Who Inspires Me Creatively

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ugRrbwzdlc

I began listening to Ben Folds when I was 14. I heard the song "Evaporated" and was pretty much hooked from that moment on. Folds is not only an incredible performer and brilliant songwriter, but he knows how to take creative risks. 


He has enough confidence in himself as a serious writer to create songs like "Brick," a melancholy song about his high school girlfriend having an abortion, while still maintaining a healthy sense of humor and self-deprication. One of his most popular singles "Rockin' the Suburbs" features the line: "I take the checks and face the facts, that some producer with computers fixes all my shitty tracks." While I don't believe this is the case, and I'm almost certain he doesn't REALLY either, I certainly relate to that reflex of discrediting yourself for the sake of a laugh.


Ben Folds, in my mind, is one of the best voices for people like me; middle class kids who grew up in the suburbs watching too many movies, reading too many books (never the ones for school), and sitting on the bus with headphones in rather than talking to the other kids because well, let's face it, they just weren't as interesting as David Bowie. He understands this culture of suburban brat-outsiders who grew up as true American consumers, forever berated by their parents to "do something productive." I'm on a tangent now, but it's relevant. It's all a part of that Generation X over-aware, self-indulgence. 


Take for instance, his covering of Ke$ha's "Sleazy." He consistently covers the songs of artists he admires, but that isn't what he's doing here. When Ke$ha sings the song "Sleazy," the text is literal, because she wrote the song and is speaking about her life. When Ben Folds sings "Sleazy," he's performing a sort of satirical tribute. The subtext is ironic, because Ben Folds tends to appeal to exactly the kind of audience which would turn their noses up at Ke$ha. 


Just as I identified with Ben Folds, I would aspire to write/create from a point of view which is relatable.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwTJ08lb73Q


Another person I admire creatively is Greg Daniels, the creator of the American version of "The Office." No other television show, in my mind, utilizes tension and release better than "The Office." The combination of excellent character acting and writing has created a truly astounding show. "The Office" is such an alive and realistic kind of show. The characters have been introduced and developed in a brilliant fashion.


What I find so interesting about the show is that there are so many times where you almost forget it isn't real and are actually physically uncomfortable. Whether it's Michael and Jan having a full-out domestic dispute during a dinner party or Andy punching a hole through the wall, there are times when it's almost painful to watch. Not because it's sad, or horrific, or boring; but because it's so awkward. Typically the awkwardness we see on television and in movies doesn't have the ability to effect how we feel, but the characters and the situations are so realistic and sympathetic that the audience feels effected. 


Almost every episode, something happens which creates tension. Typically it involves Michael doing something which causes everyone in the office to freak out. However, at the end everything returns to the normal state of paper shuffling and polite chit-chat white noise. Every episode perfectly demonstrates tension and release in media. I hope to be able to give these same sort of sensations, sometimes by utilizing tension and release. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61-GFxjTyV0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs


As far as film directors go, I've lately really been admiring the work of Darren Aronofsky. I especially like the contrast between The Black Swan and The Wrestler. Of course, as with all Aronofsky's films, there is some affinity, but he wrote and directed Black Swan as a companion piece to the Wrestler, so there are some contrasts. I admire Darren Aronofky as a director because I feel like he's so good at really making a film his, which gives it a really finished and deliberate feel. 


Most of his films have something to do with a character exploring their reality and having to come to grips with a fierce internal struggle, and Black Swan and Wrestler are no different. Both Mickey Rourke and Natalie Portman's characters use their bodies in extremely physical ways, and it effects them internally. They both punish themselves for their art. 


However, the styles are incredibly different, and they actually correspond to the male and female. The Wrestler was shot and written very honestly, with very little extravagance. Just as men tend to be, The Wrestler is very gritty, very straightforward, breath-takingly so. Black Swan, however is the complete opposite. Everything about it from the plot to the characters, to the cinematography, was extremely indirect and ambiguous. 


I really enjoy Aronofsky's work and I hope to tackle projects with the same sense of self and experimentation.