James Cameron, film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and inventor, spoke at the TED conference in California in February. His 18 minute address explores his quest to satisfy his imagination and curiosity.
Some Highlights
- Canadian born Cameron (1954) grew up with a steady diet of science fiction. His two hours on the bus to and from school were spent reading flights into fantasy.
- His insatiable sense of curiosity was also satisfied hiking in woods and studying nature.
- In the late 60's James followed the moon expeditions and Jacques Cousteau's undersea adventures.
- Fortunately there were no video games at the time to distract him from drawing, painting, creating alien new worlds himself.
- Later he moved to California and became an avid scuba diver and logged 3,000 hours under water exploring the new worlds there.
- His films became a vehicle to nurture his urge to tell stories and create images: Terminator,'84; Alien,'86;Abyss,'89, Terminator 2, '91; Titanic, '97; Avatar, 2009. (His last two films have grossed over $5 billion worldwide.)
- Cameron moved toward digital animation in the early '90's and developed the technology through Digital Domain for Avatar.
- His interest in deep sea exploration led him to create Titanic with a Romeo and Juliet narrative. Amazingly, his interests allowed him to actually make deep sea documentaries including visits to the Titanic wreck. His experiences have been "surreal" merging his imagination with reality.
- Cameron has also worked with NASA to nurture his interests in space science.
- He has valued the creative bond he receives from working with small groups of people.
His Conclusions
- Curiosity is the most powerful interest you have.
- Imagination is a force that can manifest a reality.
- Respect for a team is more important that all the laurels of the world.
- Take risks, make a leap of faith.
- Whatever you do, failure is an option but fear is not.
If I were still a teacher, I would show this TED video and encourage a discussion around the insights he shares. How wonderful if all students could stay curious and have the opportunity to harness their imagination in vital ways.
