Is creator sympathy a thing?

[Awesomeness_Studios]

Hey all! So this is something I've been thinking about for a while. I recently saw an Alvin Ailey performance and I gotta say it was nothing short of STUNNING. However, some people in the audience seemed to a bit inconsiderate. During an emotional piece, for example, there was a great amount of coughing from the audience (at least try to hold it in for a second!!). Of course, let's not forget the classic using-your-phone-while-the-show-is-on kinda stuff.

Now, I did some research on something similar for my sociology class (recording performances, as some of you may know) and while I can't reveal responses, I can say that I concluded that people who are creators tend to be more empathetic and thus record concerts and stuff less. Of course, this was pretty shoddy research so I would not bank on it, but I think it makes a lot of sense at least.

So what do you think? Do you think that we creators are just more respectful to other fellow creators? Is that why I was annoyed at the great number of people who didn't mind coughing during that one portion?

[SleepingPoppy]

Maybe? I had to research stuff related to art programs in secondary schools, and one of the biggest common threads between studies was that engaging in art resulted in greater empathy in the person. This was true for going to the theater as well as actually making art.

That said, I think sometimes people just have to cough, and it's more noticeable in a quiet/tense moment. I try not to go to the movies if I have a couch, because it's really hard to stifle myself. People who take their phones out during any kind of movie or performance royally suck, though.

[revisionstudios]

I think this happens in any field. If you're in a creative profession, you understand the effort that went into it, how recording and posting a paid show can be harmful, and how interruptions impact the person performing... so you're more likely to be considerate of it. All it comes down to is how conscious you are of the nuance in a situation.

Ideally, we'd all treat every situation with that level of depth, or at least learn to be considerate of people even if we don't fully understand what goes on behind the scenes. But empathy and emotional intelligence is a learned skill that not everyone cultivates, so we end up with a lot of well meaning people that just come off as rude.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Do you think that we creators are just more respectful to other fellow creators?

I mean...why not? I don't think it's too much of a leap of logic to assume that our knowledge and experience with creating art leads to greater sympathy and respect towards those who create art. =/ When you know firsthand what it takes to do a certain thing, it tends to help shape your attitude towards it.

Example: I have a very mixed family when it comes to art. About half of them are at least occasionally involved in artistic endeavors, and the other half are pure consumers. Guess who tends to be less ignorant and insensitive during conversations about how art is made? No, it's not a trick question...

[baasinsimple]

A big fat yes. It's basic Empathy. It's why Doctors will befriend Doctors or Actors will marry Actors. I recently read Eragon, and lemme tell you, not the best book ever, but I understood Christopher Paolini's intentions when writing it, I understood his influences etc. This is mostly due to the fact that while writing Eragon, he wasn't much younger than me, and he was my age when finishing the final draft. As a peer from a different time frame trying to make my first official published work, I have great respect for him and reading the first two books of the inheritance cycle has made me understand not only the limitations faced from age in writing, but also the mindset of Paolini at the time, and I only came to understand this and actually like the inheritance cycle due to my experience writing. If I read the Inheritance Cycle a year ago, I would've thought it was shit, but now I just think it's kind of cool and I like it quite a bit.

[Shanny8]

As from a creator to another, it's an understanding of how much goes into making a thing, so yeah it tends to make us respectful to one another. We are more understanding than the average consumer from the outside looking in.

[carloswebcomic]

And yet, creators are also so judgemental when they believe other creators don't meet their own values.
Rather than say that creators are more considerate, I would only say that creators have more insight, but that doesn't necessarily make them kinder or more considerate in all situations.