COM 207.3: The Creative Person: Steven Spielberg

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I came across a 1998 article written by Rogert Ebert for TIME Magazine's "TIME 100 Artists and Entertainers" and knew exactly that one of its shortlists, Steven Spielberg, would fit the category of a "creative person."

The name says it all. When we hear Steven Spielberg, we get transported to worlds that we never thought existed or we could be in. We become reminiscent of his movies we've seen when we were young.

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Tell me, did you not get scared of swimming in the beach knowing that at any moment, a shark can attack and pull your limbs off thanks to the horror/ thriller JAWS? Just to hear its musical score is enough to make the audience chill right? The Jaws phenomenon has been global in magnitude.

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I'm sure you've also fallen in love with E.T. and wished you also had an alien friend didn't you? How about Schindler's List? It compelled so many people's emotions about the fate of the Holocaust victims and how hard it was to survive the world war.

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I can go on with a list of Spielberg movies that may have had a definite impact on our lives but allow me to share what I have read from Ebert's TIME article.

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One night when Spielberg was young, his father suddenly woke him up from sleep, asked him to step on the car, and drove him to a place unbeknownst to him. Spielberg was very scared and his heart was beating fast for the night was very dark and the purpose of the travel was uncertain. Then, when they got out of the car, he saw many people lying on blankets. His dad soon laid their own and they both lied down. When he looked up the sky just like how the others did, he saw something that he didn't expect - a meteor shower. It was so spectacular that from then on, he never looked at the sky and thought it was a bad place.

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Certain experiences in life can really bring the best out of us. As with the case of Spielberg, this event of his life has changed his perspective of certain directorial standpoints. For example, many directors project darkness as a void that conceals mystery but not for Spielberg who rather conceals mystery thru light.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) trailer

Furthermore, one of Spielberg's most important contribution to modern movies is his insight. His vision was that an enormous number of audience will be generated if low budget commercial movies (known as B movies) were made with A-level craftsmanship accompanied by enhanced technological/ special effects.

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) trailer

Think of Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indiana Jones series), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Jurassic Park, and so much more with themes, concepts and approaches that are all ahead of their generation but generally appeal to the public.

The Color Purple (1985) trailer

Ebert (1998) says "Spielberg's first films were made at a time when directors were the most important people in Hollywood, and his more recent ones at a time when marketing controls the industry." Hence, he has remained one of the most powerful and influential filmmakers in the world at both periods of time. When a talented and flexible entertainer and artist came together, Ebert says, "the result was... a remarkable fusion of mass appeal and stylistic."

Jurassic Park (1993) trailer

This reminds me of our previous lesson about intersection and how the merging of fields can produce creative insights and ideas that leap into new directions. This is further supported by Alfred Hitchcock praising Spielberg in his movie Jaws, saying "he's the first one of us who doesn't see the proscenium arch (he was the first mainstream director to think outside the visual dynamics of the theater)."



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The success of the Spielberg movies thru his creative ingenuity, vision and artistry, will not totally materialize had it not been for the people who supported or critiqued him all the way. This is definitely not a one-man show but someone's got to start the process and we've got Steven Spielberg entering the doorstep. The advancement of technology and convergence of science, have both been keys in transforming thoughts into things that are tangible and believable which Spielberg and the people he had or has been working with (another critical ingredient for success) had come to appreciate and fully-grasped of.

Steven Spielberg has innovated and improved the quality of films we watch; revolutionized the movie industry; paved the way for great new directors, producers, and etc.; and truly entertained us in a whole new level. The Academy awards, the box-office records, the high revenues, the prestige, the recognitions and so forth are all icings on the cake.