OPINION: Is the computer mightier than the paintbrush?

By Maria Cortes
Staff Writer

Photo by Courtney Unander

Imagine if someone had gone up to Leonardo Da Vinci right after he had finished painting the Mona Lisa and said, “No thank you, but do you know how to operate Microsoft Word?” It is a sad realization that majority of artists do not get recognized for their talents until after they’re dead, hence Vincent Van Gogh. Another sad realization is that the arts are one of the most underappreciated and unrecognized fields of study in the colleges and universities.

Recently multiple articles have been circulating the web about the majors that employers are keeping an eye out for. These majors, supposedly, guarantee you a career with good pay and little to no fear of being laid off anytime soon. The majors in questions are such like a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, a Bachelor’s in Accounting and a Bachelor’s in Information Technology.

These majors were called “versatile”. Once upon a time, the word “versatile” meant different in styles, stretching away from the norm to something more exciting. I do apologize, but I don’t think that having a Bachelor’s in Business Administration while the man standing next to you has a Master’s in Business Administration doesn’t make you very versatile.

Students who are studying theater, music and art often pay double, sometimes even triple, what other students have to pay when it comes down to supplies, books and tuition. Adding insult to injury, their funding is usually the first in line to be cut. They do this knowing that they are entering the most competitive job field in the United States with often the least pay if you don’t manage to become famous.

This fact has made people start to think, “Well, why are you doing it then?” The answer comes very clear: because they love what they do. “This is really the thing that I enjoy the most and I feel a sense of purpose when I’m making people laugh,” said Marlon Barnes, a five-year student at Antelope Valley College. Barnes is a theater major, improv theater to be exact, not because of the tremendous amount of money he’ll be making but because, like he said, he’s in love with what he does. “I would really rather be doing something interesting and impactful,” he continued to say.

Matthew Barabasch, a third-year student at AVC, believes that theater majors, or anyone pursuing the arts in general, should be smart and have a back up plan. Barabasch is a Theater Performance major who is also pursuing a minor in Directing. His back-up plan is becoming a teacher, and he is perfectly fine with the decision. He believes that people who go out and immediately believe they are going to become famous are the ones who are heading towards a dead end.

“A lot of people believe that the way to be happy is to be financially stable,” Barabasch said, “I believe you’re happy where you’re at. You could be in the slums, and if you’re happy about it that’s all that really matters.”

It’s hard to pursue your dreams when people surround you with money signs in their eyes. Students studying the arts get looked over because their careers are less likely to make them as much money as Johnny Pencil-pusher. If people would just open their eyes, they’d see that many of these students have beautiful talents that don’t deserve to be suppressed into a cubicle.

Support the arts and those who study them.