Comments on: Creative freedom http://www.tinkerx.com/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/ A deluxe heap of broken images. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:16:48 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Andy http://www.tinkerx.com/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21764 Andy Fri, 06 Jul 2007 02:44:46 +0000 http://www.tinkerx.com/index.php/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21764 Deadwood is very educational! It's how children learn that "fuck" can be used as every part of speech, and in any situation, no matter the context. That's an important lesson for kids; the versatility and functionality of the F-bomb. Sarcasm is important, too. Deadwood is very educational! It’s how children learn that “fuck” can be used as every part of speech, and in any situation, no matter the context. That’s an important lesson for kids; the versatility and functionality of the F-bomb.

Sarcasm is important, too.

]]> By: Mia http://www.tinkerx.com/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21741 Mia Thu, 05 Jul 2007 21:17:35 +0000 http://www.tinkerx.com/index.php/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21741 Andy- great points. Reminds me of all the metaphorical ways that artists have criticized powerful institutions when they would be punished for speaking outright. And HBO is an interesting example- in some ways their lack of restrictions (on language, let's say) has led to some innovative shows like Sex and the City and Six Feed Under, but at the same time, I get turned off by series that seem to rely on swearing as the base from which all conversation flows (I'm thinking of Deadwood and Sopranos). Andy- great points. Reminds me of all the metaphorical ways that artists have criticized powerful institutions when they would be punished for speaking outright. And HBO is an interesting example- in some ways their lack of restrictions (on language, let’s say) has led to some innovative shows like Sex and the City and Six Feed Under, but at the same time, I get turned off by series that seem to rely on swearing as the base from which all conversation flows (I’m thinking of Deadwood and Sopranos).

]]> By: Andy http://www.tinkerx.com/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21652 Andy Thu, 05 Jul 2007 04:15:19 +0000 http://www.tinkerx.com/index.php/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21652 @Mia: Good points about video games, first of all. I think the most fun I ever had on a PC Game was the original "Civilization" from Sid Meiers. Crappy, EGA graphics, no animation to speak of... and that sucker burned a couple thousand hours of my life. As far as censorship goes... some of the greatest works of art of all time came out of countries and times when the government (and/or church) had very strict prohibitions r.e. subject matter. In some cases, creativity was simply directed into other, more acceptable topics. In some, though, great artists pushed the bounds of what was "acceptable," challenging various repressive policies "in the margins," as it were. I don't think censorship is good, obviously. But consider, for example, our restrictions (in the US) on what can/can't be done on TV. Things are getting looser, but that doesn't necessarily make for better TV. Repression sucks. But true creativity can challenge repression, I think, in ways that censors aren't creative enough to understand. Sometimes art can stand inside very narrow limits, but shout to those on the other side. @Mia: Good points about video games, first of all. I think the most fun I ever had on a PC Game was the original “Civilization” from Sid Meiers. Crappy, EGA graphics, no animation to speak of… and that sucker burned a couple thousand hours of my life.

As far as censorship goes… some of the greatest works of art of all time came out of countries and times when the government (and/or church) had very strict prohibitions r.e. subject matter. In some cases, creativity was simply directed into other, more acceptable topics. In some, though, great artists pushed the bounds of what was “acceptable,” challenging various repressive policies “in the margins,” as it were.

I don’t think censorship is good, obviously. But consider, for example, our restrictions (in the US) on what can/can’t be done on TV. Things are getting looser, but that doesn’t necessarily make for better TV.

Repression sucks. But true creativity can challenge repression, I think, in ways that censors aren’t creative enough to understand. Sometimes art can stand inside very narrow limits, but shout to those on the other side.

]]> By: Mia http://www.tinkerx.com/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21589 Mia Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:28:17 +0000 http://www.tinkerx.com/index.php/2007/07/04/creative-freedom/#comment-21589 Great post! It reminds me of the early Atari 2600 games and why they were so great (at least to us oldsters)-- the designers had loads of limits, practical limits, on what they could do in terms of graphics, memory, etc. That didn't stop me from playing Space Invaders on end, or feeling like my wrist was going to fall off after a fun game of Centipede. So either creatively imposed restrictions (you can't use the color pink!) or technological restrictions can be a spur for creativity, rather than a limitation. One thing I'd ask about, though, is if game designers (or creative types of any sort) are having their work censored because of what they've done, what does that do to creativity? Does the lack of an immediate audience negate the creativity, or will the object find an audience or market elsewhere? I don't know if I'm making sense here- basically I'm thinking about a repressive government (Russia seems to be on that tear lately), for example, saying that no media can criticize the government. What does that do to creativity, and can it be a positive thing like technical or creative constraints? Great post! It reminds me of the early Atari 2600 games and why they were so great (at least to us oldsters)– the designers had loads of limits, practical limits, on what they could do in terms of graphics, memory, etc. That didn’t stop me from playing Space Invaders on end, or feeling like my wrist was going to fall off after a fun game of Centipede. So either creatively imposed restrictions (you can’t use the color pink!) or technological restrictions can be a spur for creativity, rather than a limitation.

One thing I’d ask about, though, is if game designers (or creative types of any sort) are having their work censored because of what they’ve done, what does that do to creativity? Does the lack of an immediate audience negate the creativity, or will the object find an audience or market elsewhere? I don’t know if I’m making sense here- basically I’m thinking about a repressive government (Russia seems to be on that tear lately), for example, saying that no media can criticize the government. What does that do to creativity, and can it be a positive thing like technical or creative constraints?

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