Michel Gondry and My Inner Whirlwind
I watched See the Sound’s festival entry Michel Gondry: Do It Yourself! at Lichtspiele Kalk today; a fun and heartfelt documentary worthy of the marvelous and unique mind it centers. A short glimpse at the film’s teaser text and I knew this was for me: “Punk teenager dreaming of Méliès’ silent film Stop-Motion experiments, …” Add to shopping cart!
A couple of minutes into the movie and the gears in my head started turning—I realized I am watching something special. Something that rattles me on a very deep level. Something that will stay with me for a long time. And sure enough, after the credits had rolled, I left the movies with the same feeling that I get when looking at Christoph Niemann’s illustrations, watching anything by The Daniels, playing a Zelda game, or listening to Shaka Ponk. (To just mention a few examples.)
I haven’t named this feeling yet and I am not sure whether I really need to, because I am pretty sure it is what people call inspiration. But that seems like a lazy excuse to not think about it anymore, hence I will call it my inner whirlwind moving forward. Let’s see whether the analogy holds up.
The Good: Creative Chaos
Whirlwinds tend to either make a horrible mess of things or take you to the land of Oz. Not unlike what happens in my head whenever I do anything of the above: My inner whirlwind disrupts, misplaces stuff, and takes me to surprising scenes. It’s like a serendipity catalyst.
Let me give you some examples:
- Gondry’s music video for The White Stripe’s The Hardest Button to Button reminded my of the movie Baby Driver by Edgar Wright. Both works took synchronicity of music and film to a new level. I wonder whether Edgar would reference Michel as an inspiration.
- Other films and film makers that crossed my mind while watching the documentary: Dave Made a Maze, Lotte Reiniger, The Daniels.
- Oh my god, the DVD collection of Michel’s brother is a thing of beauty! Shelves and shelves of’em! Why do I have such a weird relationship with physical stuff? Why am I so trapped between the coziness and nostalgia of things and the peace and convenience of minimalism?
You see what I mean? It feels like a lot of my neurons are firing and it is a good feeling, no doubt about that. I am thinking, digging, linking, and most importantly enjoying that input from years ago comes back in a new context. It feels like I am on to something. Like I should follow all these thoughts, because maybe, just maybe an original idea of my own awaits me.
And that’s where my inner whirlwind reveals its flipside.
The Ugly: Self-Doubt
Yup, there is no Bad. We are going straight to Ugly, because this is usually the point where other questions bubble up in my head:
- Do I ever have original ideas?
- Aren’t most of my attempts to be creative super-derivative?
- What is creativity, really? Am I a creative person?
- How can I be a creative person if the inner urge to turn creative thoughts into something tangible is usually outweighed by everyday life, work, and crippling perfectionism.
- How can I be perfectionist if I am not even sure what level of quality my creative work would have? Because here’s the kicker, you numbnut:
- What creative output do you have to show for yourself?
The Takeaway
On most days, I would read what I just wrote and think: I have danced that dance many times. And you know what? It is okay! I love my inner whirlwind and I am sure that the Good trumps the Ugly. Not everything I consume has to spark an idea for my own creative project. Sometimes input is just temporary food for thought. And if I am lucky, it will resurface during a future whirlwind.
But today is not one of those days. Today I think: I feel creative. Now let’s find out whether I actually am. I don’t have this inner urge that many creative people seem to have. That magical power that demands to be channeled into an output of some shape or form. Or maybe I just haven’t found it yet.
So, hey, future-self! Pull your head out of your ass, leave your comfort zone, and try to turn some of these amazing inputs into outputs. Less consumption. More creation. Whatcha think?