Henry Darger: Genius or...Not?

Henry Darger: Genius or….not?

Lucas Dies

            Upon viewing the movie "In The Realm of The Unreal" it truly showed me what goes through a mind with a major case of creativity. 15,000 page memoir and he did not tell anyone? That is crazy, truly. Mr. Darger was an average person like anyone of us. His day was like our day; go to work, home, eat, draw and write. Only one thing separated us from him…it was his creativity. His mind drew pictures and wrote stories that he lived. Darger had taken all of the life experiences that he had gone through and put a minor twist on them, which in my mind was the most creative thing he could do. Darger had taken it to a different level though. Darger made one of the greatest feats in life, I believe, he wrote his life story down onto paper. It is remarkable also that Darger had created his own work, it was not just his life word for word but he created a story out of it!

            Well now you're probably asking was this guy crazy or what? Well to answer your question it all depends what your  perspective is on a genius or a physco. To be honest, I believe he is a CREATIVE genius. Darger made a world around him into his own story which he had the power to control. He had his pencil, paper, and a imagination that would not be able to stop and never be able to end. That is truly a genius. His world around him consider of a few people and work.  The people seemed to had always supported him. Although the ways may have been minor, I am a firm believer that it is what’s around you that can make you to who you become. Henry Darger was a different kind of writer. He wrote not because of critics, not because of the fame, but because he LOVED to.

 

-Lucas Dies