Decadence can be a material deterioration or a symbolic impairment.
Decline is the decline or the beginning of ruin . It is a process of deterioration and impairment through which the conditions or state of something or someone begin to worsen .
For example: "The singer's decline began after the trial for alleged drug trafficking," "We have to do something to stop the decline of this house," "Slave children are a reflection of the decline of society."
Decline of a person
The notion of decay can be applied to people or objects . The concept, in turn, can refer to a physical characteristic (material) or an abstract issue (symbolic, spiritual).
The usual thing is to associate the decline of a human being with his physical deterioration or the loss of success : "He was always a strong man, until a poorly cured pneumonia gave way to decline," "This is a team in decline, with figures over thirty years old who are already in the last stage of their careers .
In some contexts, deterioration is linked to abandonment.
The material and social deterioration
Regarding things, decay usually refers to neglect or material damage due to the passage of time . The lack of paint on the facade of a home, a window with cracked glass or a car with problems in its metal are typical symptoms of material decay.
Sociology speaks of decadence to refer to a societal collapse . This is the phase in which a civilization or culture experiences a decline that leads to the extinction of certain characteristics: "The decline of the Rapanui was caused by tribal conflicts."
The decline of art
Broadly speaking, many claim that, as a species, we are going through a cultural decline, which can be seen in different areas. This is especially evident in the art world, which has undergone numerous radical changes in recent decades that have put its essence at risk, contaminating it more and more with market models and sales expectations. Literature, cinema and music have all been affected by a phenomenon that tends to package and schematize works of art.
The term product is usually used to refer to an artist or one of his works in a derogatory tone, pointing out his lack of spontaneity; Saying that a song is a product is the same as describing it as a carefully conceived plan with the aim of making money and achieving fame, without making use of any artistic skill or resorting to inspiration, but relying merely on technical tools, both musicals as commercials .
The historical evolution
Is this decline real or a misunderstanding of the inevitable evolution of art in general? To answer this question, it is necessary to take into account that currently there are means of dissemination and publication that have only been available to artists for a few years and that have revolutionized the way in which they can make their work known; Perhaps in the relationship that art world veterans have established with these new platforms, less effective than that of many young Internet users, lies one of the causes of the change.
Likewise, since several of the traditional paths to fame have lost their validity, it is likely that the world today does not know those who were to succeed the great artists of the previous generation .
How many of the literary icons of the last century took care of all the issues concerning the publication of their books? How many musicians organized every detail of their tours and album distribution? Not many, since those tasks fell to various people who were actively working to keep their careers afloat. What would happen if the latter took advantage of their ease in dealing with the market and tried their luck with their own creations? It is likely that we already know the answer, that we see it in bookstores, on movie theater billboards, and that we hear it on the radio every morning.