In Samuel W. Franklin’s The Cult of Creativity, he explores the historic timeline of creativity and how intertwined the concept has been in American culture. Against what many may perceive, creativity has not been around for very long with a definition only coming into existence in the 1950s. Franklin highlights the cultural, economic and psychological shifts that enabled its rise to popularity. Beyond tracking the creation and history of creativity post World War ll, he also points to the commodification of creativity and how it became a way for business to become more productive and compete with the Soviet Union. Franklin asks the reader to consider how capitalism has objectified creativity and potentially shifted any single person’s true creative self expression. As creativity is generally considered a desirable trait, he asks the reader to consider if that positive perception comes from the drive to find personal growth or because society values it and in the capitalistic society we live in, can make money from it.
Franklin argues that rather than creativity being an innate human trait, it has come to be out of cultural evolution. He makes a good argument for this by pulling from moments in history that have shaped how society values creativity. Particularly he pulls from the growth of creativity in capitalism and shows a convincing story of how the drive of capitalism found value in creativity in a growing economy. The need for innovation raises the question of whether individuals gravitate towards finding creativity solely for self exploration, or is there a higher drive for that discovery. This perspective questions the glamorized notion that creativity is solely a form of innate human expression and instead shows it as a value embedded in broader society.
In this book, Franklin draws methodologies from many different disciplines including psychology, history, sociology and media. Particularly his use of psychological research that attempted to establish a definition of creativity that could be measured and quantified, popularized creativity because of its scientific legitimacy. In support Franklin pulls from self help books, and advertisements from post World War Two to show how creativity was encouraged on a large scale. I appreciated his fairly neutral approach to the ideas he was presenting, asking readers to consider the history and make a fair assessment based on what’s been shown. Understanding that most in society already air on the side of positively valuing creativity, he asks the reader to challenge that learned value and see another perspective. The methodologies he draws upon gives him a solid foundation for challenging readers in this way. If he were to have expanded this argument pulling from worldwide examples, this would have made his argument even stronger.
I found Franklin’s writing in this book to be quite challenging. I have always prided myself on my creative abilities and that being a big part of why I can push the envelope on my personal growth. I’ve never considered that this drive or value I hold could have come from somewhere outside of myself or the environment in which I’ve grown up in. I found this concept to be unsettling at first, although exploring new possibilities is how I’ve come to be is always exciting for me to find. When I consider how others have always perceived me as a ‘creative’ and the positive feedback I’ve received for this label, I only remember good and am somehow surprised to learn that society’s general impression of creativity seems to match what I’ve experienced in my life. It makes me wonder, has my ‘creative’ identity been shaped out of pure creativity and curiosity for self expression, or is it a result of the positive feedback I have always received from others that has driven this interest. Human beings are, after all, value-seeking creatures. I will never know, but it’s been an interesting thought experiment and I am always happy to find new perspectives. As it pertains to leadership, the ideas in this book challenge readers to lead with an open mind, always consider different perspectives and to show that you understand where your biases may come from and lead with the intention of learning along the way.
The Cult of Creativity is an inspiring piece of literature that dives deeply into the short evolution of creativity and how it has been defined by the people experiencing it. It tells a story of how America has interacted with creativity from both a societal and individualistic perspective. It challenges the reader to reconsider where their own ideas of creativity come from and what their own definitions of this concept is. It draws from significant moments from America’s history, culture and socio-economic evolution in an articulate way that is palpable and easy to digest for creatives, academics, historians or anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the ideas that form self worth and productivity in America. With an overall sense of reflection and less capitalistic path to considering one’s place in the world, Franklin’s words in this book have proven inspiring. This book begs the question, is creativity a cult, an innate human trait, or a little bit of both?