[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: What is symbolism?
Christopher Vogler, Author: I think symbolism is a way of making invisible things visible. That’s a concept I guess that I learned from observation of Alfred Hitchcock’s work because he uses a lot of things in the environment in a symbolic way. Sometimes it’s an object that represents some idea that he’s trying to transmit, sometimes it’s simply environmental things like sounds or shadows. He will do little things like if someone is trying to decide if they’re going to do something or not, if they’re going to be involved in a spy plot or something like that, he sometimes will sneak in a little train noise on the soundtrack, the train is leaving, are you going to be on the train? He’s giving you subliminal messages that you might think it’s just a random sound but in fact it’s totally intentional. It’s his way of bringing out this other dimension, the people are talking, they’re doing things, there’s action but they’re also feeling things and there are forces in the story that are almost operating like gods or fairies. Sometimes you get that feeling in Hitchcock’s movies that he himself is a puppeteer, manipulating things or that there is some kind of malign God who’s looking out for these people or laughing at them. The symbols help to convey those things but I think the key to it is that symbols are a way of making invisible ideas, feelings, concepts visible to the audience…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BUY THE BOOK – THE WRITER’S JOURNEY: Mythic Structure for Writers
BUY THE BOOK – MEMO FROM THE STORY DEPARTMENT: Secrets of Structure and Character
About:
Christopher Vogler made documentary films as an Air Force officer before studying film production at the University of Southern California, where he encountered the ideas of mythologist Joseph Campbell and observed how they influenced the story design of the first Star Wars movie. He worked as a story consultant in the development departments of 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures and Animation, and Paramount Pictures, and wrote an influential memo on Campbell’s Hero’s Journey concept that led to his involvement in Disney’s Aladdin, The Lion King and Hercules. After the publication of The Writer’s Journey, he had a hand in developing the stories of many productions, including Disney’s remake of 101 Dalmatians, Fox’s Fight Club, Courage Under Fire, Volcano, The Thin Red Line and many others. Vogler lives in Los Angeles, California.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTOPHER VOGLER
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