What in our lives can we shine a light on?

adventure business life Jul 11, 2021
Horror films... Back in 2014 I was one of 25 people privileged to sit in on a private presentation by the amazing Frank Oz. The presentation was Frank sharing his experience about his time as an actor, film maker, and his amazing life as a puppeteer.
 
If you don’t recognise his face immediately, you will certainly know his voice, characters and likely his movies. In addition to being Yoda in Star Wars, he was also Cookie Monster, Bert, Grover, Animal, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear to name a few...
 
How he and the team created film and told stories back then was truely magic. Of all the things that he shared that day, one HUGE, HUGE, thing stuck with me...
 
And it was horror films and the art of creating them...
 
Now, this is usually where I turn off. I have never really been attracted to watch them however, what he shared stayed with me forever.
 
I am not sure if this is what Frank said, but this is what I understood...
 
Horror films are the finest form of art in storytelling and film production.
 
Why?
 
The art is that the monster is never really seen...
 
The art instead is to invoke YOUR INNER FEARS...
 
The art is to agitate YOUR EXISTING FEAR...
 
And by doing that in a way that the MONSTER IS NOT VISIBLE on the screen
 
BECAUSE...
 
The fear inside you is greater than anything that can be shown on the screen...
Therefore what you are feeling is YOUR FEAR... Not the actual monster.
 
If the monster became visible on the screen, then you could judge it to be less than what your internal picture has created therefore, be less scared. The fear of the invisible and the unknown is potentially way greater than the actual threat.
 
So, the art and the craft, is to form a story with prompts to take your mind to a place where YOUR FEAR is behind a dark door... a basement... or a place your mind does not date to go...This is so profound I’m so many ways...
 
Hearing Frank talk about this applies to my interpretation of so many areas of life. It is how I see information that comes to me these days. (And it also has helped me for years to step into the dark ‘no go zones’ of my own self and shine a light into the shadows.. Well, the shadows of what society says... The doors society tells you to keep closed... But in those places is where tour true self lies...)
 
So, what in our lives can we shine a light on?
 
What ‘invisible monster’ do we think is lurking around any corner of our life?
 
What if that invisible monster was given a physical form and could be seen?
 
What would it look like and would it be so scary?
 
Would it even be around you and if it was? Could you handle it anyway?
 
Shine a light in the shadows... Dare to go there and it just may not be as scary as it seems.
 
Thank you Frank, and thank you Victoria Labalme for bringing Frank into my life.