Entertaining Ourselves Back to Life

The third book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is titled The Return of the King; in it (spoilers ahead) the character Aragorn returns to unite humanity against a dire threat. The idea of a prophesied king reappearing and bringing his people together again against a formidable foe is common in literary history, from the overtold legend of King Arthur to the incomplete story of Jon Snow. Explore some of the following legends, then discuss with your team: why do such stories have such appeal? What political developments in today’s world might have similar causes?

• Horus | Yudhishthira | Jesus | Richard the Lionheart

• Charles II | Louis XVIII | Henry VII | Juan Carlos I

• The Hobbit | Prince Caspian | Kimba the White Lion

When at first you don’t succeed, try and try again—and, likely as not, flop harder. Napoleon Bonaparte returned from exile in Elba as a self-reproclaimed emperor, only to drown in misfortune at Waterloo. Look into the following figures whose careers took off post-exile, then discuss with your team: why was their second wind better than their first? Can you think of other examples of individuals, like Napoleon, who attempted a comeback—but failed spectacularly?

• Albert Einstein | Leon Trotsky | Jimmy Carter | Friedrich Engels

• Dante | Confucius | Rodrigo Belmonte

• Malala Yousafzai | Sun Mu | Belarus Free Theatre | An-My Le

“Funny when you're dead, how people start listenin'” quipped the 2010 hit song “If I Die Young”. Consider the other now-famous dead people below and discuss with your team: what is the best way to reignite someone’s legacy? Vincent van Gogh, for instance, only became famous after his death thanks to the people in his life. Should we focus more on studying the works of those who are still alive, or does a creator’s death make their creations more interesting in some way?

• Gregor Mendel | Alfred Wegener

• Emily Dickinson | Franz Kafka | Anne Frank

• Vivian Maier | Otis Redding | Jim Croce | Nick Drake

“I did it again” isn’t always an oops; it’s often a plan. Many artists re-record and sometimes greatly revise and recreate their own past works. Taylor Swift’s new “Version(s)” of her old albums have set the charts on fire even though most of her songs are little-changed—but for some, her success has had consequences. Discuss with your team: what is the right time to re-release existing works, and to what degree should the original creator need to be involved?

In 2023, electronic music artist Porter Robinson created the “Po-uta” voice bank to allow future artists to create songs using his voice. Check out this interview where he explains his motivations as well as the demonstration song “Humansongs”. Similarly, some Hollywood actors are creating digital clones of themselves with the help of AI—some to preserve their likeness for the future, others to accept multiple gigs at once. Explore these technologies with your team, then discuss with your team: when (and how much) does it matter whether an artwork is created by the artist themselves or their digital clone?

For years, people have wondered what Beethoven’s tenth symphony—the “Unfinished”—would have sounded like if he had lived a little bit longer. Now, an AI has taken on the task, with substantial human involvement. Read about the effort, then compare the outcome to this earlier attempt by the composer Barry Cooper. Which seems more authentic to you—and which has more artistic value? Are there other unfinished works you would like to see completed in a similar way?

Some people think a lot about the Roman Empire, but the songwriter Jorge Rivera-Herrans was more into ancient Greece. Explore the TikTok-documented story behind the creation of his EPIC: The Musical—which was inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey but blends modern genres, even video game music, and listen to at least this one example song (you’ll probably want to keep going): “Wouldn’t You Like”. Afterward, discuss with your team: should more creators communicate openly with the public while developing new works of fiction, theater, and art? Should we have done that with these outlines?