Paying Attention

I just saw “The Artist”—a modern silent movie taking place in the 1920’s and ‘30’s, ABOUT a silent movie actor. The movie itself was brilliant in its storytelling, really using the strengths of the medium—the visuals—to illustrate the trials the characters were going through. The use of things like reflections and stairways and clothing as symbols of status, how one regarded oneself, the direction one was going in, fit the story’s setting, and the time period, so amazingly well. And as in traditional silent movies, music was utilized to heighten the mood of the scenes. But silence and the sounds of everyday life were also used as tools to underline the transition from silent films to talkies.

Silent movies really require you to pay attention. Other elements are used to convey the tone and the meaning of the scene, since there is no spoken exposition or tone of voice with the characters. Music, light and shadow, composition, distance or closeness, size all set the scene, but the most vital part of understanding them is human gesture. Facial expressions and body language. When you see a grimace, a grin, a fist raised, a nonchalant wave of the hand, crossed arms...you know the emotions behind them. Nothing has to be explained to you. You get it. We have been exposed to this since birth. It is a basic wiring in our primordial cells. And it is universal, transcending language, in which things can be lost in translation.

This is what I love about sign language, as well. You need to read the nuances of face and body, to convey meaning behind the words, indeed sometimes to realize the context of the words being used. You must look a person in the eye when you talk to him. You can tell by paying attention if a person is mildly irritated or explosively furious when he signs, “I am angry at you.” You can see raw emotion in his eyes. And it goes both ways. You need to allow your own feelings to rise to the surface, and reach your eyes, so people can read you as well.

Watching human interplay is fascinating, riveting, even. It’s ever-changing, it’s beautifully alive, and it’s real. There’s no better theater.

It’s where the magic lies.