The Best Creators in Modern Entertainment - Part II

As I previously stated in Part I of this series, there are certain entertainment creators that are simply the best in the world at what they do. No matter what project they're attached to or what they're currently working on, I will always buy their product. I will always actively seek out what these following creators have done, no questions asked. I will do this because of the universal quality of their previous outings. These are the best of the best, the people that inspire the rest of their industry to step up and do better. Please enjoy and let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments below.

Hideo Kojima

The man, the myth, the legend. Hideo Kojima has always been associated with excellence in the gaming community but has only recently become a household name to those who did not enjoy the superb Metal Gear Solid series.  This is mostly thanks to the public and, frankly, disgraceful way that Konami ended their decade long relationship with Hideo Kojima. Regardless, after this happened, the community uproar was swift and universal, loudly proclaiming Kojima's genius. If you look back at the work that he has done, genius is the not only the the correct title that he has earned but the necessary one. Through the success, diversity and creativity displayed in the Metal Gear series, Hideo Kojima consistently proves that having pinpoint accurate gameplay, an wildly outlandish yet somehow relatable story, and a ton of creativity, you can become a gaming icon. Don't be fooled by his recent publicity, he is the real deal. And after his departure from Konami, he has unveiled his next, big project: Death Stranding, a title steeped in so much mystery that whenever the smallest detail comes to light, it sets the community on fire. Along with every other gamer alive, I'm excited for his future contributions to the industry.

HBO

Really, there is no disputing who the king of television is. HBO currently produces some of the most wildly ambitious, utterly intriguing programming ever to be committed to film. After the breakout success of the Sopranos so many years ago, HBO has transformed as television provider. Building on the success of the Sopranos' long-form, high budget production style, HBO has crafted some of the best shows of the last two decades: Girls, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, Veep, Six Feet Under, True Detective, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage and the list goes on and on and on. Wait, am I forgetting one? Oh yeah, that tiny, little show called Game of Thrones. Even if you don't watch it, you know about it. Either from your annoying coworker who won't shut up about it or from the innumerable references that you can find strewn across all of popular culture. Game of Thrones has made a huge impact on the world of television spawning mediocre copies of it on other programs and influencing an entire generation of people to figure out how to get it illegally. Game of Thrones remains the most pirated show on television not because people want to swindle HBO but because they love the show. Since the western, sci-fi epic of Westworld was unleashed upon us, after serious financial investment I might add, HBO has yet again proven that they are the very best at what they do: finding, producing and distributing some of the most imaginative and interesting television on the air.

Twenty One Pilots

While I don't want to seem like I'm hopping on the bandwagon, Twenty One Pilots are honestly producing some of the best music out there. Upending the very idea of genre, they seem to produce song after song that's not only fascinating lyrically but  audibly mesmerizing. Each song seems to have a rhythm all its own, ebbing and flowing in places that simultaneously unexpected but also perfect. Look no further than the ever-popular Stressed Out to experience this for yourself. About two thirds of the way through the song the beat changes and Tyler Joseph (the singer) changes harmonies while repeating part of the chorus. It's as unexpected as it is refreshing. He's singing about wishing he could go back in time, something that all of us fantasize about at one time or another, while altering our soundscape. I certainly hope that this duo continue their dominance on the charts because their unique identity and specific musical flavor deserve recognition.

Chan-Wook Park

For the uninitiated, Chan-Wook Park is the director of Oldboy. If that sentence has no meaning for you, then stop what you are doing right now, find out how you can watch the Korean version of Oldboy (not the trashy American version), and sit down with the lights out and prepare your body for a mind-fucking. Furthermore don't think that Chan-Wook Park has rested lightly on his laurels, he's been hard at work at two other equally stylish and mind-bending films: Stoker and The Handmaiden. Delving deep within the darkest secrets of the human psyche, Park makes use of film like no other director. His style is as undeniable as it is recognizable. In Stoker, the gradual transition from a woman's hair, spread across a bed, to a lawn of tall grass is completely absorbing. With Oldboy, watching a man's hallucinations crawl across is skin as the camera rapidly and violently begins to spin around him is a pure masterwork in filmography. The Handmaiden, released less than a year ago, shares similar, iconic shots but more often constrains itself just like the tension in the film, bubbling beneath the cracking surface. Honestly, the fact that this guy has not received the wider recognition that he deserves is a travesty. Check out his films if you haven't and you will not be disappointed. 

CD Projekt Red

Put simply, the Witcher III is the best game of this console generation and it's not particularly close. There's simply no other game that can live up the insane standards that CD Projekt Red put forth in their third effort. Perhaps Bloodborne could hold a candle to it but the Witcher III was stunning in its scope, storytelling, graphics, and in just plain quality that there is basically not a gamer alive that will dispute this claim. Furthermore, CD Projekt Red has cemented itself as one of the most consumer friendly game companies on the planet through the continued support of their initial product, no microtransaction bullshit and by releasing two, excellent DLC products for a relatively low cost. They even got a 7 million dollar grant from the Polish government for their game design. Their next project, Cyberpunk 2077 is easily one of the most anticipated games in recent memory, capitalizing on all of the universal good will that they have garnered from the Witcher III. CD Project Red is clearly on the rise and the whole industry is waiting with bated breath on even the slightest whisper to their progress.

Lev Grossman

For the past couple of decades, Lev Gross has made a living as a journalist, writing critiques and exposes on entertainment and the world beyond. He even wrote a couple of novels, one of which went on to become an international bestseller, Codex. However, it wasn't until the release of his widely acknowledged and international best selling The Magicians, a magnificently cutting and poignant novel that became a superb trilogy. Within its pages, Grossman blends the world of today, complete with references to Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, with adult sensibility and all of the complex issues that face modern young people. A coming of age novel that builds upon the stories that were told as they grew up, particularly C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia. Be warned however, this world that he imagines is not that of happy, dignified lore but rather of messy, dangerous myth, filled with vicious deities and controversial subjects. If you've ever wondered at your place in the world, at where you belong among the billions on earth, I would recommend this trilogy. His writing is astute and pointed, taking you on a journey with another lost sojourner in the form of Quentin and bringing a full and exciting close to the entire series. 

Aurora

Somehow, Aurora makes English, as a language, sound ethereal and beautiful in a way that I didn't imagine was possible. Swooning and caressing each word, rich with accent and feeling, Aurora brings to startling light the richness of a language that I take for granted every day. Perhaps the best thing about her though is her innate innocence. This may sound condescending but watch any of her interviews or live shows and you'll know what I mean. She's charming and almost melancholic in her lack of experience of the wider world. It gives her music an earthy, hopeful feel that resonates with your inner child, that part of yourself that wants to give in to the overwhelming goodness of the world. If you listen to her for the first time, try to forget all of your assumptions about music and the spoken word. Don't linger on whether or not you like her 'style' of music and focus on the words, the sounds she makes. You won't be disappointed.

Recommended Works

Running with the Wolves (Aurora)

The Magicians (Lev Grossman)

The Witcher III (CD Projekt Red)

Oldboy (Chan-Wook Park)

Heathens (Twenty-One Pilots)

Westworld (HBO)

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Hideo Kojima)


Thanks for reading