I just left the movie theater after watching, The New World, about the Jamestown Colony. What strikes me about this film is that it is largely nonverbal. Theres very little dialogue, and this is a huge plus. The director lets us learn about the colonization of America by listening to the poetry of nature, its rivers, whispering trees, sweeping vistas, and fields of swaying corn. The story focuses on the love relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith, and later between Pocahontasrenamed Rebecca, and John Rolfe. These tales are told largely through gestures, facial expressions, body language, clothing, and other nuances of a nonverbal nature. If you see the film I think youll agree that the absence of language promotes tremendous clarity. By comparison, most movies are way too talky. And being art, movies imitate life, which means most of us in our everyday affairs are far too talky, as well. It has taken a number of bouts with laryngitis for me to discover how much of my talking is unnecessary, and how if were forced to, we can introduce both economy and precision into our discourse. When your voice first starts to fade, youre tempted to talk more, but then, checking your calendar, you consider that youre actually going to need your voice for a business meeting or for a sales call. So, you conserve, first by eliminating as many of your complaints as possible. Its easier than you think, and it saves time and energy. You feel calmer, too. Then gossip is jettisoned. You truly start editing your ideas before they run haphazardly through your vocal chords. You employ smiles, nods and head shaking much more. Listening takes on a much larger role, and suddenly, you seem much less complicated, and definitely more agreeable and affable. You enter a new world, mainly of your own making. Then, all too soon, you regain your voice, but you lose the lessons that whispered to you from this less verbal environment. |
