the big show

This past December, I took a break from job searching at the APA to have dinner with an old friend, his girlfriend and his sister. After hearing my story about my mad networking at the conference, his sister, a comedian and radio personality, observed that "Academia sounds an awful lot like show business". The call backs and the rejections, the constant search for a steady gig, and the sneaking suspicion that none of this may be quite as important as we have to lead ourselves to believe.The recent Salon article, Confessions of a utility actor really does reveal some broad similarities between these professions. I had meant to write a paragraph or so about the differences, but this is my irresponsible blog.

The similarity comes from the extent to which professional aspiration is built into the very structures of each of these professions. Bull Durham has lead me to believe that minor league ball players refer to the 'big show', the glorious promise of major league ball that makes the grind worthwhile. The group of guys with radar guns that I see behind the net at every Akron Aeros game I've been to also give the impression that the minors are seen as not just another way to play baseball, like Little League is, but a set of activities which would become meaningless without the major leagues. There's an interesting parallel between steroptypical kids and the thoughtless images of people in the aspirational professions. Kids play ball to have fun, minor leaguers play to get into the big show. Kids play make-believe to have fun, actors act because they still believe that their big break is around the corner. Kids indulge their curiousity because it's fun, academics teach and write because ...