Mark was right in Rent. The opposite of war is creation. When you think of war, or at least what I process, is that war is a culmination of negative emotions— anger, fear, savagery, rage, etc. When engulfed in these emotions, life falls apart. Destruction ensues, leaving rubble in its wake.
What’s the opposite of destruction? Well, making things. It’s taking the time to approach aspects and bringing life to something. So, creation.
Throughout the musical, Mark and Roger are trying to create their own aspects of their lives, which are remnants of their lives in East Village. Mark wants to create a film with intense meaning and in the end, his film is about East Village— more specifically, his friends. The community is the creation of life itself in a space that is being destroyed by people like Benny.
Their way to fight back is to create— memories, art, discussion, and community. A space that even without heat, your life can be forever changed.
The state of the world makes it hard to fight back, but we can do so by creating. Combating AI and corporations that are trying to destroy any semblance of individuality or creativity, we can make amazing things out of what we have. It’s making our clothes like my cousin, having farms in our backyards, communal living, volunteering in your area. Our creation can never be stopped as long as we continue to create with our hearts.
Xoxo,
Cierra