But I spent even more time in Hollywood, FL, which got me thinking about the other Hollywood, where creative, talented outcasts can sometimes make it big. Though I was not much of an early fan, it's time to give credit the latest crossover Hollywood success, Justin Timberlake. Yes, it was surprising to see his acting chops in the recent movie Social Network but he has
also earned his creative distinction with his ongoing appearances on Saturday Night Live, where he has proven to be one of the most unpredictable and funny performers in years. Check out his versatility in the video below (Facebook readers click here). Just like the previously praised Tina Fey, what makes Timberlake so extraordinary is his combination of cool talent--yes, he can sing and act--and willingness not to be cool at all. I mean, at all. He has somehow managed to give himself complete permission to be a fool--which we all need at least sometimes to be at our most creative."I was an outcast in a lot of ways," he recently told Ellen Degeneres on the Ellen Show. To kids: "Everything that you get picked on [for], or you feel makes you weird, is essentially what's going to make you sexy as an adult...I would not be here if I listened to the kids who said I was a terrible singer or a sissy. Be different." Now that might be easy for someone of such talent to say (and some weird things about us will never be sexy), but there is in an inner outcast in all of us that is sexy, or at least talented and worthy of much more exploration. The question is how to engage it and love it rather than give in to the conformist voices all around us that want to squelch and homogenize.
Originality is a hallmark (and key competency) for creativity, and anyone who embraces her
own originality must at times accept--if not revel in--being an outcast. I particularly like what Mira Nair, the groundbreaking director of Monsoon Wedding, said when she was in Chicago earlier in the year speaking at Columbia College (see right). In many ways an outcast herself--an Indian woman director who found a way to bring stories of non-Hollywood-type outsiders to American screens--she explained that she thrives by putting herself in uncomfortable situations. “I like to do things I’m terrified by,” she said. "I don’t like to do things I’ve done before. I try to do things I don’t know if I can do." That's one way to embrace your inner outcast.The truth is, when Timberlake released his "SexyBack" song a few years ago, I thought there was no way he would get away with his claim of "bringing sexy back." I mean, come on. But that song is passing the test of time and, frankly, it's a winner. I'm sure he was warned against it again and again, just as I'm sure advisors and commentators have questioned his decision to act or risk foolishness on SNL. Undoubtedly his outcast experience as a small town Tennessee boy ridiculed for singing like Michael Jackson has empowered him to follow his inner compass of creativity. Where is yours pointing you these days?