Narrative Thoughts: On Pluribus and Making Art in This Capitalism Hellscape
Warning: this article contains mild Pluribus spoilers!
The subtitle for this could simply be Why does Carol think romance books aren’t art? or even What does art say about an individual under capitalism? or even Maybe Carol DOES think her books are art but has a lot of self-hate, that would track.
This Narrative Thought brought to you by me obsessively watching Pluribus—and also a lot of generative AI use in the overlapping industries I exist in (sci-fi/fantasy fiction writing and gaming specifically) that has been frustrating to witness. But I promise not to spoil any major Pluribus plot events! The part of the show that spawned this post is mostly about the backstory of the protagonist, Carol Sturka. Carol is a romance/romantasy writer, and she hates every second (maybe; Carol isn’t the most reliable narrator or the most in touch with her actual emotions). She wants to write “real” books that say something meaningful rather than romance books—to which Carol’s partner, Helen, reassures her:
“I figure… You make even one person happy, maybe that’s not art. But it’s something.”
This is from episode 1, and it’s not touched on again directly—well, okay, Carol’s writing is brought up again at least one or two more times but the audience is more meant to come up with their own conclusions rather than anything directly stated the way Helen states things in episode 1. But Carol navigates adjacent and relevant topics on art and what her writing means to her multiple times in the first season, and I’m interested where Pluribus is headed in season 2! It’s a great series, seriously go watch it.
But this one specific line has led me to wonder: what the fuck is art in this current capitalism hellscape? Specifically writing. Are my stories not “real” because they aren’t making profound and obvious commentary? I write pulpy queer sci-fi/fantasy, after all, meant largely to entertain and provide a little comfort (and angst and yearning, obviously), not unlike Carol’s Wycaro series. Are my stories heartless product because I want to get paid for my efforts? Can we not make art to pay our bills? That seems to be what Carol is implying by her grumpy logic. Art has to have some deeper meaning, it can’t be just a fluffy product.
(Okay but actually if Carol wants to pivot to write other things because she’s burnt out on romance and wants to explore flexing in other genres and styles, that’s a whole other conversation. Which, again, would require some introspection and emotional honesty from Carol that she currently lacks. She’s so grumpily endearing, 10/10 mess of a lesbian.)
To be clear, I would die for Carol’s predicament: she has a writing career so successful she goes on regular book tours and owns a huge house with a super cool secret whiteboard setup. Her biggest angst in life (prior to the inciting incident of the show, anyway) isn’t paying to exist but rather if her work has any real artistic integrity. It’s a luxury Helen calls her out on, lovingly mocking how hard it must be to have so many fans and make so much money.
I don’t think Pluribus is interested in outright answering if Carol’s romance books are art. Well, not directly. It is a major theme that art is an individual and unique act of creative expression, and the show is all about what is happiness, individuality, creativity, culture, us, you, I, we.
(the image above is from this bsky post; the actual episode scene looks a little different and this version made me laugh more)
Pluribus focuses on discussing what makes you, well, you—what makes a person an individual, and why is that important? Those are excellent themes and questions, especially now when corporations would love to maximize our similarities for better product fitting and sales. And I find myself drifting back to “what even is art these days?” with each episode I watch and the more I watch peers around me argue what place genAI has in that process.
(Spoilers: I think the answer is genAI has no place in the creative process at all, writing or otherwise. Not in research or summaries or translations or art or outlines or whatever—not in literally any of part of the pipeline).
If it’s not obvious, I don’t have a clear answer to “what is art in dystopian level capitalism”. I know “what is art” is also a deeply philosophical question that’s been answered a hundred different ways across the decades and centuries and probably has a myriad answers depending on perspective and situation. And I didn’t do that expansive of homework this time around! The results would be a whole essay series and, sorry, I caught a cold midway through writing this, so I only have one overworked braincell remaining.
But my question remains: what is art in this 2025 (okay, this is coming out the week of New Year’s Eve, so in this nearly 2026) economic climate, where everything is late-stage capitalism hypercommodified? Where unique voice is often smoothed out so genAI can be more efficient in our place and save a billionaire money, where all creative disciplines are constantly devalued and treated as something a shitty theft machine could do, and so on.
For me, art (writing especially, but any creative endeavor) is something I put a lot of myself into, something thoughtful and creative—even if the end result is a product meant to be consumed in some way. When it comes to writing, I put a lot of my own identities (queer, disabled/chronically ill, biracial) into my stories. I do it to reach out and feel known, to offer comfort, to talk about my own life in a fantastical way, to see if other people can imagine these worlds with me, to see myself reflected in the stories I wanted growing up, to reach out to others and show what I’ve worked so hard at, and so on. I don’t 100% know how to phrase it (I’m the best writer, I know), but it’s such a personal experience, unique to me. I’m sure everyone has their own version of this. I think that’s why we, humans, have made art for as long as we’ve existed.
More and more “what is art” is also a generative AI conversation, for all I wish it wasn’t because I wish this technology dissolved from the face of the universe. Which, if it wasn’t already clear: fuck genAI. Art made with genAI strips away creativity and mess and uniqueness from the creative process, leaving behind only slop poorly sewn together from stolen work to create a generic product with no individual humanity.
So what makes you, well, you? What makes art creative and good? I don’t have all the answers, but I think being human and honest and vulnerable in your work, no matter what you’re working on creatively, is what makes art human and why art generated without that element (especially by the plagiarism machine) is devoid of real connective tissue. Fuck that.
So while I don’t still fully know what art is in these trying times, I do know it’s imperative we (us, you, I) make art now more than ever, that we try and practice and fail and succeed and learn about ourselves and each other.
Fall down research rabbit holes rather than have genAI give you misinformation and poor (or outright slanderous) summaries. Look up translations and ask for help rather than let the theft machine give you an incorrect or nuance-lacking answer at the cost of the environment. Make a bad sketch meant for a concept artist. Struggle through those outlines, talk it out with development teams. None of that needs “streamlining” by genAI. It’s all core and fundamental parts of creating!
Get lost in the process, the challenge, the fun, the joy, the angsting over sentences and sketches and revel or cry or sit quietly in the satisfaction (or the messy aftermath) of the results, imperfect though they may be. Put yourself in the art you make, whether it’s to survive under capitalism and make an income or to relax or to simply try something new.
Go be creative. Go be human. Go be you.
This was originally intended to be a Narrative Bite, a smaller-sized Narrative Thoughts segment. But I, uh, had too many thoughts. A lot of genAI convos also sparked up while I was drafting and being a perfectionist about this, so the concept morphed a little halfway but I hope you enjoy! I’ll be doing more of these in the new year—for real this time. Oh, and pry em dashes (and parentheticals) from my ADHD/neurospicy hands. Please enjoy all the artisanal interjected thoughts in this one.
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