21st Century: Query 181 (Frank Capra)
“Don’t
follow trends, start trends.”
~ Frank Capra was an Italian-American film director, producer and writer who became the
creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the
1930’s and 1940’s. Born in Italy and raised in Los Angeles from the age
of five, his rags-to-riches story has led film historians
such as Ian
Freer to consider him the American
Dream personified.
While parents
and teachers often try to encourage their children and students to be creative
and original, they are required to emphasize standardized tests, set curricula,
and rules and regulations, thus imposing conformity. And then there is peer
pressure.
How can children
be encouraged to overcome peer pressure and find their own path to originality?
How does peer
pressure follow one into adulthood? How does peer pressure and conformity shape
the workplace, including the entertainment business?
How can one
find his or her originality when our culture is geared solidly toward
conformity?
In Capra’s
industry, the tried and true, the formulaic, often wins the day – how is Capra’s
assertion at odds with the reality of the film industry?
In addition to
Capra, what filmmakers have bucked the odds and “started trends,” and which of
their films have been trend-setting?