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The Extremes of Creativity

How is one person capable of both incredibly crass and incredibly noble things, almost in the same breath? An examination of two well-known examples.

As Brehaut referred to a little while ago, sometimes Eminem pulls one out of the hat. In fact, I would go further and say that all of his work fits into one of two categories:

• Category one: about as low as you can go. His songs in this category tend to be one big long string of sex and toilet jokes. While they’re often both clever and catchy, they’re just so unnecessary as to be ridiculous.

• Category two: serious artistic work. Songs of Eminem’s like “Cleaning out my Closet,” “Toy Soldiers” and “Stan” fit this category. While they still often contain dubious or disturbing content, he uses these songs to tell a story or put across a message, and often does so in a surprisingly moving, powerful way.

I was thinking about this tendency, when I realised that he’s not the only one. Jim Carrey is very similar:

• B-grade comedies totally dependent on his rubber face, or the funny-the-first-time Ace Ventura movies, have very little value beyond being a cheap laugh. Beyond that, a version of “The Grinch” that would make Dr. Seuss turn in his grave, and the amazingly insensitive “Me, Myself and Irene” probably lowered the average artistic merit of Hollywood films by a full percent.

• “The Truman Show,” “The Majestic,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and even “Bruce Almighty” are all surprisingly good films. They are often still funny, but have pretty big themes which they deal with in a way that does justice.

So, is Jim Carrey secretly Eminem’s long-lost twin brother, separated at birth? YOU be the judge. But why is it that people capable of such incredible crassness are capable of suddenly turning around and delivering something with so much humanity and depth? How does the King of Filth nearly move me to tears, and a specialist in brainless comedy keep me awake at night pondering the mysteries of life?