Symbols: Content & Context

The Content

When thinking about images and themes in film, it is important to understand that a special language is created between the viewer and what is seen on screen. As images, musical themes, dialogue and even colors are repeated in a film, a history of meaning is created for the viewer.

Often these symbols start off representing one idea. Over the course of the movie, as our knowledge of this world increases and our understanding deepens, they symbols come to represent something deeper and more meaningful.

The Context

Each film creates its own discrete context. The dark screen at the beginning of a movie is a blank slate. As the credits roll and the film is shown, an unspoken context exists for everything seen by the viewer.

As these recurring ideas and images — the “signifiers” or “symbols” — are presented in relationship to each other, they create a context. This context enables a viewer to determine a “language” for what the images presented might mean.

This “language” is an intimate creation shared exclusively between the movie and each person in the audience who watches. It’s what makes watching a movie such a deeply personal and engaging experience. Each of us is told the story in a language that is, literally all our own.