The Inspo Report news team is back again to jumpstart your heart and mind with bulletin blasts of creativity. Time to break through your artistic slump like the mother fucking Kool-Aid Man, OHHH YEAAAHHH! Let’s start the show, shall we?
Horror Movies as Therapy
The Brood by David Cronenberg
Horror films are often an easy way for a director to deliver their creative vision. They are cheap to make and have a rabid fan base willing to ingest whatever you send down the line. Before A24 was producing new horror classics like, The VVitch, Hereditary, Midsommar and It Comes at Night - there was David Cronenberg, the master of “Body Horror”. Often exploring how little control we have over our corporeal forms. During quarantine I went back and explored most of, if not all of his early work. Movies like, The Fly, Scanners, Videodrome and Dead Ringers. While doing some research I found a video of Bill Hader, yes that Bill Hader, talking to The Criterion Channel. He said one of David Cronenberg’s most slept on films (not a direct quote) was “The Brood” a 1979 psychological horror film. I knew I had to find it!
It follows a divorced couple that are trying out an alternative form of psycho-therapy. The woman appears to be struggling with mental illness due to years of abuse in her younger life. The experimental therapy gets her to dig deeper into her psyche and face her residual anger - but where does the anger go once we’ve worked through our trauma in therapy? And what can that anger breed? The Brood is the perfect Trojan Horse for exploring deeper themes like, parental fears, anger issues, and repressed trauma while still keeping the audience engaged. The Brood has stuck with me for months now - getting me to go deeper into my subconscious like a neural cosmonaut. If you are looking to be scared, disgusted and enlightened all at the same damn time - It’s available to rent on Amazon Prime, and for free with a HBO or HBO Max subscription.
Traveling Across the Galaxy
The Fantastical Worlds of Moebius
Moebius, real name Jean Giraud is one of the most prolific science fiction illustrators of our time. (1938-2012) Influencing the likes of comic book legend Stan Lee and the zen master of Japanese animation himself Hayao Miyazaki. His work is an art deco style spaceship that flies at light speed. Dropping you off into rainbow hued world after countless world. No alien passport required. The first book I picked up was “The World of Edena”, a hefty collection of stories and comics illustrated and written by the French master himself.
Whenever I’m in a creative rut, I grab my copy of Edena and flip randomly. My fingers always find something beautiful and awe inspiring. Whether its the color palette, innovative flat style, mind boggling creatures and machines - I’m always able to find and pull something into my own creative pursuits. Thank you Moebius for giving us a space ride into the expanse of your weird ass , lovable noggin.
Am I Addicted to Nostalgia or Numbing My Feelings?
Revisiting Blink-182, Rage Against the Machine & Andrew W.K.
“No one likes you when you're 23.” I sing to myself, now a 29 year old man…I don't know about you guys but every where I turn - it looks like the world is on fire, metaphorically and physically speaking. I’ve retreated to the bands and artists that comforted me as a child. Wrapping myself in a cocoon of nostalgia and angst in hopes of numbing myself of the existential pain.
Often I’ll treat these bands like novacane…Uh do I feel some self loathing rising up? Slap on a nicotine patch of “Enema of the State” by Blink-182. A spell of bubbling anger? Rage Against the Machine’s self titled debut. Binging alcohol and/or smokables of the kush-flavored variety? The Party Prince Andrew W.K.’s “I Get Wet”. These albums are comforting friends that transport me back to a simpler time. A time where I gave a shit about very few things. Where my ignorance of the world was like a fuzzy blanket and warm glass of milk delivered via memory foam pillow. Is this a good pattern of behavior? I don’t know man but it feels good. I’m not saying listening to music from our childhood is bad but I do think its bad if you aren’t viewing in the context of your current life. How else can we grow?
The Anti-Social Network
A question from the Gram!
This week I sent out an SOS on the insta-stories asking for any freelance related advice questions. The first is from @studio_jonesy - How do you actually “network”?
Nothing makes my whole body shudder like the word networking. (and ketchup on a hotdog) It makes me think of suit-and-tie assholes learning each others kid’s names while waiting in the wings to stab them with a handmade shiv for a bag. but I digress…For me the new networking is a witches brew of a few important ingredients. In no particular order - Build your social platforms. (whichever work for you and your current audience.) For me it’s Instagram. Post weekly if you can, use hashtags and follow fans of like minded accounts. Get those precious eyeballs on your work as much as possible. Once you get them to you tell them honestly who you are and what you can offer THEM. Start a dialogue with these people, get to know them.
Be genuine! Networking makes me dry-heave because it instantly presents a situation where you have to wear a mask and pretend to be someone else, in order to coax business out of someone. Be yourself, you are a wonderful snowflake that has a perspective like no other. You are an individual that has a creative solution unlike any other. Tell every person around you - family, friends, strangers, what your creative goals are. When you are having small conversations with these people don’t be afraid to “brag” about what you do! I can’t tell you how many of these little conversations have led to great opportunities. People want to help others. It’s in our DNA. I know it doesn’t feel like that right now but I refuse to believe otherwise. We want to be at the ground floor of success. Make people feel like helping you is an investment. Your friends and family can quickly turn into the best AND cheapest PR team in the world. I hope this helps someone even in the slightest. If not I owe you a beer or a non-alcoholic beverage of your choice. Until next time I’m Ryan Evans and this has been The Inspo Report.