Day 17

The way in which we communicate is a very powerful tool for all living organisms. There are species of plants that use ultraviolet and infrared colors to create a visual runway pattern for insects to reach their nectar. Some apes have been known to develop sign language in order to communicate with their human captors. Whatever the case, communication is crucial for life.

As humans, we rely mostly upon or verbal senses to communicate. I wanted to put this notion to a test today.

I wanted to see if verbal communication was really the only way for humans to get across their motives, emotions, shortcomings, and stories. I thought that the best way to do this would be to watch a foreign film in a language that I knew little about and cover up the subtitles. This would leave me with just me and the visual aspects of the film itself. I chose a Japanese film entitled, "Premonition" roughly about a man who witnesses her daughter's death and becomes keenly aware of other deaths to occur in the future.

In order to take away the English subtitles, I strategically taped pieces of paper directly to my TV screen to cover them up (see photo above). Once the film began, I soon recognized the benefit for understanding written word. In the movie, the premonitions were displayed only in written form, and not being well versed in Japanese characters, those parts left me at a complete lost.

However, I mentioned above that this experiment would only allow me a visual aspect of communication-- which wasn't true at all. I caught myself turning the volume up on my TV to pay more attention to the tone that the actors were using. It didn't really matter what words they were using when I could pay attention to their inflections, gasps and sighs, and even the volume of their voices.

About a third of the way through the movie I sort of forgot that I wasn't understanding the language used. It was sort of like I was reading some sort of implied subtitles based solely off of visual and auditory cues that were far beyond the scope of words.

What this taught me was that it isn't necessarily what you are saying, but rather how you say it and how it is presented as a part of you. Expression can come from every inch of your body, head to toe, and that is an immense skill for anyone to actualize. Many times when the deepest emotions are felt there aren't really words to describe them anyway. In my short journey on this earth that has been, by far, one of the most frustrating aspects for me. But what this experience has taught me is that words aren't everything.