Who Inspires My Creativty

I've never really stopped to examine what specific kind of creative person I happen to be.  However, when I think about it i feel the best way to describe myself as striving for originality.  Originality in media is easily the aspect I admire the most and in return aspire to produce ideas and concepts of my own that may be equally if not more creative.  The most prominent figure that i can think of who creates with supreme originality is director/writer Darren Aronofsky. Aronofsky has created a portfolio which includes the films Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and the highly acclaimed, Academy Award Nominee The Black Swan. What makes his films so great is that the concepts, scenes, storylines, audio... I could go on forever but the fact of the matter is that what Aronofsky does with these elements of filmmaking is unlike anything that has been seen before.  His directing style often includes unique angles and cut scenes, the sound effects employed are crisp and real and the stories he tells are blatant indicators a unique train of thought that is always cleverly displayed in his films. Seeing as I hope to be a filmmaker someday it should make perfect sense that i would be inspired by someone like Darren Aronofsky, someone who has been very successful employing a creative process i hope to one day rival.

Requiem for a Dream, probably my favorite Aronofsky film, tells the stories of four addicts and how drugs essentially bring their lives to ruin. In the film, examples of some of the concepts we have discussed in class. For example, here is a scene where an example of affinity can be found. (Link 1 Here!!!)  This scene in particular is showing two of the main characters before, during and after shooting up heroin, all in a 30 second window and without any visual illicit drug use.  What makes this possible is the short compilation of clips in the middle of the scene that displays the steps that take place during drug use (fluid injecting, eyes dialating, etc.).  What adds the element of affinity to all this is the fact that this same quick compilation of 'drug steps' is used in the film whenever any of the addicts uses, thus creating a connection between all of them. Seeing as the characters somewhat contrast in their drugs of choice, it can be seen the process they go through to get high is essentially the same in each case.  The style Aronofsky uses to portray drug use here is easily one of my favorite sequence styles i have ever witnessed in film.

Next I think I'm going to go with an example of tension and release, check it out (Link 2 Here!). The life of Sarah Goldfarb is a very sad one to say the least.  The movie begins with her son Harry Goldfarb, heroin junkie, stealing her television in order to pay for more drugs.  As the story progresses we learn that she is also a widow and an extremely lonely person who spends her days watching infomercials.  When she receives a phone call informing her of a potential opportunity to be on television she is desperate to fit into an old dress of her's for the event.  This desire to lose weight causes her to turn to diet pills, which become addictive, alter her lifestyle and ultimately spell her doom.  In this scene the effects the pills have had on Mrs. Goldfarb's mental state can be seen. The tension in this particular scene is caused by the evil, seemingly volatile refrigerator.  The release comes when she can relax and escape back to the false reality inside the infomercials.  The way Aronofsky is able to display such a clear meaning in the midst of a scene of pure insanity simply amazes me.

Finally, i would like to demonstrate an example of text and subtext from Requiem for a Dreams.  This is a link to the final closing minutes of the film (Link 3 Here!).  This scene quickly sums up where drug addiction has gotten each of the characters through the course of the film. As an example I am referring to the end of the clip specifically, where Sarah and Harry Goldfarb are reunited inside the infomercial.  This is a prime example of text and subtext.  When looking at this scene from a textual standpoint, this reunion seems very real and could have possibly happened at some point.  However, the subtext of this scene is saying something else.  As the prior scene is one of Sarah Goldfarb laying in her bed institutionalized, then transitioning to the infomercial it is intended for the audience to interpret this reunion as yet another one of her infomercial fantasies.  The creative element that I admire most about this finally series of events is the way Aronofsky pairs it with music, adding strong emotion and gravity to the situation of it all.