Blog #253: MGM and Flexibility Presentation (Part 1)
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Jul 5, 2022
- 3 min read
For this week’s blog, I wanted to share with all of you another presentation that I have been working on as of late that I think a lot of neurodiverse/disabled individuals and those who work in vocation could benefit from greatly.
For those who currently rigid state of minds, you are probably one of those who are so stuck in your ways that you are setting yourselves up for failure more than success.
The truth of the matter is, you aren’t the only ones out there to be sticking in your heels.
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If you are a classic movie buff like I am, then you probably know the name Metro Goldwyn Mayer. For almost 100 years, this film company has existed for the purpose of competing against all the major Hollywood studios for a regaining of its former glory in recent years.
Once upon a time, MGM was the most famous movie studio in the world with the promise that it had “more stars than there are in heavens.” All the major stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood were bred and raised at MGM such macho stars as Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Fred Astaire and some exceptional young talent such as Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
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MGM: Hollywood’s Greatest Backlot written by Steven Bingen, Stephen Sylvester and Michael Troyan with a foreword by Debbie Reynolds
However, MGM had a vision that once it created a system, it would stick to it regardless of what was changing around them. That was the case with Louis B. Mayer, one of the studio’s founding fathers.
After the release of “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind” in 1939 and the end of World War II in 1945, Mayer had a belief that the end of the Second World War would mean a return to the golden age of what the world was like prior.
Of course, that wasn’t meant to be, but Mayer and for that matter MGM was in denial about it. As a result, Dore Schary from RKO Radio Pictures was brought in and from 1948-1951, Mayer and Schary would butt heads over what kind of films were to be made: either classical and traditional films or films that had messages and told grittier stories.
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Without going into too much detail, I created this presentation because like MGM, I struggled accepting the fact that I needed to be flexible. Over time, I came to the conclusion that if I was going to get a job and survive in life, I needed to adapt when the moment was necessary.
I had to prepare myself to change my ways and while it was not an overnight sensation, it did happen eventually.
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Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Mgm/Kobal/Shutterstock (5862968a) Dore Schary, Louis B. Mayer Louis B. Mayer – 1950 MGM Portrait
Being inflexible can result in the death of your dreams and desires, but the problem is that some neurodiverse people or people who are pigheaded like Louis B. Mayer refuse to believe it and as a result, there were consequences that were just waiting for them.
The fact is that if I can put myself in the shoes of a great studio like Metro Goldwyn Mayer, then I can share what it means to be inflexible versus flexible that today’s vocational industry can learn from if they are going to make a mark in the field of employment and job placement.
But there is more to this story and this presentation that needs to be told. Stay tuned to the next blog for that!!
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Catch you all later!!
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