Symbols Images and Codes Read online

  This book by the brilliant mythologist Pamela Jaye Smith is a valuable tool for any content creator or writer in the new millennium. A treasure chest of priceless gems to adorn your projects and help you make them stand out from all the rest.

  Dr. Rachel Ballon — writers’ psychotherapist, international script consultant, and author of The Writer’s Portable Therapist, Breathing Life into Your Characters, and Blueprint for Screenwriting

  Symbols isn’t just a book — it’s a veritable treasure map through the complex (and often perilous) terrain of visual media. Ms. Smith doesn’t just illuminate the mythological and symbolic construction of the films she cites, she literally unlocks them, offering readers a chance to be up close and personal inside the nooks and crannies of cinematic imagery with often shocking intimacy. In short, she breaks down the visual iconography in Symbols to the point where it feels as primal, vivid, and basic as Plato’s ancient cave wall. And what a wall it is. . . .”

  Mike Restaino — Director, Better Than Crazy; Editor-in-Chief, DVDFile

  With Symbols.Images.Codes, Pamela Jaye Smith opens a new door for actors, directors, and writers to truly delve into the depths of exploring the real external, as well as internal, masks that are imperatives in building a solid character.

  Varun Khanna — DirecTV; Writer/Director, Beyond Honor, American Blend

  Again, Pamela Smith has opened my eyes, making me see more clearly — inspiring, guiding, and adding more depth to my work. Simply put, this is a “must have” tool for anyone in the communication industry!

  Jane Reed, Graphic Designer SeeReed Visual Communication, Nelson, New Zealand

  What they see is what you want them to get. Visual communication is a vital tool in many realms, from the political to the spiritual. Pamela’s book gives you insights into how symbols work and how to make them work for you, whether you’re creating campaigns or constructing rituals of initiation into spiritual systems.

  John Slifko — Former U.S. Congressional Staffer W.M. Lodge Intrepid, Symbolic Lodge AASR, Los Angeles, CA

  If you want your images to resonate at the core of your viewer’s psyche, this book is a must. Pamela Smith has created a practical guide for writers and directors that shows us how to tap into our culture’s deep reservoir of myth and lore — there’s nothing more important for the storyteller.

  Robert Grant — RGO Media Associates. Award-winning Corporate Writer/Director. Former Mgr, Corporate Visual Media, Hughes Electronics

  As a content developer for interactive digital media, as well as a writer who covers this arena, I am enormously grateful for Pamela Jaye Smith’s new book. Video games and other forms of interactive digital media are highly visual, just as films are, but at this point they are far less sophisticated in their use of imagery. Smith’s new book can help us utilize a visual language to the fullest extent possible, making our work more intense, more meaningful, and more emotionally powerful.

  Carolyn Handler Miller — New Media Writer and Author of Digital Storytelling, Second Edition: A Creator’s Guide to Interactive Entertainment (Focal Press, 2008)

  Pamela Jaye Smith’s inspirational new book is a great addition to any writer’s library. A veritable bible of imagery, it’s a comprehensive and essential guide for those of us who write for the visual media. Now that it’s here, I can’t imagine how I lived without it. It has a home on the bookshelf closest to my computer.

  Ellen Sandler — Television Writer/Producer, Playwright, and Author of The TV Writer’s Workbook

  A clear, concise, informative — and truly inspiring book! I only wish the cave painters were here to check their quotes. A huge WOW on any writer’s bookshelf — adding depth and handy research to the writer’s tool box.

  Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein — Writer/Exec Producer & Adjunct Professor, USC’s School of Cinema/Television

  Pamela’s new book shows you how to take ordinary characters and make them deeper by what the audience sees them do and sees what they surround themselves with in terms of friends, clothes, props, belongings, speech patterns, etc. With the knowledge in Symbols.Images.Codes I now “think deeper” character-wise from the very start.

  Steven A. Finly — WGAw. In Her Mother’s Footsteps, Pressure Point, Wishful Thinking, Blackheart, Shadow Warriors

  This is a fantastic must-have resource for any creative person in media or the arts. I’m buying two: one that I can use at home for my own writing and painting, and one for my office that I can show my clients. As a career counselor and coach, I work with many entertainment industry professionals and creative thinkers, including writers, directors, cinematographers, production and costume designers, advertising creatives, and interior decorators. I will recommend this book to each and every one of them.

  Judith Claire — Personal, Career and Relationship Counselor & Coach

  Pamela Smith does it again! From her excellent book on chakras (Inner Drives) to The Power of the Dark Side and now this wonderful resource on symbols, she has the gift of translating the esoteric into the practical. Practical tools for today — for writers, artists, and content creators wishing for a more conscious creativity to imbue deeper meaning in their work and creations. Bravo, Pamela! A must for everyone’s library.

  Kate McCallum — Producer/Writer. Founder, c3: Center for Conscious Creativity

  Pamela Jaye Smith’s fascinating book on symbols and their meaning is a valuable tool for me as a life coach and practitioner of Oriental Medicine. Since profound changes in our lives and the rediscovery of balance and wellness are deeply rooted in the subconscious, a clear understanding of the origins of our myths and the ideas that support our most primary beliefs about ourselves and our actions are of infinite importance to unraveling the mystery of how and why our lives work.

  Geffrey von Gerlach — Licensed Acupuncturist, Life Coach

  Effective use of imagery is essential to reach an audience with immediacy and depth. In Symbols.Images.Codes, Ms. Smith has decoded a vast number of such images and presented a virtual catalog of ideas and their potential uses for content creators, be it for movies, games, novels, plays, or marketing. It is a reference book that many will want to turn to time and time again to deepen and broaden the ways in which they drive the emotional intensity of their creations.

  Aurora Miller — Director, Digital Content, Panoramic Entertainment

  Symbols.Images.Codes is a dynamic litmus test for writers and directors to examine their characters’ behavior, actions, and appearance; a great tool for providing a rich subtext for storytelling in any genre.

  Robert R McGinley — Writer, Director, Photographer; Jimmy Zip, Topography, Light and Magic

  With our youth focused on instantaneous gratification through TV, movies, video games and the Internet, they have become expert at communicating in the blink of an eye through the power of images. By plugging us into the transformative nature of symbols, images and codes, Ms. Smith has tapped the universal consciousness to reveal the hidden nature of this imagery, which can evoke memories and feelings, while motivating us to design new forms of language. This compelling book opens the door to stimulating discussion, brainstorming and fresh creativity. Every student and teacher should have a copy to use as a comprehensive reference tool, and to motivate them to develop as individuals and for the benefit of others.

  Jill Gurr — Founder and Exec Director, Create Now; Screenwriter

  Packed with insights and explanations that inform the human condition and inspire the creative process, this book packs the wallop of a scholarly reference work (which it is), yet presents with the ease and pleasure of reading a novel. A gem with a permanent place on my bookshelf.

  Brian A. Wilson — Writer/Filmmaker

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p; SYMBOLS IMAGES CODES

  THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF MEANING IN FILM, TV, GAMES, AND VISUAL MEDIA

  PAMELA JAYE SMITH

  Published by Michael Wiese Productions

  12400 Ventura Blvd. #1111

  Studio City, CA 91604

  (818) 379-8799, (818) 986-3408 (FAX)

  [email protected]

  www.mwp.com

  Cover design by MWP

  Interior design by William Morosi

  Edited by Bob Somerville

  Printed by McNaughton & Gunn

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Copyright 2010 by Pamela Jaye Smith

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Smith, Pamela Jaye

  Symbols, images & codes : the secret language of meaning in film, tv, games and visual media / Pamela Jaye Smith.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  ISBN 978-1-932907-74-2

  1. Symbolism in mass media. 2. Visual communication. I. Title. II. Title: Symbols, images and codes.

  P96.S96S65 2010

  302.23-dc22

  2010001190

  Printed on Recycled Stock

  DEDICATION

  To Georgia Lambert, wisdom teacher extraordinaire. She reveals in fascinating and enlightening ways the many levels of meaning in symbols, images, and codes, from the obvious to the obscure, as well as the formerly deeply secret.

  And to Monty Hayes McMillan, a man of vision who taught me how to see the hidden meanings behind many things.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

  HOW SYMBOLS WORK

  1. ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY

  2. COMPOSITION

  3. NUMBERS

  4. CODES

  5. EARTH

  6. AIR

  7. FIRE

  8. WATER

  9. ANIMALS

  10. CHAKRAS

  11. COLOR

  12. THE LEAP

  13. ANATOMY

  14. CLOTHES

  15. ARCHITECTURE

  16. STEPS AND STAIRS

  17. CROSSES

  18. DUALITY

  19. CULTURAL REFERENCES

  20. SITUATIONS AND SYMBOLS

  21. GOING NATIVE

  22. SEX, LOVE, AND ROMANCE

  23. WEAPONS, WOUNDS, AND DEATHS

  24. EXERCISES

  CONCLUSION

  INDEX

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  For inspiration: My Texas grandfather, “Daddy Joe” Smith, for my first lesson in symbols — brands on cattle. Illustrator Arthur Rackham’s evocative art in Oscar Wilde’s exquisite book of Fairy Tales. My best school friend, Larry Glazener, with whom I crafted secret code writing in the eighth grade. Manly P. Hall’s books and teachings. All my friends and colleagues who work in secret meanings; of course I won’t name you.

  Thanks to my contributors, readers, and supporters on this book: Monty Hayes McMillan, Georgia Lambert, Aurora Miller, Mike Restaino, Bruce Logan, John Slifko, Ray Boggio, Vanese McNeill, Chance Gardner, Pete McIllwain, Dave Kaplowitz, Kathie Fong Yoneda, Linda Seger, Devorah Cutler-Robinson, Judith Claire, Rachel Ballon, Carolyn Miller, and Ropata Taylor.

  Mike Restaino also helped obtain all of the images for this book and deserves a huge thank you for that. And many thanks to the fine publishing team of Michael Wiese Productions.

  Special thanks to Bob and Jane Reed, who provided a paradise in which to contemplate deeper meaning.

  INTRODUCTION

  Humans are meaning-making creatures. We see animals in the clouds, Mother Teresa on cinnamon buns, and Jesus on rusty screen doors . . . or was that Willie Nelson?

  Communication is the most important aspect of human interaction, and it is accomplished in a number of ways, from utilitarian to artistic. Some of the most primitive yet still most effective modes of communication are visual — that’s just how our brains are wired.

  About 40,000 years ago humans began creating media. They held their hands against a rock wall and blew out a mixture of spit and pigment, the first airbrushed images. Graffiti tagging begins here.

  They dipped tight bundles of hair into hollowed-out stones holding crushed berry juice and with a few exquisite strokes re-created the power and grace of ancient aurocs thundering across open plains. Dapple-rumped deer skittered away from stylized hunters, and fearsome cave bears roared silent warnings to stay away.

  How Art Made the World

  Sister Wendy: The Complete Collection

  Times have changed; the dangers and delights of our world are typically more technological than natural. Yet artists continually brave the impersonal swipes of nature and the devices and desires of the human heart to reveal the truths and mysteries of our existence, to instruct us in its ways, and to revel in its wonders.

  In our multicultural, instantaneously interconnected global village, we speak hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects with diverse and specific cultural backgrounds. How can we communicate effectively across all these borders?

  Symbols and images affect people emotionally — hence their exceptional effectiveness. Because there is no particular rational attachment to them, visuals are a universal language that engages our intuition and imagination.

  Although some of the details may bemuse us, we are still impressed by symbols and images hundreds and thousands of years old. Erotic carvings on temples in India offer enlightenment advice disguised as sexual positions; ancient Egyptian art provides instructions on navigating the afterlife; stained-glass windows and stone carvings in European cathedrals iconize Bible stories for their once-illiterate congregations; and early American builders of massive mound complexes seem to have thought their audience was spirits high in the sky.

  People have waged war under symbols: the Roman Empire’s eagle (co-opted by the Nazis), the crusader cross of Christendom, the crescent moon of Islam, the hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union. People also accomplish great deeds of generosity and self-sacrifice under icons: peaceful Buddha, Virgin Mary’s compassionate sacred heart, the rainbow of many ancient cultures and the modern lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender LGBT movement. Codes hold and pass on precious or dangerous secrets: Masonic-alchemical-Kabalistic keys to transformation, secret Celtic finger language, Depression-era hobo codes on homes hospitable or hostile, pirates’ and spies’ maps and markers.

  Symbols and images also convey emotions, states of mind, and actions frozen in time. Bernini’s exquisite marble statue of Saint Teresa of Avila quivers with the ecstasy of adoration. A flower crushed in bloody battlefield mud captures war’s tragic futility. A raised fist commemorates a revolution, a raised flag a victory, and a bird in flight a valiant act or a release to freedom.

  The more consciously you use symbols, images, and codes in your stories, the more effective your message will be. Using appropriate visuals will heighten the emotional impact of your story and will connect your audience to the rich stream of meaning — conscious and unconscious — that flows through humanity and our arts.

  Kingdom of Heaven

  This book will show you ways that visuals have been used to great effectiveness and ways to do that in your own projects so they too will have more powerful, long-lasting impact.

  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

  Keep this book beside your computer as you write your screenplay, novel, or ad copy, and turn to it when you’re thinking, “Right, ‘Show, don’t tell,’ but how do I show this emotion?” or “I want something spectacularly visual right here, but what would be the most effective?” or “Everyone in the audience should simply weep now; hmmm . . . what cue can I give them?” Designed to offer you a panoply of
visuals to express and imply emotions, situations, and concepts, this book can help you find a specific if you have the general idea. It can also help if you’re already seeing generic visuals in your head but aren’t sure how to use them effectively. The Index section helps you cross-reference the specific image to and from the emotion, situation, or concept.

  Of course you can do so, but you needn’t read this book all the way through to make good use of it. You can approach it like a dictionary or a thesaurus and just pick it up and use it when you want to make an effective visual statement and need some extra inspiration and information.

  Here are the sections in each chapter and how to use them.

  WHAT IT MEANS

  Explanations from antiquity to modern times and across different cultures. Knowing its meaning is essential to using a symbol effectively.

  IN HISTORY, MYTH, AND CONTEMPORARY TIMES

  Examples sometimes from 40,000 years ago, sometimes from a thousand years ago, sometimes from yesterday’s news. That images have been used across the years and cultures indicates their power to convey meaning and can give you ideas on how to use them in your media.

  IN MEDIA

  Symbols, codes, and imagery occur in all media, and presumably all sorts of media makers will use this book. For the examples, however, I use films, because they are the most universally known and the most accessible. Examples are from the film classics, last year’s Oscar winner, cult favorites, or that blockbuster you want to see just one more time. Use these examples as both illustration and inspiration. You can freshen up an old thing by approaching it from a different angle, using a different perspective. Put your unique spin on a symbol and take our breath away with the power of these visuals to bring forth deep emotional responses.