Talismans

Physical objects with symbolic meaning are one key to visual storytelling.

I’m teaching a class on theme right now and one of the points I make is that good stories have multiple themes, a central theme which reflects the core meaning of the story, then all sorts of other types of thematic narrative material.

One type is a talisman and what I mean by that in relation to writing is this: A physical object that carries with it some deeper significance and meaning. If you look for them in movies, you will start to see them all the time. Why? Because they convey something with an emotional or psychological impact in a visual way [i.e., the object] and movies are primarily a visual medium.

In the class, the subject of talismans came up and I was reminded of a subtle yet beautiful one in The Shawshank Redemption. It consists of three beats.

The first beat: Andy rejoins his prison mates after spending some time in solitary confinement as the result of the stunt he pulled, playing Mozart over the facility’s P.A. loudspeaker system.

ANDY
I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company.
Hardly felt the time at all.RED
Oh, they let you tote that record
player down there, huh? I could'a
swore they confiscated that stuff.ANDY
(taps his heart, his head)
The music was here...and here.
That's the one thing they can't
confiscate, not ever. That's the
beauty of it. Haven't you ever felt
that way about music, Red?RED
Played a mean harmonica as a younger
man. Lost my taste for it. Didn't
make much sense on the inside.ANDY
Here's where it makes most sense.
We need it so we don't forget.RED
Forget?ANDY
That there are things in this world
not carved out of gray stone. That
there's a small place inside of us
they can never lock away, and that
place is called hope.RED
Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a
man insane. It's got no place here.
Better get used to the idea.

Andy makes a connection between music and hope. Red rejects it. Thematically that’s where this little storyline begins.

The second beat: Sometime later Andy gives Red a ten year ‘anniversary’ gift: a harmonica. That night when Red is alone in his cell:

155 INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1957) 155...and we find Red gazing blankly as darkness takes the
cellblock. Adding up the months, weeks, days...He regards the harmonica like a man confronted with a Martian
artifact. He considers trying it out -- even holds it briefly
to his lips, almost embarrassed -- but puts it back in its box
untested. And there the harmonica will stay...FADE TO BLACK

Andy gives Red a harmonica hoping Red will embrace music and with it rekindle some of his hope. But institutionalization has ground Red’s hope down to a nub, so that when he looks at the harmonica, it could just as well be a “Martian artifact.” Hope so far removed from Red’s experience, truly a foreign thing. But Andy has provided Red a reminder… and Red almost tries it out, so this represents him shifting just a bit, presumably the influence of Andy throughout the years.

The third beat: The day before Andy escapes, he extracts a promise from Red:

ANDY
(turns back)
Red, if you ever get out of here,
do me a favor. There's this big
hayfield up near Buxton. You know
where Buxton is?RED
(nods)
Lots of hayfields there.ANDY
One in particular. Got a long rock
wall with a big oak at the north
end. Like something out of a Robert
Frost poem. It's where I asked my
wife to marry me. We'd gone for a
picnic. We made love under that
tree. I asked and she said yes.
(beat)
Promise me, Red. If you ever get
out, find that spot. In the base of
that wall you'll find a rock that
has no earthly business in a Maine
hayfield. A piece of black volcanic
glass. You'll find something buried
under it I want you to have.RED
What? What's buried there?ANDY
You'll just have to pry up that
rock and see.

When Red is set free from prison, he confronts a choice: To follow the path of his Dark Mentor [Brooks] and commit suicide, or follow the path of his Attractor [Andy]. He opts for the latter in so doing embraces hope. And what happens? The very moment when Red goes to that field in Buxton and sees that big tree, what plays on the soundtrack? A harmonica. Not once, but twice.

You can listen to the piece [“Compass and Guns”] here. The harmonica plays at 2:46, then again at 3:14.

The harmonica is a talisman, a physical object with emotional meaning, and tied intimately to the central theme of hope. It is raised in the first discussion about hope. It comes up again when Red is feeling down about his 10 year anniversary in prison, Andy’s attempt to remind him about hope. Then pays off when Red’s fulfilling the promise he made to Andy is also hope fulfilled — in that field in Buxton.

When that harmonica sounds at that moment, we experience the power of a talisman providing a beautiful grace note about the story’s central theme of hope overcoming hopelessness.

Takeaway: As you work with your story, be especially mindful of physical objects that can take on emotional meaning or psychological significance.

What are some other great talismans in movies?

[Originally posted May 17, 2012]

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