's a bitch."
4:53 fun fact, she stabbed her mother like that because that’s how the Jesus statue in the “discipline closet” is.
It's actually St. Sebastian
Dude, this is a great movie review! congratulations
thanks! I appreciate it!
Woah that titanic book prediction is creepy
I know, right? I was toying with this idea, having Network and M as examples, but wanting one more. Then I learned about that book and it was perfect, it was at that point that I made this video
That was written by a man extremely familiar with trends in ocean liners and transatlantic travel. The Wreck of the Titan wasn’t even called that when it was first published, it was just called Futility. It wasn’t until after the disaster in 1912 happened that the title was changed, to capitalize on the public’s interest in the disaster.
This is such an interesting and freakily real idea, I wonder what’s out there right now that has predicted what is to come already
its hard to know. Best way is to look at people who'v successfully predicted things in the past, and what they are predicting now
It's also a lesson about be careful who you hang out with and call friends,the teacher didn't believe sue because she knew sue we're friends with the bullies ,she knew who sue hung out with so it was hard for the teacher to give sue the benefit of the doubt.basically she didn't believe sue and thought sue was up to no good due to her close connection to the bullies , especially her close connection to the ring leader Chris. because of this Sue's warning to the teacher backfired,a backfire that led to a massacre and a backfire that led to sue being traumatized with constant nightmares and regret.
Like my mother said: "No good deed goes left unpunished". TRUTH.
*theyre all gonna laugh at you*
now that "The Glory" (a Korean drama on Netflix) gained popularity, I really need you to redo this video. except this time also comparing the cultures, eras and how the main character does revenge. similarities and differences. for those who don't know, The Glory is a story of a woman who seeks revenge on her bullies
This is an interesting study of Carrie and our idea of what a school shooter is. However, this stereotype doesn't really hold water when you look at the data on shooters - the Columbine shooters were actually bullies rather than the bullied. Nikolaus Cruz, Adam Lanza, Cho Seugn hui - they were loners, but they don't actually appear to be bullied according to people who went to school with them.
Dude, I love your stuff. I'm so honored to hear your perspective. For me, it's like listening to a part of myself that I didn't realize was speaking. This video is a perfect example. Listening to the artist within more so I think would have lead me to both the conclusion you made in this video about Carrie as well as about listening to artists and the artist within yourself.
thanks! such a great thing to hear! I appreciate it a lot!
Life imitating art gives me chills. Like how Tangled predicted the Coronavirus years before it occurred.
Great analysis!
But omg, isn't it wild how in the book, her killing her mom was an intimate mercy killing, but it's brutal in the movie?
When Brian DePalma learned how the killing was in the book, he was like: "that's not cinematic at all!" And so it was changed for the movie.
I think that was a smart move.
@@MoviesUnderTheSurface I suppose! The Christ symbolism is beautiful, but so was the intimacy of her mom wailing a prayer and Carrie stopping her heart gradually.
I think it could've been made cinematic, but the director did a beautiful job.
This was really great. Despite the fact that this movie scared me for a couple of years! Lol! I totally understand your points and view, great video!
thanks! I appreciate it a lot!
There’s an important point that, to me, invalidates this analysis of Carrie. Carrie would never have walked into the school on an ordinary day and started killing the kids and teachers at the school. Here she is in a moment of being actively attacked, and snaps. To my knowledge, no school shooting has happened this way: with the shooter having carried a gun into a setting without any intention of using it, but then something like this being done to them, in those moments, and in that moment pulling out the gun and starting to shoot. All school shootings I’m aware of have been premeditated. Carrie’s actions weren’t. And indeed carrying a gun along would necessarily be premeditated, whereas Carrie, ahem, carrying the power with her was something she couldn’t help.
I agree, and I mention this at 3:32. As I say, Carrie isn't a perfect premonition, but I believe it is a premonition nonetheless
Great thoughts. I enjoyed this . 👍
thanks!
Brilliant video essay. ❤️👏👏👏👏
Thanks so much! Glad you liked it
this was a great video & analysis, but i think your closing statement was a little much lol.
other that that tho, good work my friend 👍🏻
hope you're right! and thanks for your compliment!
The parallels are definitely there. A high school student that is ruthlessly bullied, and when finally reaches the breaking point, lashes out in a state of pure rage and hate, and commits mass murder.
If this was the case school shooters would be marginalised people like trans people, and queer people but a lot of them are racist bigots with a history of bullying and abuse
"Rage" was also the name of the sequel, Carrie 2.. released just a couple months before the Columbine Massacre. * *shivers* *
Nice review and very interesting concept. This was a creepy movie that it still haunts me to this day. I thought the book was a lot scarier know how Carrie inside had killer instincts and the mother was much more disturbing. I doubt the writers had in mind the school shooting since that was way ahead of it’s time. But yeah your video was an interesting concept. You know I just made a video about Carrie and I don’t know if you would be interested to check it out and see what you think?
I watched your video. You do a lot of pointing out what the films are doing, then at the end, you say what the message is. I would structure your videos in reverse. Say what the message is up front, then point out what the film is doing in support of what you say the message is. This way, the video will feel less "all over the place", covering every aspect but unclear in where it is going. It'll give your videos more of a through line the audience can follow, making it easier for the audience to connect the dots and it will also help you condense your video as well.
Just my thoughts.
You are so smart! Keep making videos like this. I've always wondered about the Canary and Coal Mine phenomenon, but I thought I was just crazy. Although I disagree with what you said about Carrie not having issues since the beginning, and that school shooters almost always have had past issues. I think, while it wasn't directly her fault, her strict, religious household and upbringing can be a definite red flag to her anger and inability to properly cope with the bullying at school. You can see this play out in other mass shootings, where the shooter had some sort of 'righteous' motivation or influence over his actions. Or religious fanatics who believe they are doing the will of God by killing heathens. I never read the book, so I don't know if King mentions Carrie being religious personally, but psychology does recognise strict, religious households as a type of child abuse, where the child develops a form of PTSD (A form of helicopter parenting). Check out this informative short from Psych2Go: ua-cam.com/video/sZH-1YTCvHA/v-deo.html
thanks for your reply! you are probably right. I was probably over-simplifying things there, thanks for pointing it out!
I mean, not trying to say you're wrong. Just that maybe it was downplayed a bit. But otherwise I really enjoyed your analysis! The way you frame things is actually really poetic in a way :) keep it up
yeah I was re watching this in theaters a few years ago and I thinking the ending had real Columbine vibes.
Just saw it for the first time. Definitely thought of school shootings during the massacre scene.
Wow, your channel is amazing! I really apreciate your insight. It is fantastic to be able to receive a new perspective on things, I found it really refreshing and inspiring. Thank you so much! I'm subrcribing right now!
btw Your channel should be WAY more popular.
thanks! the channel is getting there, which is exciting!
@@MoviesUnderTheSurface I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you! :)
It's his best adaption
Thanks so much for posting this. It is true, I think. 56-y/o here. S. King said one girl he based it on shot herself ("killed herself like a man," they said), was relentlessly bullied, & had a big crucifix on her wall at home. He likely saw it all years b4 we did, but we didn't listen. Thanks again! :-)
youre welcome! glad you enjoyed my video!
3:05 was like a bassdrop
what do you mean?
Imagine your face when the bassdrops
That's how my face looked when you read Kurt Vonnegut's definition of the canary in the coal mine
shits dope
awesome, thanks!
Is it really that deep? I doubt any Carrie fan would realize there is a connection between the movie and school shootings, tbh.
I think so. One of the reasons I make these videos is to point out things that even fans of the films may not see.
Wow just....Wow
thanks!
Carrie does have some similarities to Dylan Klebold from Columbine.
It's a myth that they were bullied tho?
Another example (of that theory), I think, is OFM & Tinashe's song "Artificial People" (2011). Mainly the chorus. It sounds like your usual, typical early 2010s sound, but what hooked me in was the lyrics. Simple as it is, there so much meaning. In terms of movies, since you're a movie channel, not a music one, there's Electric Dreams (1984). Did I mention AIs? Robots doing/taking over the jobs? As much as technology is great, it's understandable why some people are afraid/scared of it.
Only time will tell if machines taking over is another example of the canary and the coal mine theory of the arts. I hope it isn't, that's for sure!
@@MoviesUnderTheSurface yeah. Let's just hope. The initial use of technology, after all, is supposed to be beneficial & helpful. I remember the inventor of cellphones saying that his invention should be your slave, not vice versa.
Predictive programming
I really like your analysis. Suscribed :)
thanks!
Nice tasteful video title you got here
thanks?
I was bullied in school because I was trans, and naturally very feminine long before I grew up, and underwent gender reassignment surgery. By the time I got to high school I snapped, too. I ran a guy down with my car; tased one guy with a high voltage taser, then beat him until he had broken ribs with a base ball bat; then I pinned a snotty cheerleader down and shaved her head, and smeared poop in her face that I had saved in a zip lock bag. I got expelled, and almost went to jail, but I didn't care at that point; and of course they claimed I behaved that way because I'm transgender, and have a 'mental disorder' never mind the daily bullying, and name calling I under went. These aggressors hit you with a one, two punch maneuver; first they push, bully, and provoke you; then they invalidate your anguish in some way, like saying you just have a mental disorder.
damn. hope you are doing better now.
You smeared poop on someone? wtf.
OMGGGG! I always thought that!!
:)
I’ve always asked myself how would the blood have not started to dry being in the bucket for so long. Would it not start to harden after only a couple hours?
Amazing analysis.
thanks!
Excellent theory, couldn't agree more
thanks!
i love the way you see things
thanks!
If you've ever read Farenheit 451, it has a terrifying resemblance to the sheltered, constantly observed sheep of our society.
I agree. Especially the wall TVs and the interactive nature of the shows.
So sorry to be mean Carrie is not a play it’s a musical so sorry to be mean
Richard Bachmann or Steven King wrote about school shootings in 1975.
I mention that in my video!
This is phenomonal. Proud to subscribe. Do you have Patreon?
I do! Just started it a month or so ago. Here's the link: www.patreon.com/moviesunderthesurface
"The suspected Uvalde, Texas school shooter, Salvador Ramos, had been bullied for wearing black eyeliner and having a stutter, according to friends."
High school kids can be very cruel to the DIFFERENT ones . I am reminded of the early Stephen King movie " Carrie " . This disturbed girl got revenge on the whole town .
[ "Carrie was the odd one at school; the one whose reflexes were always off in games, whose clothes never really fit, who never got the point of a joke, the brunt of teenaged cruelties that puzzled her as much as they wounded her.
Source: Publisher " ]
Correlation does not equal causation. And there's not even a correlation here. Carrie attacked her bullies while they were bullying her in what was the greatest humiliation and most dehumanizing experience she'd had in her life. That shooter was an 18 year old who picked out an elementary school to carry out his preplanned rampage and murdered 19 children and two teachers in cold blood and injured numerous others. Was he attacking his bullies? No. He was attacking children who had more fingers than they did years on this Earth. There's no comparison at all. Being bullied is not a license to commit evil. Please don't make excuses for violent people who calculatingly target the most innocent people they can find so their crime will have the biggest impact. Crimes like these aren't about revenge for being bullied or abused, they're about power and control and narcissism. People like this shooter are parasitic, not sympathetic.
Well hello I gave you a like I understand being bullied especially in like a well town like uvalday it must be bad I myself would be intimateded I was born in Victoria Texas but moved 4 hours away south when I was 1 years old my real names Analisa and I remember when me and my mom where always arguing she tired me the kids at my school no help or my great grandma and my great grandma took me and my mom to walmart in uvalday and I was in the car widows down singing and this chubby girl slam's a shopping cart into the other's I noticed her a she of course noticed me and my singing to Amy Lee a song called even in death and I knew nothing good was going to come from her so I stopped singing and she shouted at me I'll make you cry h** and she laughed with I guess her mom she looked like a middle school maybe jr high student but all I know is I'm so happy I don't have to worry about school anymore I graduated in 2022 and quiet frankly it was just like karma for anyone who's ever felt something like the way I do or ever did because I am not the only one who got bullied and no I didn't have a silver spoon in my mouth but I rather over a plastic one or I rather not have non like now but I'm proud to say my birthday is in 2 days August 1st which is the day everyone gets paid and for a birthday present for myself I was thinking about going to see that new Insidious movie the red door I would pay for it with my car wreck money even if it means I have to sit alone because my grandma is well not into that stuff and will tell me things like I'm going to tell your social worker on how your acting or something like that like I'm going to be a full blown adult and she still tries to treat me like a baby my dream is to adopt 2 children one boy on girl twins but I'm always so alone isolated wish I could just talk to someone my own age or that isn't going to let it slip out there ear that why I'm here and to just have a decent good life but you know what I like to say speaking for myself I guess I didn't prepare for the world but I have to prepare for death when it comes
@@nadine6948 I too was bullied in school, and I read Carrie back then and fantasized about having her powers and using them on the kids that made me hate myself…but mass shootings aren’t about revenge for being bullied. If they were, then you’d see plenty of girls committing them too. But it’s almost always boys that shoot up a school, and sometimes grown men. They’re not getting revenge on their bullies. They’re out-bullying all of their bullies. They’re making themselves feel powerful and important by making everyone terrified as they shoot people randomly. Is that fair? Is it just? No. It’s an attempt to seize power on the part of someone who feels powerless, who confuses having power over their own selves and their own lives with having power over others and the power to arbitrarily decide who lives or dies. And that’s every bit as pathetic and monstrous as the bullies themselves. Real revenge is in showing your bullies how small and mean and insignificant they are and how wrong they were about you. Do something, anything, worthwhile, and you have your revenge. The goal can never be to sink lower than your bullies but to aim higher than they’ve ever dreamed. Being honest, having integrity, having empathy and compassion and caring about how you make another person feel, and wanting to make the world a better place are all things that make you a giant next to your bullies. If you’re planning to raise kids, please teach them that a person’s character is measured by how well they treat someone less powerful and/or less fortunate than them when no one’s looking. And to never waste a minute of their lives trying to prove their worth to anyone who’s already decided they don’t matter. ;)
@@mkreeder Um notice I didn't speak about any shooter and it's not right what they do and it took my mom to leave the house for me to realize that I'm not weak and karma is a well you know and speaking for myself again I don't control it I didn't even know I was capable of such because my mom would put me down like lots of others but my karma isn't weak and those people should be counting there lucky stars they don't get anything like my mom for example she paid thousands for my graduation party and couldn't make it not even to my graduation last year she went to jail and that's what she gets for envying me hurting me messing up everything leaving me alone with my grandma talking all kinds of bad to me spreading romers about me to the kids at school or there parents telling nonsense to the cops about me manipulating me giving me additude saying gross things trying to convince kids she thought she knew so she said that she wants them to kick my a** and if I wasn't her daughter she would of already beat the s*** out of me taking my money I knew was for me and leaving me with only 20 or 10 or none once a month messing up my big brother little sister she put so much waight on me that I could help but to say whatever and take out my emotions to people on UA-cam just randomly keped me up at night with her nonsense or moaning when I told her I can't sleep with her I felt weird that or she will just wake me up and go to my room even on school nights ruined my perfect attendince by pulling me out of school like 3 or 4 times out the week after lunch I could of failed but I didn't and like one person in the comments one told me I doubt your going to graduate I knew he was just a head lie and no one better not doubt me like that ever again because those are the people that never know what others go through I have illnesses like (anxiety) (moderate depression) (ADD) (intrusive thoughts) I think (PTSD) and of course (schizophrenia) I go through sleep paralysis I try to stay calm I see stars in my dreams and exploding one's to I have rare dreams called pain dreams like a fire work desaster I saw the👿 in my dreams didn't think I remember like last week did talk had a resting sad face no tail no horn's as the light begin to fade his eyes turned red like lazrs and that was all did feel anything not even fear I felt something cold like ice I refuse do anything I can't I remember my grandma praying in her book of saints and then I take a look at virgin mary and I don't remember if I thought she was well all I remember was I keeped looking or landing on her picture everytime and then I do it again and I got scared I remember I was 3 years and my heart felt like I dropped a little like what did I do how was I supposed to know I can't remember
@@nadine6948 I’m very sorry you’ve had to go through so much in your young life, and I’m deeply sorry for what you’ve been through with your mom. My mom was a living nightmare too, and I struggle with many of the conditions you listed. I wish I could tell you that life suddenly gets easy and awesome, but I can tell you that it gets easier and better the more you learn what healthy relationships look like and what toxic or abusive relationships look like. When your family distorts your view of yourself and the world, it’s a bit of a lifelong challenge to trust your own intuition when it tells you something’s wrong or even when something’s right. But know that healthy relationships start with healthy boundaries and your right to assert your needs, wants, thoughts, feelings, etc. You always have a right to be upset with someone, their behavior, their treatment of you, and the right to discuss it with them. Toxic people have a host of ways of subtly manipulating you into being silent or of eradicating healthy boundaries, and it’s really important to study those tactics so you come to easily spot them when someone’s using them on you. Even when you can’t stop someone from behaving this way, you can save your sanity and a lot of hurt by recognizing these tactics, and seeing them for what they are takes away a lot of their effectiveness. Have you read Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman? That book’s a life-changer. It’s about 30+ years old, yet it’s still so far ahead of society’s current understanding of trauma, PTSD, and abuse. I highly recommend it. ;)
omg this idea that artists are more in tune with society's trends is RIDICULOUS. Artists see the world and storytellers create stories on what they see around them. That's it. They observe and gather and produce. People that aren't artists don't get paid to do this but they do it. Instead of producing stories, they might talk to their friends about it. This idea that artists have a sensibility that other don't is ridiculous and honestly, it creates a distance between people and the arts. We reserve art for the artists when art is just part of human nature.
I don't think it's meant in an elitist way, but rather in consideration of what goes into making an artist in the first place. If you read Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational, he explains in the introduction how, at age 18, he suffered a horrific accident with 3rd degree burns on 70% of his body, and the 3 years he spent in recovery "without the ability to participate in the same daily activities as my friends and family, I felt partially separated from society and as a consequence started to observe the very activities that were once my daily routine as if I were an outsider. As if I had come from a different culture (or planet)..." From this experience he developed "an unusual way of looking at the world." This is a succinct account of how you make a person an outsider even if they'd previously fit in just fine.
Artists tend to grow up as outsiders already (although not always), whether from class, racial, or lgbtq differences, physical, mental, emotional, or developmental differences, or from abuse, bullying, or loss and grief, or any combination of these or other circumstances. Trauma very much separates you from others, and when you place trauma on top of whatever differences already set you apart, mix them together, whip, stir, and bake at 350*, you get an artist, or an outlier if you like that term better. We're attuned to things that less problem-filled people aren't, we're more sensitive and vulnerable, more in touch with our and other people's emotions (some of us more than others), we think a lot about things and we think differently than others do. We tend to be systems thinkers, which is what helps us connect a lot of dots and see relationships between seemingly disparate things, which is what leads to seeing danger others don't see and later being dubbed "psychic" for predicting something no one appeared to see coming.
In reality it's not just artists in the strictest sense but outliers, system thinkers, neuro-divergents, trauma-filled folks, who often gravitate toward the arts pretty much for survival. So coming back to your point, we don't all see the same world in the same way. And artists don't just gather and produce; we explore and create and discover and nurture. It's a pretty measurable thing: how many times a day do your thoughts begin with "What if..."? Artists don't just pour their imagination into their work; they use is all the time even when looking at ordinary objects they see every day. We're problem-solvers and innovators, inventors and explorers.
Stephen King is a fiction writer who mostly writes horror, but what makes his work so bloody compelling (albeit problematic) is his ability to be inside his characters' heads and explore their inner worlds. He doesn't simply observe the people around him, gather information, and produce a story; he thinks about what motivates people to do what they do or feel and think like they do, especially terrible, villainous people. He uses his writing to comprehend how people can be sometimes monstrous or so supremely selfish they don't even seem human, and he explores what it feels like to be them. From escaped elderly Nazis to baby-murdering toddlers to gay-hating violent teenagers, he has to learn to see the world through their eyes and bring that inner world to life on the page. How much time does the average person spend trying to understand someone incomprehensible to them? Twitter comments strongly suggest the answer is "not much..."
Ultimately artists are mindful of aspects of our humanity most people never think about, because it's what goes into an artist's work. Artists have something deeper and vital to communicate to the world about the world, ourselves, and each other. ...Which is precisely why some people's UA-cam comments turn into essays. Okay, I'm shutting up now. I hope this was in any way helpful. :)