The Importance and Influence of Imagery!

Imagery. Such a small word with so much meaning. Imagery paints a picture for the tone and story that the creator of any medium is trying to convey to the audience. Though imagery is a critical factor in everything that we read or view, oftentimes we completely miss what is trying to be conveyed altogether because we are so wrapped up in the plot line. I fall victim to being enthralled with a plot line, and not taking the time to notice details that truly enhance a story. If your students are constantly reminded to take note of the imagery and what meaning lies beneath it, they will become conditioned to do this with their reading and viewing subconsciously and draw even better conclusions than they would have without noticing important details.

One of the easiest ways to get your students into the groove of paying close attention to imagery is simply to watch a movie. I know that I spoke of another lesson plan involving a movie, and if you can think of any more ideas, I would love to hear them! Many teachers feel that there are more cons than pros to sharing a movie with your class, but if it is done sparingly, I think they can definitely have a tremendous impact on your class's learning experience. Movies also come in handy when there is a lull in the term. For example, now that the warm weather has arrived and students are antsy for summer, an interesting activity such as this will keep them entertained. A movie I recently watched, The Others, is a fantastic choice for this exercise. Keep in mind, permission slips MUST be sent home to parents, being that any movie you choose to show in class must be first approved by administrators and parents. The good thing about The Others is that it is more of a psychological thriller rather than something that is gory or violent.

First, have your students watch the movie during class. For those of you teachers working in high schools with block scheduling, this will be perfect for you. Tell your students to jot down a few images that stuck with them after viewing the movie, and choose some of the more popular scenes amongst the students to re-visit. Pausing on a scene in the movie will give you and your class time to analyze the imagery together, which will be very helpful in their understanding (and yours!) of the movie. I'll do my own example below so you can get a feel for what sort of images work best for your students to analyze if they are not familiar with working intensively with imagery.

Two scenes that I paired together that I felt were very influential in terms of imagery was a scene where Grace, the mother of the movie, is standing at the gate looking for her husband after he disappears yet again. The other scene was near the end of the film when Grace's two children, Anne and Nicholas, are standing at the stairs and peering out at the servants when they realized that they were ghosts.

Image from <http://shirari.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/others3.jpg>

 Image from <http://zangwow.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-movie-others.htm> 

These two separate scenes offer so much information about the underlying tone of the movie. While it may seem as though these main characters are simply peering through a gate and through stairs, it is truly alluding to the how the family has been confined to the mansion's eerie darkness because of the children's rare illness of photosensitivity. Living in a life of isolated darkness would drive the most sane person to lose it, and that is exactly what Grace did. They are peering out into the world they so desperately wish to be apart of. Sunlight exposes the beauty of the Earth and provides us with the energy to live, and they cannot be exposed to any of it. As we all know, confinement is considered a punishment, such as jail and prison. This family was undoubtedly punished by the children's illness. This is such a simple but powerful conclusion to draw from two images. It really represents The Others in a powerful manner, and because I have been working with imagery throughout my life, it now comes more naturally to me.

If you have seen this movie, I would love to know what other images stand out to you. If not, even suggestions for movies that you feel could be influential in the classroom would be wonderful! 

Again, here are some quiz questions in case you want to administer them to your students.

1. What is the first time Grace believes Anne in regards to the people being in their home?

2. How does Grace punish her children when they have been "acting out", according to her?

3. Who do you think is the most motherly figure in this film, and why? Give two examples from the movie.

4. How did Mrs. Mills, Mr. Tuttle, and Lydia know about the mansion and that the family needed help around the house?

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!