‘It’s just so subjective’...well that’s just a matter of opinion.

The word subjective has been haunting me for some time now. I believe that aside from its original meaning; 'a judgement modified or affected by personal views, experience, or background', the outcome of the terms usage in my experience, is usually associated with negativity and I therefore perceive any use of the word to be an artistic ploy to escape the real situation at hand. Like most colloquialisms it is the epitome of laziness; with no desire to find the appropriate words to help understand a situation, we immediately churn out a well known phrase, understood by all as completely inoffensive as it gives no clear evidence or logical answer. It is championed, anointed and just accepted as a fait accompli. It is the metaphorical, 'sweep it under the rug' statement that by definition defines nothing!

My cynical and perhaps unsubstantiated view of this term is probably it's recent over usage as a reason for unfairness. The regularity that this word appears in my vocabulary or that of others around me in a single day has tripled in recent weeks. The result of my three year degree in musical theatre is drawing near and I look to the person I was when I joined the course. I don't recognise that person....or maybe I don't recognise the person writing this now? The word 'subjective' did not faze me one bit then. I was a big fish from a small pond thrown into a very large pond with lots of other small fishes also struggling to deal with their sudden shrinking size. I was barely eighteen and even though I had grown up with the same dream since the age of five, heard all the stories, endured all the raised eyebrows and remarks of..'That is such a hard business to get into'. I was in complete control of what I wanted and how I was going to achieve it.

Now, two and half years later, with greater knowledge and experience I can barely decide what to wear to an audition, let alone choose the path my life should follow, and be confident that I have the desired skills to lead it there. (Please refrain from making any comments about the typical female obsession with clothes and the need to try on every outfit in the wardrobe, men do it too! This is a complex matter and one I cannot possibly give the full attention to in this post) I am going to squeeze my word of the day back into that sentence. 'The desired subjective skills..' It seems that my entire course is run on the very premise of subjectivity. As you can imagine, when assessment results are in, the bubbling brew of mainly women that is my year group often overspills and tensions run high. It is ironic that I'm complaining as I am attempting to work in a industry where opinions are the gospel and so I forget that in every second of our lives an opinion is formed of us, irrelevant of industry,vocation or the weather. A wise man once told me, that opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one and they all stink! Now that is an objective statement.

I don't think I will ever agree with the use of subjectivity as an excuse for unfairness, however I am learning that you cannot be appreciated by everyone and to echo my previous post, if we spend out lives concentrating on one singular negative judgement made of us we may never get a happy ending. What's a happy ending though? It's just so subjective!