During our discussion about the line -"Imagination is a killer" in "The Things they Carried." We spoke about how not facing the reality, or fantasizing that it's not as bad as it seems, or putting ourselves somewhere else could be not only fatal to our sanity but to our survival . And although I agreed with all this in the context of this story, I couldn't help feeling hypocritical or torn. The reason why I couldn't help feeling this way was because of one of my favorite movies- Life is Beautiful. For those of you who have not seen the film here is a synopsis(don't worry I won't spoil anything for you). In the case of the film imagination is a savior. It keeps Guido and his darling son not only sane but, alive long enough to see the
U.S. troops come to the rescue. I hate to argue, because I have not personally experienced either of these situations, that these two stories circumstances are similar. And if that is the case, then why is imagination a killer in one and a savior in the other?I have thought long and hard about this and cannot come up with anything, I would love to hear some one elses thoughts.
Cheers-Sarah
(Disclaimer, I apologize in advance if something is spelled incorrectly or the grammar is off, I struggle a bit.... but I am working on it.)
Great question, Sarah. I think we should throw a discussion of "The Yellow Wallpaper" into the mix as well because imagination plays a big role in that story, too. I have some thoughts, but I'll let some other people chime in first.
ReplyDeleteSorry that I'm not very original, but a movie comes to my mind when I read the part in Sarah's blog talking about imagination being a savior as well. In the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks plays the role of a man that is essentially stranded on a decollate for about 4 years. He imagines a friend in a blood stained volleyball he calls "Wilson". Wilson gives him someone to talk and vent about his problems to. I think in that sense his imagination is a savior if you will. Later on however when he's sailing away from the island Wilson floats away and Tom Hanks almost drowns trying to save his imaginary friend that he'd been so dependent on. Imagination was almost a killer. I think it really depends on the person. The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper has a little bit different reaction to being isolated. Her sanity is essentially killed by her imagination. Granted I don't think that her being isolated and imagining is the only cause for her insanity but it definitely contributed.
ReplyDeleteI think imagination means different things to different people, and consequently, can mean different things in different situations. I think Brady makes a good point above in reference to the film Cast Away. On that same point, think back to when you were a child; we all played imaginary games, and many people even had imaginary friends. This is a socially accepted behavior for children. For the lonely child, imagination can be a savior. However, if a person is still doing that when they're 50, they'd probably end up in an institution. Perhaps not a literal killer, but an argument can be made that imagination was a figurative killer.
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