Ever since I saw the movie Crimson Peak, I’ve been enraptured by Gothic Romance and the director’s (Guillermo del Toro) creative process. I dove into researching del Toro’s inspirations for Crimson and came across several books that inspired him while writing the movie’s script over seven years.
One book that del Toro mentioned was Rebecca, by Daphne du Marier. I finished reading the novel recently and came away feeling very pensive and wondering about human behavior, much as I did after watching Crimson Peak. Both works are disturbing to say the least, but I’ve come to like this in art–with the caveat that there’s a higher purpose and reason for including the disturbing elements. Good art makes us think, it makes us reflect and really struggle with what we believe and why. Good art advises us to not just blindly accept society’s agendas it passes out to us, like ready made “soup of the day” menus.
Rather, good art is like a six course dinner of philosophy: you’re full of questions and wonder after you’re done, but you keep coming on back for more. Why? Because it’s your sustenance.
Keep on writing. ✏️
A.R. Clayton 