By Forris Day Jr.
Every movie makes use of symbolism in one way or another. You may not be totally aware of it but they do. The story is told not only using dialog, but using imagery, symbols and codes that help tell the story. One of the simplest forms of using clothing as a symbol is how it is utilized in the old western films. The good guy wore a white hat and the bad guy wore a black hat. You know immediately who is who without a word spoken. The use of symbolism goes much deeper than that though.
“Symbols • Images • Codes; The Secret Language of Meaning in Film, TV, Games, and Visual Media”
by Pamela Jaye Smith is a book designed to show you, by using examples from popular films, how symbolism, imagery and codes are used and sometimes hidden in the movies, TV shows and video games we see everyday. You’ll learn the importance of symbolism and this will cause you to rethink the way you watch media. You’ll also get some great ideas to pull into your own film, books and TV productions.
Here’s the layout of the book. It’s broken into 23 chapters that each cover a type of symbol, imagery or code. It also has a 24th chapter with exercises. Each chapter is broken into several parts. “What it Means” describes what the particular thing can be used to represent. “In History, Myth, and Contemporary Times” tells how the item has been used in those three categories. Same goes for the “In Media” heading. The “Use” heading gives you examples of how you can put it to use in your own work. Then on to “Written Description”. This section gives examples of how you can incorporate the item into your writing of a book or story. “Cinematic Techniques” shares ideas you can use in a film and “Other Examples” is just a very short list where a symbol, imagery or code has been used in other media projects.
The book is more of a reference manual but it’s still an enjoyable read from front to back. Many ideas can be gleaned just by reading it and seeing examples where a certain technique has been used. A good example is in the movie “The Sixth Sense” red represents death. Very subtle, but if you go back and watch the movie it will practically jump out at you.
The end of the book has a great index that cross references concepts, colors, symbols, etc. It is definitely a book worth having in your reference library whether you write screenplays, books, plays or short stories. Smith includes stills from the movies that she uses as examples. This really helps you wrap your head around the concepts she is teaching in the book. “Symbols • Images • Codes; The Secret Language of Meaning in Film, TV, Games, and Visual Media” is an unusual, but extremely valuable tool to have in your writing arsenal.