Creativity, just like happiness, is a broad term that has been thoroughly studied for many, many years. Even so, the ability to be “creative” in school and allow children to explore their creativity is somewhat controversial. As I mentioned in class, the videos reminded me very much of “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens (as I said, “it’s like my favorite book…like ever!”). “Hard Times” does a great job of bringing to light how the abolishment of creativity in the educational system can lead to a loss of individuality in children. In the book, children were assigned numbers in the classroom and were only supposed to state facts. This is from a scene from an old film based on the book, in which students were supposed to define a horse. In the book, Sissy Jupe has a more creative way of defining a horse, and in the film, they don’t show that but they show that she is unable to define a horse and can only relate it to horseback riding (which is deemed creative):
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Also, if anyone has read “Le Petit Prince” (or “The Little Prince”), they too would be familiar with the idea that as adults, we tend to be less creative and less imaginative. The book points out, that from seeing the image on top (below this), adults would think it’s a hat. But, the image created by the narrator as a child is meant to represent a boa who swallowed an elephant.
But anyways, to answer the question, I don’t feel like I have the ability to be as creative as I would like to be in school. I mean, I remember in high school..I was able to create or write something in my own unique way, but I still had to follow certain rules and keep everything within certain acceptable boundaries. But, there was this Humanities teacher who everyone hated because she used to take creativity to a whole new level. One time, my friend (who had this teacher) told me that she gave out an assignment, and the assignment was to take any quote from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and to visually represent it. You couldn’t create a poster though and your representation couldn’t have words. I remember when the project was due, kids came in with boxes and mazes and costumes and it was just like a crazy, art convention. It was interesting..but it was just hard for some kids that felt they were being forced into thinking creatively for the sake of a grade. Some people just don’t like the idea of expressing their creativity or may feel they don’t have any. I think it’s always fun to step out of the box, especially in education. Sometimes, the classroom environment can become quite monotonous. But then, there is the belief that there is no room for creativity in education. I mean, don’t we live in a society where everyone wants to go to the top? Be part of that 1% of wealthy people? Isn’t that the notion behind the American Dream, to climb up the socioeconomic ladder? In doing so, you have to learn the facts, right? This relates to Alex’s past two posts about how we live in a society that aims to create a nation of workers.
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Now onto ambiguity. I love ambiguity. I love the idea of surprises, not knowing..the thrill of getting to connect ideas and events and trying to fill in the holes. I feel okay not understanding anything from time to time, although like a child, I like to ask “why” a lot. But, sometimes..it’s just awesome to not know things. Like for example, “Inception”, the great film directed and written by Christopher Nolan ends in an ambiguous way that has created a lot of debates and I think that’s awesome and just fills everyone with a thrill for more.
Personally, I don’t think we need to know everything. Actually, I think it is impossible to know everything. I feel like the idea of a mystery applies to a lot of aspects in life. I know that I am attracted to mysterious people because I like to learn about them. I get bored when I know too much about a person, and in doing so, I try to prevent others from knowing every little thing about me. Maybe this connects to my love for crime shows and mystery novels. The idea of “what happens next” or “what are their (a person) intentions” is fun to explore.
I like this clip from “Hard Times”, i’ve never read it but its interesting that Dickens was writing about things like this long before 1984, or The Wall. The people who say they have no creativity, or that they hate participating in projects like the one you mentioned above make me wonder. Is this a left/right brain thing, is it due to anxiousness about public embarrassment, is it conditioning by the school system, or are some people just not born as creative as others? I find it hard to believe that without a little practice and some encouragement that there are people incapable of creativity. As far as reaching the 1% goes, it may be the American dream, but for the most part its an impossibility because the powers that be determine who makes it past a certain point. Which brings me to my next question, are the people who are lacking in confidence about their own abilities holding themselves back, and if so, if this is a majority feeling are we repressing ourselves by allowing this cycle of poor education, poor learning, and small thinking to perpetuate?
(@agoetzfried) Alex, I think you would really appreciate “Hard Times” and I encourage you to read it. Dickens did show himself to be way ahead of his time with this book, and now that I realize it, he does touch on the problem about people being dumbed down and having to work their backs’ off for someone else to become rich.
Those are excellent questions to ask, and I didn’t even think about it that way. I just assumed people don’t like to participate in creative projects because they feel like they’re not creative. But, you take it a step further and question whether it’s anxiousness due to public embarrassment or the conditioning by the school system. Personally, I don’t believe in the idea of people not being born as creative as others because from a biological perspective, I’m sure there are no specific genes that decide whether you’re more creatively attuned than someone else; there’s no such thing as an “art gene”, “music gene”, “writing gene”, etc. But, I guess from a psychological perspective, some people lean towards one part of their brain more than the other and unleash their gifts in that sense. Also, I read a NewScientist article about how artistic tendencies are linked to a gene mutation that can lead to mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The article also states that the study conducted in Hungary found intelligence to be a big factor in whether or not the mutated gene will lead to psychosis or creativity. We’ve seen the fall of many great artists and writers due to mental illnesses.
Like you mention, I don’t think anyone is 100% unable to be creative in some way. Rather, each person has a unique way in expressing their creativity and it’s interesting that society automatically links art and creativity together. Scientists and physicists are very creative people. Architects and engineers..etc, etc. The educational system may condition children to believe that creativity and art go hand in hand, and if all you can do is draw stick figures in Kindergarten Art Class, then you’re not going to be some Picasso. And I guess that’s where the conditioning steps in. Sure, you’re not going to be a Picasso, but that doesn’t mean you might not be an Einstein or a Hemingway. So, encouragement is definitely needed, especially for young kids.
You’re absolutely right about the 1% and how there are certain powers that control who makes it to the top. A lot of people do not know this, but Bill Gates didn’t start Microsoft from scratch. He was a rich kid, and his mom actually pressured him to drop out of Harvard so that he could work for someone who was working at IBM. From there, he made a couple of connections and was able to invest his own ideas to make a huge corporation and become one of the top 5 richest men in the world (learned this in Anthropology). But, most people believe Gates built Microsoft from scratch and is some face for the American Dream. I’m not discouraging anyone to follow their dreams or saying that becoming wealthy is unattainable, but it is VERY hard and you need to fight way harder than the guys on top with their silver spoons if you’re just an average dude with a dream.
I don’t know if the people who are lacking confidence are holding themselves back because they want to, they may have been conditioned that way. Great people have broken out of the cycle of poor education and small thinking and have made themselves into big names under the expense of being called an “outcast” or a “loner” for thinking independently. Often, you will hear people in the music industry or from any art-related field admitting to being bullied during school due to their unique abilities. This connects to your post today and your excerpt from Jim Marrs’ book: “Today any close reading of the newspaper reminds us daily that the loner requires psychiatric intervention, and maybe drugs as well…”
Anywho, great questions and I apologize that this is extremely long! 🙂