Tarzan 2 is terrible compared to the first one with the Phil Collins soundtrack. At least that’s what Kim said after half-watching it with the kids while I was on the road.
I know, I’m just as surprised to hear that as you.
You know what separates the Oscar-winning movies from the ones that go straight to DVD? The ones that win awards are telling stories we haven’t seen before. Throughout the entire process — from the screenwriter to the producer to the casting director to the cinematographer to the director to the cast — everyone has the opportunity to do things the way they’ve always been done or to take a different tack.
Not different for the sake of different, mind you. Movies that are different for the sake of different may play well in art houses, but they’re mostly just…weird. It’s usually better to shoot for different for the sake of better.
When it comes to the story of your life, you’re wearing all the creative hats. You decide how you spend your time, your money and your energy. You get to pick your friends, your attitude, and where you live. Your dreams, your traditions, and your beliefs? You own those as well.
There is magic in your originality.
Have you ever noticed that you can always tell whether a child’s drawing was actually drawn by a child or an adult? Advertisements, signage, or product packaging will sometimes convey a childlike quality by including some elements supposedly drawn by a child. Much of the time, the drawing is done by a grown-up mimicking a child’s drawing. And you can tell it’s a fake.
Why is that?
It’s because the grown-up is trying to be something he or she is not. A real child’s drawing contains the bold, uninhibited and unconventional expressiveness of that certain child. An adult can try to copy that spirit, but it is a fool’s game. The adult is burdened with too many pre-conceived notions: what color something is supposed to be, what shape something is, how big it should be in relation to the other objects. Even though a grown-up may try to ignore those learned observations — by making the sun green or the house a triangle — she might not even consider the idea of making the trees float, which may be an obvious choice for a particular child. Usually, the grown-up ends up with an image that looks kind of like something a child would draw, but it’s always just a bit off, making it glaringly inauthentic.
We run into the same problem when we imitate someone else instead of just being ourselves. When we try to fit into a career that doesn’t suit us, mirror the journey of a personal hero, or follow in our father’s footsteps, no matter how well we do it, something will always be just a bit off. People can tell, and more importantly, we can feel it. Ironically, the reason we can’t pull it off is because too much of “us” gets the way.
Like a child with a blackboard and a fat piece of chalk, what we need to do is open the floodgates and let the “us” run free. It is only when we boldly go in our own direction, tap into our own mix of unique talents, and embrace our own wonderful idiosyncrasies that we can fashion a life that is a truly authentic and inspiring work of art. It’s always better to be a first-rate you than a second-rate somebody else.
As my friend Scott says, “Cover bands never make it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
There is magic in your originality. That’s what we want to see. And it’s exactly what the world needs.
Heaven knows we certainly don't need another Tarzan 2.