Artistic Blueprint

Years ago, Iron Man stole the hearts of movie goers. We were enthralled by his charismatic persona and intrigued by his bullish personality. While he played a character no one could relate to, everyone could relate to him. The mix of dramatic tension with humor made for a sweet and salty snack no one could have anticipated. This created the perfect cookie cutter for movie success.

For years, we’d see this new style repeated over and over again. It was wildly successful for Marvel as they added the deeper anticipation of a larger world interaction. Movies became cookie cutter or artsy. Artsy was a solid risk. You could either see great success or horrid failure. The cookie cutter was not guaranteed big bucks, but it brought in return.

This isn’t the first time in our lives we’ve seen a cookie cutter style movie play out. The late 90s and early 2000s were filled with movies based on popular teenage books. People found something that was working and capitalized on it.

I’m not here to say cookie cutter is wrong. I think in a lot of ways, finding out what people like is important. Your message can carry a lot further when you understand the best way to carry it onwards, but this cookie cutter style has gone well beyond movies these days. I see post after post on how to make your social media pop. They have key hooks. Phrases that are proven to catch people’s interests. Even lengths are analyzed, so you know how long a video needs to be to keep people interested.

Again, if it’s what people like, is it wrong? When I go to a restaurant, I will definitely get spaghetti if I don’t see anything else that piques my interest. Honestly, I think following the advice of those successful will give you success if you work hard, but being unique is just as important. Steps to success are good, but is abandoning yourself in the process worth the success?

Everyone wants the riches and gold. Everyone wants people to look at their work and marvel, even if they don’t want fame. The real challenge is putting yourself on a canvas and hoping there’s someone out there who enjoys what you have to offer. That’s what true success in this life is. When you can make something that’s purely you and not care about it being just right for everyone else.