Film and Language

I am a film student. and as we discuss the terrible nature of the written word I can only imagine what that means about movies. On the one hand, having video footage of fact or fiction may be considered an attack on the imagination of the viewer. Less thought process is needed to retain what is being told, thus retention of the idea is that much weaker. On the other hand, while it may still be a technology, we are circumventing the need to interpret the subtleties of the spoken word through the constraints of writing. In fact, we are circumventing the technology of the spoken word itself. Rather than try to capture a memory of an image in words, we are giving you the very thing to remember, though still unreal. Of course, films are based on scripts, but too much happens between the page and the movie theater to call them constrained by the text.

Of particular relevance to me is the television series by Jim Henson, "The Storyteller," it was a series based on the purest form of various fairy tales and myths. None of the tales were sugar coated or rationalized like we see so much nowadays. What's more, the show was framed around a man sitting before a fire and telling the stories to us, blended with scenes from within the stories themselves. Thus, we were given a feeling of the oral tradition while still making use of the medium to see the filmmakers' visual interpretations. As an interesting note, spoken stories are traditionally thought of being told in firelight, filmed stories are physically shown through projected light in a darkened room.

What fascinates me are the different ways in which a story may be told: first hand account (limited by one perspective), the oral telling, the written word, a documentary, a fictional adaptation, an original concept, or an interactive video game. Games can create an engagement similar to the imagination required when listening to a storyteller or reading a novel. However, this engagement is more hands on. The overall events and images are already in place, but it is up to the player to make it through. Many games focus on the entertainment value of racking up points, which is fine, but some try to go further. Many games let you customize your character and choose your path. The best of these have alternate endings to your story, thus blending the engagement of personal control with the scale of a preconceived plot. On the other end of the spectrum are games that have little free will (though enough to keep you involved) but intricate storylines that you discover as you go.

One of my favorite games of all time is "The Longest Journey." It is an adventure game, point-and-click. The actual gameplay is mostly wandering around, picking up objects, and figuring out where to use the objects. The story is on a large scale and involves your character traveling between worlds and interacting with many peoples. Along the way she accomplishes feats that fulfill prophecies but learns the stories of the prophecies as well. Much of the game involves long conversations, including a tribe devoted to storytelling, but that is what makes the game memorable. Every individual and culture has the same ideas , but reinterpreted to suit their unique circumstances.

To return to my original topic, I would link this game to Star Wars. When the final episode of the the prequel trilogy came out I watched the entire series as a whole. The moment that I found most fulfilling in those six movies is in the final film, "Return of the Jedi." After all the adventures that have taken place, C-3PO tells their story to the Ewoks by a fire, sound effects included. We, as the audience, are strongly connected to this activity because, while we were not making the decisions, we were there the entire time, emotionally participating in the story.