Ben Wiley

Federico Fellini’s movie 8 ½ centers around a filmmaker name Guido. The narrative weaves in and out of reality and fantasies highlighting various situations occurring to Guido as well as displaying his intricate daydreams. Often the transition between reality and fantasy is blurry and difficult to distinguish. I believe Guido’s character is modeled after Fellini himself and this film is a portrayal of Fellini creative process. The majority of the film takes place at a spa where Guido is attempting to come up with his next big idea or his next film, he is at a moment where he has lost interest in his science fiction film and the progress on the film has become rather static. I will argue that the events, real and fictitious, that occur to Guido at the spa are metaphors for Fellini’s frustrating creative process.

One of the first fantasies the audience is exposed to is one of Guido’s nightmares.  Guido is floating off into the air only to be yanked back down to reality by his associates heckling him to get back to his film. This is what I would call a stress dream. Guido is at a point where he has no interest and no creative drive but is still feeling the pressure of his colleagues who, themselves, are also pressured to get the film done. This experience is certainly something that Fellini encounters. Failure and stress is a part of the creative process.

Throughout the film Guido is also constantly distracted and bombarded with random annoyances. His mind is enamored with women, both in reality and fiction, again. He is distracted by all the women around him but also drifts off into fantasies of his ideal women. However, even those fantasies end with disappointment. Part of the creative process is sporadic attention spans. When one loses interest in a project, just as Guido has, distractions come easily. This experience is also part of the creative process. When things are discouraging it is easy to let your mind wander anywhere but the project you are suppose to be working on.

Guido also seeks out advice from several people including a writer. Unfortunately, this advice only sparks negative memories in Guido. Even when he pursues positive endeavors to reignite his interest in his film it results in further discouragement. I believe this process is similar to one that Fellini himself experiences when developing his own movies.

However, despite all of these discouragements and disappointments the film ends with Guido coming up with a solution to his film, which ignites his interest yet again. Frustrations are part of the creative process. It takes severe determination to power through relentless difficulties and create a great project. 8 ½ is a film about filmmaking and Fellini has characterized the frustrations of his own creative process through Guido and his experiences while making a film.

I can relate to Fellini’s creative process. I am pursuing a job in a creative industry myself and I believe this industry is riddled with frustrations. This makes the creative industry incredibly difficult but, if you are able to overcome the frustrations, just as Guido did in the film, you will be rewarded and create something incredible.