Welcome to the very first edition of The Babel Company blog! This blog is going to be my place to share plans, ideas, updates, and or discuss other topics or developments without marketing filters. I have quite a bit of work ahead of me in the coming months to set this place up properly, so my updates might be sporadic during this time. However, I’m eager to hear from you, the readers, for suggestions, ideas, and topics for future posts. Feel free to reach out with your thoughts—I’m looking forward to having some engaging conversations with you!
Today, however, I wanna talk about what we are going to be doing here at Babel, and why I believe it’s important for the entertainment landscape as a whole. But, before I get to that, I want to start out by explaining why I started this blog in the first place.
You read that correctly. Blog. Company might be in the name, but technically The Babel Company is just a blog (making this blog a blog within a blog… blog-ception). I’ll talk about why I chose to call this place The Babel Company, but before I do, I’ll give y’all some context.
For most of my life now, I have been lucky enough to get lost in worlds and stories created by people with a third-eye similar to mine. A third-eye that just loves to show glimpses of other worlds. Worlds beyond our own. An endless vista, contained inside of the bony walls of my big head. Sometimes those glimpses, or visions, become so powerful that we just have to share them with others, pouring them into creative works such as songs, paintings, drawings, videos or written stories.
Throughout history these creations have inspired millions of people around the globe. And being able to enjoy those creations has been one of the greatest privileges of my life so far, and it inspired me to create The Babel Company, because I believe the amazing stories we all know and love might only make up a fraction of the amount of incredible stories we could’ve had. However, sometimes these stories never see the light of day due to factors that shouldn’t have that big of an impact, such as lack of experience, limited connections, and other superficial concerns. Among the more daunting obstacles is self-doubt, which can be especially challenging, but I believe these things shouldn’t hold the power they often do in preventing great stories from being told.
Great stories deserve to be shared and seen. And, while I believe that there’s usually a good chance that quality content will find its way out of the shadows, I don’t think we should assume it always does. Many factors influence which stories reach an audience and which don’t. With Babel, I aim to create a space where incredibly fun, crazy, romantic, horrifying, great and—most importantly—entertaining stories can find their audience.
In my humble opinion, many entertainment studios, distributors, and publishers have fallen short in recent years. Often, their focus seems to be more on directing how you should think and feel, pushing agendas, politics, or specific messages, rather than prioritizing what should be their main goal: entertaining the audience through compelling storytelling and providing a welcome escape from reality. This doesn’t mean important topics can’t be addressed—many great stories do so effectively. However, there’s a BIG difference between imposing a narrative and crafting a story with themes that naturally engage with important issues.
We’re dealing with a bit of a problem though, because most people largely depend on big producers for their entertainment. But what are we supposed to do when these giants start failing us? The answer is simple: ensure that the work of those who still understand what truly matters reaches as many people as possible!
I’ve always loved doing creative stuff, and as I get older I notice that lots of people do. But, for some reason a big chunk of them end up doing it alone from the shadows (including myself). I’m not completely sure why, because some of them are so incredibly talented. It was exactly this that inspired me to start Babel. I figured, what’s the point of going at it alone, when you can bring other people along for the journey. Meet other like minded people, have conversations about their worlds and stories, share tips and tricks, form a community through which we can share our best work, attract some more eyeballs and maybe open up the door for collaborations and bigger things!
I called this place Babel for multiple reasons, but one of them was because I was inspired by the story of the Tower of Babel. Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a bunch of people who all spoke the same language. They thought they were pretty cool, so they decided to build a city and a tower that would reach the heavens. Their goal? To make a name for themselves and prevent being scattered across the earth. But guess what? God wasn’t too thrilled about their little project. He thought, “If they can do this when they’re all on the same page, imagine what else they could accomplish. We can’t have that! No… definitely not…” So, with one of his classic divine interventions, he decided to confuse their language, making it impossible for them to understand each other. The result? Chaos! The people started arguing, and the construction of the tower came to a screeching halt. The thing they tried to avoid happened, the people scattered across the globe, and the tower was left unfinished. However, while it may be true that we have been scattered, and that we speak different languages, and have different cultures and beliefs, I think there’s a “universal language” that might’ve been overlooked. So, cheeky me figured, why don’t we just form a good old-fashioned adventuring party? A group, a movement, a fellowship—or simply put, a company—on a quest, united by the one language I believe we all still speak: the language of creativity. That’s what Babel means to me. The infinite power of creativity and what we can achieve with it when we stick our heads together.
Let me explain what we’ll be doing here. The goal is to share great stories from creators all of the world, regardless of their experience or reputation. While I’ll be highlighting works I find outstanding, I’d love for you all to contribute your own creations as well. Together, we can build a collection that showcases incredible work—like a curated art gallery, but for stories. What do these stories have in common? Quality. As much as I’d love to accept every piece of work people send in, posting everything would lead to chaos. By reviewing the stories, gathering the best ones and putting them side by side, we’ll create a go-to space for great entertainment. In our own way, we could become the David to the big producers’ Goliath.
By doing this, I believe we can showcase the remarkable talent of so-called “unestablished” creators and provide them with the recognition and rewards they deserve. This aspect is particularly important to me. Entertainment conglomerates should reconsider undervaluing the very individuals who are the lifeblood of their industry.
To achieve this, I’ve drawn inspiration from the concept of film festivals. Similar to how festivals accept submissions, review them, and select nominees before awarding laurels and prizes, we will implement a comparable process with our own twist.
We’ll have several collections open for submissions, which we’ll evaluate based on key storytelling criteria. Stories that meet or exceed our standards will be accepted into our collections and featured on our website, giving them the exposure they deserve and highlighting the talent behind them.
Additionally, selected stories will receive a laurel as a badge of honor for being accepted into specific collections. Creators can showcase those laurels in their portfolios to validate the quality of their work. While we can’t offer monetary rewards just yet, it’s a goal we’re working towards. We understand the challenges artists face and are committed to supporting their success now and in the future.
As the great J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” and as I’m writing this, I realize that these are very humble beginnings. I have a grand vision for what this place could one day become, but only time can tell what the actual outcome will be, and I accept that. As a matter of fact, it excites me! What we are setting out to do, might end in just another failure, but it might just as well turn out to be one of the most beautiful journeys we will ever set out on. And even though the probability of the former is way way way higher than the latter, the fact that that probability isn’t zero puts the biggest smile on my face.
I’m doing this out of my deep love for art and creativity, and in honor of all the amazing creatives who’ve inspired me since I was a happy little chappy. Getting lost in their worlds has been one of my greatest privileges, and I’m excited about the new worlds I’ll have the chance to explore in the future. With some luck, hard work, and dedication, this place might help shine a light on creators and stories that will inspire others much like the ones that inspired me. That alone would make all of this worth it. And I secretly hope (with the cheekiest little smile on my face), that I can take you along for the journey, so you too can visit their worlds right alongside me. 😉
May the odds be ever in our favor.
– Mick