Get Creative

Get Creative (Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared) is a creepy short film from London-based This Is It Collective. It starts out like a regular children’s show with cute puppets, brightly colored sets and a wholesome, positive message. The puppets sing a stupid song about how to “get creative”. Then things start going downhill. A lot of people say they find this really disturbing and many people watch this and post reaction videos on Youtube.

You might be wondering if the video has a meaning. The message they are trying to get across is probably that adults, parents and teachers encourage children to be creative, but then place limits on that creativity. As soon as a child shows some individuality, originality or tries to do something creative that is outside the set agenda, they are immediately stopped. For instance:

1. When the notebook tells them to look out the window at the clouds, they see nothing until the notebook raises a magnifying glass to her eye. The notebook is forcing them to look at the world through her eyes.

2. When one of them draws a picture of a clown, the notebook immediately destroys it with black ink and tells them to slow down. She doesn’t want them to display any individuality and only wants them to create the things she tells them to create.

3. The notebook tells them to arrange leaves and sticks to spell out a color. When one of them spells out “Green”, the notebook says, “Green is not a creative color”. If you noticed, the notebook had previously shown them a wheel of colors and green wasn’t one of the options.

Get Creative lyrics:

What’s your favourite idea?
Mine is being CREATIVE.
How do you get that idea?
I just try to think CREATIVELY.

Now when you look at this orange,
Tell me please, what do you see?
It’s just a boring old orange!
Maybe to you, but not to me.

I see a silly face! Wow!
Walking along and smiling at me.
I don’t see what you mean.
‘Cause you’re not thinking CREATIVELY!

Now take a look at my hair! Cool!
I use my hair to express myself!
That sounds really boring.
I use my hair to express myself!

Now, when you stare at the clouds in the sky,
don’t you find it exciting? No.
Come on, take another look!

Wait! I can see a hat, I can see a cat,
I can see a man with a baseball bat!
I can see a dog! I can see a frog!
I can see a ladder, leaning on a log!

I think you’re getting the hang of it now!
Using your minds to have a good time.
I might paint a picture of a clown.
Whoa there, friend, you might need to slow down!

Here’s another good tip. Yeah?
Of how to be a creative whizzkid.
Go and collect some leaves and sticks,
And arrange them into your favourite colour!

Blue! Red! Green!
Green is not a creative colour.

There’s one more thing that you need to know,
Before you let your creativity flow.
Listen to your heart! Listen to the rain!
Listen to the voices in your brain!

Come on guys, let’s get CREATIVE!

Now let’s all agree,
To never be creative again.