The "Real" in Life

Today in class, while trying to analyze the extremely confusing thoughts and writings of Plato, the thought was introduced that humans are always searching for a way to be immortal. Most people accomplish this by procreating offspring. The idea is that a piece of us will live on through our children. But artists, they will live on through their art.

This statement reminded me of a modern musical called Passing Strange. This show is about a young man living in L.A. who feels lost in life. He has not found a purpose in living so he sets off on a trip to Europe to find what he calls the "real" in life. His trip begins in Amsterdam where he first experiences women and drugs. He also becomes very involved with music, playing guitar and writing his own songs. He doesn't find what he's looking for in Amsterdam so his next destination is Berlin. While in Berlin he stays with a group of strange performance artists and spends his day writing music. One day his mother calls him and asks him to come home but he refuses. Not long after he gets the news that his mother has passed away. He makes the realization that his mother tried to live on through him and that he had failed her. The only way he can keep her living through him is through his art. And finally he makes the big realization. All of this time he has been searching for the "real" in life and here it was in front of him. The "real" in life is art.

I found this to be a really beautiful, thought provoking line.

But I will leave it to you to interpret how you will.