Discussion
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
It seems clear
that creativity is all about “seeing” in a figurative sense.
It’s about being able to get a new perspective. In Harper Lee’s
fictional/biographical classic, To Kill A Mockingbird (1991), Atticus Finch
cautions his children not to judge others until “you’ve walked
around in their shoes” for a bit. This seems to perfectly illustrate
both the desired goal of unlocking creativity as well as the way to get
there. Now, as to whose shoes you choose to walk in, and how far and which
direction…well, analogy can only go so far.
For those of us seeking to be more creative, we must indeed “choose
to refuse” many beloved and cherished notions, for most of those things
seem to us “who we are.” In the course of writing this paper,
assembling the information and research, the writer had many interesting
real life experiences that seemed to pop out of the material being reviewed
and written about. At one point, with realization and a bit of sadness,
I overheard a mother in a checkout line telling the checker all about her
little boy, who seemed to be about pre-school age. As she discussed his
likes, his dislikes, his interests and his predispositions it was as though
a framework was closing around the little boy, defining and shaping him
into a preconceived product. The child will obviously hear and respond to
these notions. Even if it is a rebellious response, still his own character
and perceptions are being shaped and imposed upon him. It was hard to imagine
that a few short years of life could already begin to impose such limits
on our openness to the grand wonders of infinite possibilities.
This writer, like almost all of us, was undoubtedly much like that young
boy. We all carry labels that we accept as definitions of ourselves. Even
the labels that we reject in some way define us. The point must be to disregard
all such labels and find our true originality, our own unique perspective
and expression. As an actor, I have had the opportunity to learn much about
adopting other perspectives and finding new ways to see things. Indeed,
it is somewhat of a disappointment that practically none of the books on
creativity even mention acting as a strategy for breaking through barriers
and teaching ourselves to see things differently, when, in fact, a classically
trained actor is “trained” to do precisely that: to adopt the
perspective of a complete stranger. In order to play Richard III, one cannot
condemn him, one must sympathize with him, understand his point of view.
There is probably no greater expander of the imagination than to find a
way to see through the eyes of a man who, at least according to Shakespeare’s
play, ruthlessly kills rivals and children alike with the utmost justification.
When adopting such a role, one experiences at first reluctance, then detached
interest. Through the analyzing of motives and portraying of certain acts,
one is forced to incessantly ask questions and to consider possibilities.
It is perhaps an artificial exercise, but a valuable one. For a given period
of time one is forced to utterly abandon one’s own sensibilities and
adopt another’s. It is not easy, but it does get easier with practice.
Here is another element from the actor’s handbook of practical experience.
“Practice” by wearing different clothing. If you usually dress
in jeans, try putting on formal wear and going to the grocery store, or
to the bank. Observe how you feel, how you behave differently, and so on.
Also quite telling is how you are perceived changes, especially if, along
with the clothes, you adopt the fiction of being someone else. Shoes, especially
(as Atticus mentions figuratively) are an interesting aid. Purchasing a
few second hand shoes at a thrift store in a size, shape or style completely
unlike one’s own usual choices makes for interesting perspective shifts.
As you walk around in those shoes, feel them and feel the ground underneath.
Feel the way your gait and rhythm change. Don’t try to preserve your
own. Let the shoes or the clothes stimulate something new. It’s fascinating
how such little details can help train us to shift out of our own preconceptions
and acceptances of a fixed reality.
Though not included in the book lists of research conducted specifically
for this paper, I would include here the books by Michael Checkhov (An Actor
Prepares) and any of the books by Constantin Stanislavsky. Also, Viola Spolin
created a series of exercises and wrote on Improvisation for the Theater.
The Improvisation exercises and theories have been used extensively in schools
as part of an educational curriculum to stimulate creative thinking. They
are valuable not only to actors, but to all who seek an opportunity to break
out of their comfort zone.
To Kill a mockingbird
(Harper Lee) has had a wide cultural effect including a lyric video by Eminem.
To fully understand it you have to go past the cliff note/ sparknotes (Spark
Note) summary to find a true portrait of its much quote message.