Prompt
Describe or narrate a scenario about a concert found a generation into a future in which society as we know it has come apart. Your description should address issues related to communication and elicit feelings of cheer.
- Collapse – one generation (30 years)
- Communication
- Cheer
Scenario
The year is 2053, society has become so divided that there is no longer any sense of shared experience or camaraderie between Americans. Political, ideological and religious divisions have left people feeling cynical, hostile and divided. Attempts to mend fences have come to a screeching fault at every level and people are now generally living solitary lives.
For the first time in 30 years, a concert is taking place in Central Park, New York. Grassroots organizers have been planning the event for months, in hopes that this concert will be an opportunity where music will transcend the issues of the day. This concert is meant to be a symbol of hope and unity where the power of music will help heal the deep-seated wounds of a divided society. And bring people together who have been fractured for decades.
As the sun sets over Manhattan, the first notes of music ring out into the night. The crowd fills with cautious excitement as the first band takes the stage, and for the next several hours, sounds of nostalgia fill the park. As the night wears on, the energy in the park grows more and more electric. People from all walks of life are singing, dancing, and hugging each other, and it became impossible not to feel caught up in the nostalgia and connection to what used to be. Where words had failed, the music was speaking. For just a few hours, it seemed like anything was possible, and that maybe the world could be put back together again.
As the final band ended their last song and people began to make their way out of the park, there was a sense of renewed hope and optimism in the air. Maybe, just maybe, music can change the world.