The Oscars & Creative Leadership
The annual Academy Awards is an interesting phenomenon in our country. Living so close to LA makes it especially fascinating. It is a unique celebration of glamour and art- mostly too much of the former and not enough of the latter. Beyond all the dresses and pageantry, it's ultimately artists being recognized for their craft- that’s a good thing. I just wish there was a way to recognize the myriad of other artist that go unnoticed because they are not an “A” list entertainer. Oh well, that's Hollywood.
From tonight's experience, there were two major observations that reflected Creative Leadership: quotes and culture.
Quotes from artist and directors:
“This is a night that brings our world together; art is the universal language of the world”
“Creative seeds are sown in the oddest of places…”
“I will try and thank people more often everyday…”
“I’m completely obsessed when working. That’s the responsibility given to you. Ever fiber of your being is to be true to that story.”
“Any good I can do to any human being, let me do it now for I shall not pass this way again.”
Culture:
Tonight, Slumdog Millionaire won an amazing 8 Oscars including Best Picture. It’s a beautiful thing to see this humble story about young love in Mumbai become 2008’s most recognized film. There were no major stars or no major budget, just ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances in a foreign land. A R Rahman musical performance of ‘Jai Ho...’ was a personal highlight for me. I loved that the world could experience the beauty of Indian music/culture tonight.
This is truly a time of change for our world. We are barely two months into 2009- an African American President was inaugurated and a movie like Slumdog sweeps the Oscars. I believe the next generation of Creative Leadership will be one that embraces and empowers multiculturalism. This type of leadership thinks creatively from a ‘global’ perspective. And Creative Leadership expresses art that reflects the 'wonder' and beauty of all God’s creation. This is the kind of inspiration our world needs. This is the kind of art that should be celebrated. This is the kind of leadership that I would follow.