How many bloggers does it take...?

      John Cleese--there's a lot that one could say about the man. For starters, he's an esteemed writer and film producer, actor, and comedian in Britain. He's probably best known for his Monty Python skits and movies. What else is there to say? How about his phenomenal ability to give speeches? Oh, did I mention that he also is a renowned expert on creativity? Of course, one should already assume such things when Cleese is mentioned. 

      A few nights ago, I watched his speech on creativity that he gave during a convention. In the speech, Cleese talked about what creativity is, how we can become more creative everyday, and of course, cracked a few interesting versions of the classic light bulb joke. In the beginning of his lecture, John stated that "creativity is not a talent" rather than a way that we, as human beings, operate daily. He went over the "closed mode" and "open mode" to being creative--open mode is where we are humorous, curious, and fully relaxed, while closed mode is where we are serious, tense, and aware of daily life pressures and problems. He mentioned how being in the closed mode makes it impossible to find creative solutions and ideas, but to be in the open mode makes it near impossible to initiate the said solutions or place the ideas into something productive. So, according to Cleese, there must be a balance between open and closed modes. 

      Cleese also talked about the process to take in order to find your oasis called the "open mode". The first step is to make space for yourself, to find your own "creative oasis" hiding within the desert we call our minds. Next you must have time. This time is needed to get into the open mode, to think thoroughly, find your creative ideas, and then return to the closed mode. Thirdly, you shouldn't settle for your original idea or solution. Make sure you thoroughly explore all the possible creative branches and outlets. Then comes confidence. Once you find an idea that you completely adore, you must place all your confidence into it. You can also play off "what if" questions, to see just how much further that will take you. Lastly, one must add humor. In order to be creative, Cleese says humor is the path to take, that it helps us to leave our close-minded state and venture further into our imaginations. Unfortunately, despite being a huge fan of the Monty Python movies, I find myself disagreeing with Cleese on his statement. Creativity is creativity—there’s nothing else to it. I believe that sometimes, or rather much of the time, seriousness can bring out the most creative sides of people.

       Today, media surrounds us with serious themed movies, shows, plays, books, and songs. While a lot of these may be based on a true story, which sucks some of the creativity from the story line, they are creative nonetheless. How so, you ask? Well, many movies today are under the genre “history”. Once placed inside this category, it's obvious to the audience that the topic is based off either an actual event in history or a historical figure. Although it's core of being is true, that does not mean it is full of actual facts, dialogue, or people. 

       For example, in Titanic, the author of the script had done some serious researching. On the actual ship, in the passengers' log, there was a woman named Rose staying in the first class quarters who ended up surviving the tragedy, while a man named Jack Dawson lived in the lower quarters of the ship. His body had never been recovered. This being said, despite having the same name and fate as real people, the characters in the movie and the story line we have all grown up to love is fictitious. The tale leading up to and throughout the ending of the movie is nothing more than a figment of the writer’s mind. Despite knowing they were on the ship together, there is no other facts or evidence to validate that Rose and Jack had actually met on the Titanic. We are left to believe that Rose’s famous line, “I’ll never let you go, Jack”, is just a catchy phrase the author created to enrage the movie’s fans when she does, later, let him go. Despite the passengers’ log, there is no other documentation, evidence, or witness that can vouch for the love story we all adore. We are left to face the fact that their love never really existed.

       By taking a serious topic and adding a few comedic flares to it, the movie was born. It is a prime example of how seriousness can lead to great spurts of creativity. Think about it: Your favorite song is more than likely about a bad breakup or a misfortunate event in the musician’s life. It is more unlikely to draw inspiration from a good event, but if so, the song is still more serious than one originally thinks. Your favorite war movie is most likely not a documentary, nor is your favorite horror story. The most popular form of theatre, other than comedy, is tragedy, which is based off a serious issue and instills its audience with hidden morals of life. So, while Cleese may be right that comedy is a direct outlet of creativity, we cannot disregard that seriousness is one as well.

      Despite the disagreement on close-mindedness and open-mindedness, I really enjoyed his speech. Although it lasted a little over a half hour, I found it entertaining, enlightening, and of course, creative. By the end of the video, not only did I find myself craving to watch Monty Python and The Holy Grail, I also felt so inspired to take everything I do and look at it through a different perspective. There's only one question I have left...     

How many bloggers does it take to change a light bulb? The answer is two: one to change the bulb and the other to write a reflection on how it made them feel.