NSL Blog

Jerusalem and people's desire for 'deeper meaning'

January 16, 2012

In No Straight Lines – a key theme that runs through the entire project relates to human identity and how that connects to making a meaningful life.

One of the central issues of our time is about the making of meaningful identity and that need is the engine that drives the seemingly inexplicable explosion of all things social.

The reason as to why the play Jerusalem has been such a success – came as no surprise to me. As Mark Brown writes

Jerusalem, written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Ian Rickson, has got audiences talking about big subjects – Englishness, change, authority, life. Rylance has his own theories on why it resonates: “The general story that people are told about the meaning of life at the moment is all logical and scientific and rational and economic … You have to spend every minute of your day paying your bills and thinking about them.”

Jerusalem offered something more, he said. “People are starving for deeper meaning and deeper stories in life.”

This insight is however not consigned to the theatres of Shaftsbury Avenue and Broadway. This insight  having a profound effect on how organisations and economies are going to evolve and we are already witnessing that reality.

Posts

The rise of the HumanOS

Welcome to machine – human nature is not like a machine

Authenticity, Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust For Real Life

Living Bibliography listing on identity

The Support Economy: Why Corporations are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism

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