Creative choices
In an HBO documentary about making movies, Charlize Theron notes, “There is no formula that works. There is no guarantee. But as far as making choices on material, I just kind of think, well, it has nothing to do with me, so why not just go for it?”
She adds, “That’s why, when people say, Why don’t you make safer choices, I say What is a safe choice? There really isn’t a safe choice in this industry. You never have a guarantee whether it’s going to work or not. And it takes a lot of courage to do that. So you better make sure, if it doesn’t work, that you walk away with something else, and that is the knowledge that you did it for a good reason.”
> from HBO documentary Boffo! Tinseltown’s Bombs and Blockbusters [June 2006], based on the book Boffo! : How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb, by Peter Bart
Writer and therapist Nathaniel Branden notes about the courage aspect of making creative choices: “Innovators and creators are persons who can to a higher degree than average accept the condition of aloneness. They are more willing to follow their own vision, even when it takes them far from the mainland of the human community. This is one of the secrets of their power. That which we call ‘genius’ has a great deal to do with courage and daring, a great deal to do with nerve.” [One of his books is The Art of Living Consciously]
French philosopher Simone Weil noted, “The human soul has need of security and also of risk. The boredom produced by a complete absence of risk is also a sickness of the soul.” [related book : The Notebooks]
But risking with too much abandon, too little concern or awareness, can be futile, or even self-destructive. Artists and leaders who learn to walk that edge are the ones who succeed in creative endeavors.
> related pages
achievement, growth, prosperity resources
courage / confidence
filmmaking
self-limiting
July 4th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
Therefore, it seems, one must go in whatever direction…
Though I do believe there is a formula for good art independent of popular opinion, an objective standard that ensures the immortality of a piece. Note that The Great Gatsby was unpopular at its release, though Fitzgerald knew it was a masterpiece.
Here’s a valuable quote:
“A work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line.”
–Joseph Conrad
However, as Theodore Roosevelt suggests by implication of his suggestion, “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” go in any direction carefully, but be resiliant.
Don’t be a worthless slob. Just do something. If it’s dangerous, well, that’s what the stick is for. The justification is a rebellion against laziness.