You hit all the right chords here! Appreciate the list of manifestos. I think as you say, it is a great exercise for one's soul and "structure" - to make visible your fundamental beliefs and aspirations. I also think a manifesto is a tool, a method for creating a community of belief. Something you stand for with others and a flag to rally the cause. It's an important feature. I remember the Dogme 95 manifesto and its impact on film. We even took it into education and it is now a well known approach to language teaching, believe it or not.
The WAR of ART by Steven Pressfield is a must read.
You hit all the right chords here! Appreciate the list of manifestos. I think as you say, it is a great exercise for one's soul and "structure" - to make visible your fundamental beliefs and aspirations. I also think a manifesto is a tool, a method for creating a community of belief. Something you stand for with others and a flag to rally the cause. It's an important feature. I remember the Dogme 95 manifesto and its impact on film. We even took it into education and it is now a well known approach to language teaching, believe it or not.