Steven Spielberg wishes Harvard grads a ‘Hollywood-style’ happy ending in commencement speech
"My job is to create a world that lasts two hours. Your job is to create a world that lasts forever."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYtoDunfu00
Things got a little awkward during Steven Spielberg’s commencement address at Harvard’s graduation ceremony Thursday afternoon, but that was exactly how the renowned filmmaker scripted it.
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“We are spending more time looking down at our devices than we are looking in each other’s eyes,” he told the crowd of recent graduates, parents, and alumni that filled Harvard Yard. “Forgive me, but let’s start right now. Everyone, please find someone’s eyes to look into. All of you turn to someone you don’t know or don’t know very well.”
People turned to their neighbors and stared into their eyes while giggling uncomfortably as Spielberg, wearing a suit and sneakers, watched from the podium.
“That’s it,” he said. “That emotion you’re feeling is our shared humanity mixed in with a little social discomfort. If you remember nothing else today, I hope you remember this moment of human connection.”
There were, however, many other memorable parts of Spielberg’s speech, which took place during the university’s 365th commencement ceremonies. The renowned director started by saying he remembered his own college graduation very well because it was only 14 years ago.
“How many of you took 37 years to graduate?” he said.
Spielberg explained that he dropped out of college sophomore year when he was offered a dream position at Universal Studios. He told his parents that if movie-making didn’t work out, he would go back to school.
“It went all right,” he said with a smile.
Spielberg eventually went back to California State University to finish his degree as a lesson to his children.
“I’m the father of seven and I kept insisting on the importance of going to college,” he said. “But I hadn’t walked the walk.”
But even though he first left college knowing exactly what he wanted to do, Spielberg said he didn’t know who he was. Unlike a movie, which he said is two hours filled with a few character-defining moments, life is a string of instances that test who we are.
“Maybe you’re sitting there trying to figure out how to tell your parents you want to be a doctor and not a comedy writer,” he said with a laugh. “What you choose to do next is your character-defining moment.”
One of those character-defining moments came when Spielberg decided to direct The Color Purple. Until then, Spielberg said he had listened primarily to his conscience, which told him what he should do. When the opportunity to direct that movie came along, he listened to his intuition, which told him what he could do.
“My gut told me more people needed to meet these characters and experience these truths,” he said. “Don’t turn away from what’s painful. Examine it. Challenge it. My job is to create a world that lasts two hours. Your job is to create a world that lasts forever.”
As important as intuition is to Spielberg, he admittedly warned the audience he would get a little sappy when he turned to the topic of love. The strongest voice he followed in his life, he said, was the one that came to him when he met his wife, Kate.
“I imagine someone of you in this yard may be a tad cynical,” he said. “There is no greater voice to follow until you meet the love of your life. That became the greatest character-defining moment of my life.”
He also talked about his work with the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which has recorded more than 53,000 interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses. The world, he said, is easily divided into “us” and “them.” Everyone has to work to find the “we.”
“We have to replace fear with curiosity,” he said. “We’ll find the ‘we’ by connecting with each other and by believing we’re members of the same tribe and feeling empathy for every soul — even Yalies.”
Finally, he wished everyone in the audience a “Hollywood-style happy ending.”
“I hope that it’s filled with justice and peace,” he said. “I hope you outrun the T-rex, catch the criminal, and, for your parents sake, maybe every now and then, just like ET, go home.”
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