Images, books and a matter of theology
I had a very gratifying e-mail this week from someone who runs an animation studio saying how he and his wife like the Lamb among the Stars books. The company’s web site is www.lostpencil.com and it’s well worth a browse of some of the animation samples. Rather jokingly, I replied that I would love to see them do animations of the Krallen and Allenix creatures that occur in the series and would be delighted to post them on my web page with due credit. And the answer I got back was the very kind one that if they had time they would try and create them. Many thanks! Now I hope they do manage to produce them because they have the talent to make some impressive renderings. But on reflection, I have realised that this has raised a number of issues, at least one of which has a very important theological consequence.
My main concern is this: whether in their heart of hearts, readers want writers to flesh out their creations with images, even author-approved ones. I wonder. Don’t we actually prefer to be given that degree of freedom that allows our minds to create pictures? In other words, wouldn’t we rather to be given hints and intimation, rather than specifics which must inevitably limit our imagination? Isn’t this why a good book is ultimately more enriching than even the best film? As a teenager my imagination was enormously nourished by Lord of the Rings and I was quite happy to draw pictures of how I felt Minas Tirith and Mordor looked. My imagination was much less nourished and prompted by the Star Wars films. The imagining was done for me. In films the universe is closed and limited. And although I count Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films as tolerable (they were certainly not the disaster that we feared) I still think the pictures in my mind are infinitely superior and closer to what Tolkien imagined.
In fact it’s quite hard to think of books that have had author-approved drawings in other than children’s books (for example, Pauline Baines drawings for C. S. Lewis’s Narnia books). The Dickens sketches by Phiz and Cruikshank and Tenniel’s illustrations of Alice in Wonderland are some of the few I can think of. In general, hinting seems to be more popular than describing. (As an aside, isn’t this the attraction of maps in such books? Instead of telling us what a place looks like, they encourage us to conjure up an infinite number of landscapes and scenes). Is it perhaps better to sow seeds in our imagination than give us cut flowers? So, if I did get my Lostpencil images, I would make sure they were not seen as definitive but as ‘valid interpretations’.
Now, I promised that I would segue this into theology. It is this: in the Old Testament God clearly prohibits images of himself. That is in the ruling at the start of the Ten Commandments. Isn’t this related? Making an image of a character is impoverishing because, in essence, it is limiting: it says ‘this is how he or she is’. And when our character is, as God is, unbounded in his nature, character and glory, it is vital there can be no such limits.
Themocracy
Good topic worthy of discussion. After watching LOTR I was dismayed that the movie had replaced some of my imagined visual constructions of characters. Thankfully, with time, my own images have returned and the actors seem but a cheap imitation.
I think this also extends beyond the visual realm. I do not like how many movies also interpret the motives and personalities of some of the best characters in literature for the sake of fitting some screenwriter’s story arc. Maybe necessary for a different medium, but certainly frustrating!
Hi Mr. Walley,
I am not a visual person, so I would love to have pics drawn of what everything looks like.
I have a hard time imagining what all the creatures, planets, and even people look like in my mind.
I think it is good idea to visualize your books.
I do understand where you are coming from though and you raise good arguements.
I read Lord of the Rings after I saw the movies and I liked it better that way. I knew what the characters looked like and it helped me understand their character.
I think I would like to see what you think your books “life” would look like.
We can’t do that with Tolkien or Lewis.
That is just the opinion of a 17, so it may not matter much.
Sincerely
Amanda Dixon
Hi Amanda
I think you emailed me before. Nice to have you with us here. Your answer reminds us that we need to consider others. The issue ultimately, is not art but effective communication.
Blessings
Chris