I spent my entire middle and high school watching glee and
following the lives of Rachel, Kurt and the rest of the New Directions as they faced
the challenges that most people face in high school. Whether it be boy drama or
dealing with the death of a loved one, the incorporated music and dancing into
every episode and always made the show fun to watch. I was completely shocked
when I found out that the creator of my beloved show was also the creator of a
show I refused to watch because of how creepy and scary it seemed. Ryan Murphy
was one of the creators for Glee and
is one of the creators for the ongoing show, American Horror Story. After some serious convincing by my roommate
and friends, I watched a couple of episodes and was able to experience the
intricacies and creativity that was put into yet another great show by Murphy.
Ryan Murphy was born in 1965 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is
a screenwriter, director, and producer. His most famous works are the hit
television shows Glee and American Horror Story along with the
film adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s, Eat
Pray Love.
Most of his work has been based on his personal life which
allows him to interpret his reality in creative ways. For example, performing
in choir in high school allowed him the knowledge and experience to create the
Glee Club. He got the signature line of his show, Nip/Tuck “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself” from a
plastic surgeon he met while he was doing undercover journalism in Beverly hills.
His series, The New Normal, was based
off his own experience of having a child via surrogacy.
His seasons of American
Horror Story (AHS) all take
inspiration from either previous works of writing, films, or events throughout history
and show how collecting is an important aspect in Murphy’s creative process. For
example, the entire seventh season, Cult
was based on the 2016 presidential election. The fifth season, Hotel, took inspiration from the
character H.H. Holmes from The Devil in
the White City, along with visuals from the film Suspiria and setting from The
Shinning.
The theme/intro song to every AHS episode is an excellent
example of the Objective Correlative that the T.S. Elliot group presented on. The
song mixes stop-motion with CGI and videos of what are known to be unsettling
objects to create in the watcher a feeling of suspense, fear and creepy-ness
without being explicit about it. It places the audience in a suspenseful mood
for an episode that is sure to keep them in that suspense and fear.
Recently, Murphy signed a huge contract with Netflix to
create Netflix original shows when AHS
ends and it makes me wonder if the amount of money he will be receiving
(extrinsic reward) will be a hindrance to his creativity. Or maybe like with
Frank Gehry, he will be free of the constraint of having to make an income
doing generic things.
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