Imagination

Imagination is a talent in which children are generally regarded as natural masters. Children typically explore the world through games of their playtime in which they imagine new worlds or this world in a new way. An example of this idea of children exploring through their imagination is shown in the film Alice, directed by Jan Svankmajer. The story is inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the looking glass, however, the manner in which Svankmajer decides to tell the story demonstrates that Svankmajer is letting the audience know that the story is only in Alice’s head not reality and that is making it up during her play time in her room. Svankmajer demonstrates that the story is her playtime by relating that Alice is the writer of the story. Svankmajer shows that Alice is the writer since she is the one delivering all the dialogue. Also, all the characters and most of the props can be found around Alice’s room and are the toys in which she creates her settings. Also, the sets themselves are all made out of the same wood of Alice’s room and look like strongly as her room. This re-iterates Svankmajer perspective that this is all happening in Alice’s room as she plays and that she is creating the settings herself in her room with her materials and not just in her imagination. I feel that most children would imagine more into their created worlds such as color or fantastical landscapes. These two elements are generally strong elements in other renderings of Alice in Wonderland but are not present her. The film is almost limiting Alice’s imaginings to things she can physically produce herself. Also, this establishes that Alice is not imagining something from scratch but is re-imagining the world around her which she is familiar with but may not fully understand. This exploration of the world around her is also seen through the storyline she creates. The story explores the various English traditions and sentiments such as the constant tradition of tea time, the class system with the queen’s court-who really has control of court the king or the queen?, the need to change to get through life, etc. Overall, Alice is and exploration of a child of the Victorian England through the use of playtime with her toys. However, this story is really created by adults which means it is a representation of what adults remember of their childhood or of what they feel I child might perceive of the adult world. Therefore it is important to note that these imaginations are coming from adult minds who have lived in the political structures of ‘reality’ longer than a child and therefore the political implications would be more conscious than subconscious like a child’s would be. Is it then possible for a child’s imagination to fully be represented in media? I think media such as Kid History portrays a interesting view of a child’s imagination operating in an adult world. In these videos the story originates from the kids but it still is executing by the imagination of the adults. Since, imagination in media is explored through the craft of adults it is a matured imagination. This is probably alright to some extent since all adults were once children.