Axe for the Frozen Sea

It does my heart good to see creative energies and resources put towards making the world a better place! From time to time I see or read something that "cuts through". And in some cases it does more. On these rare occasions, I have a deeper reaction that reminds me of this great quote by Kafka (he was referring to books):

‘I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book we are reading doesn’t shake us awake like a blow on the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? So that it can make us happy, as you put it? Good God, we’d be just as happy if we had no books at all; books that make us happy we could, at a pinch, also write ourselves. What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than we love ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is what I believe.’

It can be amazing to see how "belief" in a subject or product or service can really drive an emotional engagement right through a creative team ... and the end result is often an emotionally compelling piece of work. The example below (courtesy of Brent Terrazas) was created for the Australian Childhood Foundation. Shame we have to see it online rather than on TV.

Comments

[Ann Handley]

Very nice, Gavin. And a damn near perfect post! Great Kafka quote -- and one I'll remember. What's great about the ACF video is that it's heartbreakingly close to the child's perspective, isn't it?

[Bob Glaza]

Nicely stated Gavin. A stunning portrayal of how a child might feel. A memorable (and visual) post title -

[Gavin Heaton]

Bob ... good to hear from you again! Yes, this ad hits me everytime I see it. Awesome work.