We are surprised in front of our television every day by seeing all these atrocious images of the war in Ukraine. As one is surprised to see such and such an artist push back the limits of good taste in the hope of staying in the game. Astonishment is part of almost all spheres of our lives, for good or bad reasons, notes director Michel G. Barette. In a short essay with a philosophical content, he nevertheless calls for cultivating this feeling, which never ceases to push human beings to surpass themselves, in the arts among others.
“Amazement is also a driving force for creation. Because we artists are constantly trying to amaze the public. This is how we innovate. […] Yes, we like to be in our comfort zone. We may want to see a movie we like again, to see our favorite singer performing again. But at the same time, even for the creators of these shows, you have to try to find a way to try to surprise the public even more”, explains Michel G. Barette, not to be confused with the illustrious interpreter of the Time for a turkey.
Like his namesake, Michel G. Barette also made a career in the arts. He has directed several shows presented at the Festival international de jazz de Montréal and at the Festival d’été de Québec. It is part of the Contemporary Music Society of Quebec. But, above all, Michel G. Barette was part of the founding team of Cirque du Soleil, for which he worked until the end of the 1980s.
This Quebec company, which started from scratch, has built its international reputation by making astonishment its trademark. Sometimes with avant-garde stagings, sometimes with acrobatics that almost push back the rule of gravity. But the astonishment is not infinite. There comes a time when you become predictable and when, even if you want to, you can no longer manage to renew yourself. Hence the difficulties of the Cirque du Soleil in recent years, recognizes Michel G. Barette, who nevertheless remains attached to this Quebec flagship.
“Cirque du Soleil has really pushed astonishment to its limits. But at some point, no matter how much you call on artists, each one more astonishing than the next, you end up going around the garden. This is why most circus companies last around 25-30 years maximum. Afterwards, either they close or they are redeemed. Cirque du Soleil’s problem is that the new management has taken the same path”, recalls the man who signs his first book with The adventure of astonishment. An opening to the imagination.
When amazement goes too far
In this essay of a hundred pages, Michel G. Barette also underlines that the race to astonishment can sometimes turn out to be a double-edged sword. To astonish themselves, to satisfy this perpetual quest, some will go so far as to put themselves in danger, by giving themselves up to ever stronger drugs, or by indulging in extreme experiences, even if it means risk their lives.
Even in culture, astonishment is not all good. He pushes artists to cross the line of the acceptable. By wanting to surprise your audience too much, you sometimes end up losing them.
It is also this cult of astonishment which is partly at the origin of this information spectacle which interferes with fair and objective journalistic coverage, points out Michel G. Barette: “The media need an audience. And so they must always work to reformulate the information so that it remains astonishing. »
Reconnect with wonder
However, this unquenched thirst for astonishment, which inhabits us all, must not be repressed. “It’s all a question of measurement”, summarizes Michel G. Barette, who believes that it is anyway a natural feeling. In science, he recalls, it was to overcome their astonishment, to explain what they were unable to do, that great minds came to make the discoveries that made them famous.
But our desire to live out-of-the-ordinary experiences also clashes with our equally natural penchant for comfort. Rather than letting themselves be surprised, even if they want to, human beings can be inclined to refuse the risk, to choose immobility, out of ease. This is all the more true in these post-pandemic times, home habits are difficult to abandon.
“Humans still have a herd instinct. I don’t have much fear for our normal behaviors to resume. Eventually people will regain the desire to be amazed. They will rediscover this flavour, this spiciness”, hopes Michel G. Barette.