While I don’t have any new images to share, I did watch a movie (big surprise) called Hustle and Flow. I found the line that just reached out and grabbed me. I’m not a big rap music fan, but the storyline is about the struggle of an artist, wanting his voice to be heard and that’s universal. In this scene, the main character “DJ” is hustling hometown, platinum recording artist, Skinny Black to listen to his tape. He’s telling him that he sold out, that the best tracks he ever laid down were on his first album.
Skinny replies, I cut that in my mama’s laundry room man, It was raw as hell, but I put everything I had into that…”. DJ fires back, But to me, that was a sign of your genius. You see it’s not enough for a man to climb Mt. Everest. He’s got to do it with the least amount of tools. It’s about the man…one man and his skills.” Skinny says, “Like the Samurai say, the sword is only as powerful as it’s master.” Then DJ replies and Skinny finishes with him, “And it ain’t the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Every artist I know can relate to those words, the struggle and the trappings of success. The desire to be true to your art. The innocence and truth of art. It’s easy to become compliant when you’re successful and the struggle to be heard is not the issue anymore. This is the myth of the starving artist. While not entirely true, it does have a ring of truth to it. A truth I call Cinematic Wisdom.
