The Symbolic World 437 - Making Space for the Resurrection of Art (Makers and Mystics)
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Feb 26, 2026 
Jonathan Pageau, writer, artist, and public speaker who explores symbolism and sacred stories. He discusses cultural narrative exhaustion and the fading post–WWII story. They explore reviving fairy tales, the difference between art and propaganda, complexity that trusts the audience, and how AI and craft will reshape the future of art.
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Post–War Narrative Exhaustion
- The cultural exhaustion in storytelling signals the end of the post–World War II revolutionary narrative that dominated popular fiction.
- Jonathan Pageau links many modern plots (the ragtag underdog vs empire) to that era and says its energy and side effects are now waning.
Fairy Tales Carry Hidden Biblical Threads
- Fairy tales carry deep Christian and scriptural threads that modern retellings often obscure or discard.
- Pageau is publishing heirloom-quality retellings to highlight connections like Snow White's apple to Eden and restore tonal memory over cynicism.
Avoid Turning Art Into Propaganda
- Avoid reducing art to pure social commentary because it becomes propaganda and quickly bores audiences.
- Pageau warns that political 'hammers' sell short-term but lack lasting cultural attention or memory.
