Microblog 8: Burnham's vision

So for all of you who don't know, NBC has made a new show which is basically a modern-day Glee and is called Rise. The protagonist is a teacher who gives all of the kids roles that they are not used to (for instance, the usual star of the show playing a side role) based on what he calls "his vision".

Image result for artistic vision meme

Naturally, before watching this week's episode I had done some reading. What caught my attention was the parallel between the teacher and Burnham (the character in my book who was tasked with overseeing the fair's architecture). Throughout the book, Burnham is constantly using his "vision" of a wonderful park that surpasses Paris' past exposition in every way. His decisions are made not based on cost or effectiveness, but rather on elegance or beauty that will drive people to see what he has worked so hard to make. Although his intentions were good, his vision ended up getting him into financial troubles when the government grew angry with massive amounts of money being put towards a fair that was being built in such a short time frame. The officials were not comfortable putting so much cash towards a project that was not guaranteed to be completed. Even after the fair was opened, costs were cut that upset Burnham just as much as when the drama club in Rise had cuts. Both characters had similar reactions of frustration, mostly because it interfered with their visions. Burnham and the teacher both chose to simply ignore these lowered budgets, and they continued to dream big, which surprised me.
Image result for a dream is a wish your heart makes
I just thought that it was interesting how both individuals were very passionate about a project, and were not willing to compromise due to their so-called "vision" being more important than even the workers putting together the masterpiece. Workers (for Burnham) and students (for the teacher) were ultimately seen by the visionaries as pawns that were only there to carry out said vision.


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