For the past couple of days I, apparently, have been a TikTok star.
Trust me, I don’t get it any more than you do.
But in response to a trend on the ‘Tok, my pal Emily Varga at the Marquette Regional History Center did a “Gen Z Intern Edit” video, which actually is a thing, of a story the two of us shot a few months ago, and in the past five days over a million and a half people have watched it.
We live in strange times.
My first thought is… why would ANYONE want to watch a video with me a million and a half times? I mean, if it was me, I’d run from the room screaming in terror halfway through the first viewing. But watch it they did, and it made me realize a couple of things. The first? If people learn something about the UP because of a TikTok video, cool. If it works, it works.
Secondly? We have some crazy mad talented people who live up here.
If you’ve ever needed evidence of that, all you have is to stroll through Art on the Rocks or Art in Park and you know. Sometimes, I think, each and every one of the 300,000 of us harbors some kind of artistic talent or an artistic vision. And I’m not just talking about writers or photographers or painters.
But I’m talking about the people who have vision in ways most of us couldn’t even imagine. I’m thinking of the gang in the Copper Country who’ve perfected the art of chainsaw carving, or the crew down in Dickinson County who film their own post-apocalyptical TV show around Iron Mountain, or even my friend Emily, who jumps on a TikTok trend with some mad editing skills and makes an old dork momentarily popular with the kids.
I’ve often wondered if it’s a chicken or egg thing. Does this magical place in which we live bring out the artist in us, or does being artistic to begin with draw you to this magical place? Both? I don’t have the answer to that question. All I know is that we’re lucky enough to be in a position to ask it.
And not every place can say that.
I’m Jim Koski, temporary TikTok star, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906.”
