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?
In Bed with Michel Gondry
The wonderful Filmdienst recommended the film In Bed with Michel Gondry in ARTE’s media library today and at first I thought it’s the same film. But no, it is another piece by the same director and of the same year. Nice! Double-nice: Michel Gondry – Do It Yourself! is also available at the media library. Both films can be streamed (and downloaded, if you want) until 2024-12-26.