I watched a really interesting movie the other day. It was called, Saving Mr. Banks. It’s about the author of Mary Poppins, Pamela Travers, and the story of how she worked with Disney to make a movie about her books.
Initially, she turned down Disney for years. She knew they would take her books and turn them into some ridiculous cartoon. However, what we see throughout the entire movie is, why she thought they would ruin it.
As the story unfolds we see different people take the characters Pamela wrote, and design them in their own way. At one point in the movie she runs off when she sees their depiction of Mr. Banks. Some would say she’s just being stubborn, because she’s not getting her way. But, if you look closer, you realize there’s more to it.
I called this post “Artists” because it’s about how much artists put into their work. Pamela Travers was so upset when she saw them depict Mr. Banks as a terrible father because she created him based off of her father. According to the movie (Saving Mr. Banks), nearly everything in Mary Poppins (the book) was based off her childhood. The good, and the bad. She poured everything she had learned as a child into that book. This movie (Saving Mr. Banks) wasn’t about how Mary Poppins was made. It was about the story of a woman who held onto her past, and eventually learns to let it go, and not let it control her. It’s not about the art, it’s about the story.
My best friend probably likes my art more than anyone, and I could never figure out why. To me, it’s just art. It’s no different than anything else. I asked her once why she liked it so much, and she said it was because there was a piece of me in each piece I created. And, she was right. Each piece I make is influenced by what’s going on in my life, or something that’s happened before. My art is about me, and the stories I have to tell.
Artists are really more like visual authors. That’s why the best art is the art that tells a story, or has some sort of meaning. Once you have something you’re trying to convey, it just sort of pours out of you. Everyone has their own way of telling their stories. For Pamela Travers, it was writing. For me, it’s art.