Tuesday, June 27, 2017

The Character of Objects

Set design has always fascinated me. In film, the background can be a glorious experience: period pieces with sumptuous detail, majestic landscapes, fantasy worlds rich with history. Think Harry Potter, the Star Wars movies, The Lord of the Rings, Avatar. These are universes the audience becomes immersed in.
   But it's the little details that I love. Set designers not only create a world for the characters to inhabit, but a world created around the characters. One of my favorite films, The Company of Wolves, uses objects with an almost fetishistic symbolism. Lipstick, a baby doll, a white limousine...they're more than set decorations. They exist to convey meaning, or as a tool to create character. Objects not only seem to be characters themselves, but are used to convey characters' inner lives in  Wes Anderson's films  (The Royal Tenenbaums.) In Beauty and the Beast, objects such as candlesticks and tea pots actually are characters.

   Objects became significant when our primitive ancestors began using natural things as weapons, toys, tools, and talismans. Anthropologist Daniel Miller describes objects/artifacts as being simultaneously material force and symbol. What a character carries on his/her person or what decorates their living space can pinpoint their personality and add a bit of history. Have you ever watched a film or television show again and looked at a character's living space? Notice the posters on the walls, the color scheme, the personal items. On paper, such things might seem superficial, but a few dashes here and there of a character's space can enhance their personality. Bright colors or dark? Antique or modern? Clutter or Spartan? If writing a fantasy, what kind of weapons does your character favor? How did they acquire the weapon? Do they carry talismans? Does a character carry a certain object that has special significance for them? Bedrooms are the best places to display personality. Even if you don't use the details in the actual story, envision a room for a character journal. What would Voldemort's bedchamber look like? Or Han Solo's? The first Queen Elizabeth's?

      A well-read copy of a favorite book. A pair of favorite shoes. An heirloom hair clip. A battered laptop. Worry beads. A paperweight. What do these say about your character? Do they carry Gummi Bears in their pockets? Think Indiana Jones's fedora, Doctor Who's screwdriver, the wands in Harry Potter. As with any detail, deliberate and sparse touches can enhance the world you're trying to create, the sensory experience for the reader that either draws them into an exotic place or a nostalgic one.
   We choose what we surround ourselves with, as if we're building an altar, with each object selected for what it makes us feel, identify with, signify. Objects can be the altar that tell the story of your character's inner world, their psyche, how they see life.
   When I found a cow creamer like the one from Buffy's kitchen and the monarch butterfly pillows from Willow's bedroom, I felt as if I'd found pieces of the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Like memorabilia or collectors' items, these took on an almost magical significance. No matter what your character is, human or not, from this world or not, the things they choose to identify with can add a subtle touch of personality to their story.