If you have ever been in a situation where you feel that someone is not telling you something or that you just don’t have all the information. I have been there a number of times. Either the missing information cannot be obtained or I am afraid to ask. It is during those times that I need to fill that gap with something.
Suspicion or Trust
You can see this happening in movies. In the most suspenseful movies I will almost be willing the character to convey the right information, I know it, why can’t he/she just come out with it already!!!! Why can’t they just be honest, make the darn phone call. Turn frikken around.
Maybe the information is being withheld from us; the audience, and the story make a twist in the end when all out assumptions are blown away.
Communication Gap
It it in this communication gap or gap in the information that as a filmmaker or story teller you drive conflict. Everyone makes their decisions upon knowledge, experience, circumstance and their personal interpretation of it. Unfortunately we, more often than not, fill the gap with suspicion – thinking the worst of the situation. Yet, if we believed the best of every situation then stories would not get our heart racing when the conflict comes.
Of the current films out there, Avatar is a great example, with the relationship between Jake Sully and Neytiri. Actually between Jake and everyone else. He did not come clean, and we as the audience are shaking our heads (well I was) because Jake was not being honest with Neytiri.
In Sixth Sense we were left without all the information. As the story unfolded I was being lead down a path to believe something only have it blown away by the two phrases; “I see dead people” and “all the time”. In isolation that does not say much but in the context of the film it brought goosebumps to my skin.
Delayed Gratification
Call it Delayed Gratification or Managed Expectancy. In the end the information given and not given creates anticipation and apprehension while we mull over our choices of trust and suspicion.
[Photo by bigbluemeanie]
Wierd how that translates so well to every day relationships as well. We were chatting about filling the gap with trust only this morning in our staff meeting! Scary how a lack of communication naturally tends to lead towards conflict.
Well, they are certainly on to something. I got the idea about Filling the gap from the meeting you had a while back. I even discussed this with my boss
For film it is a great tool to drive conflict.
In life it is something we should look out for because it is not intuitive to choose trust.
It is sad but true – people expect the worst, maybe it is a survival mechanism.
My recent post Driving Conflict in the Communication Gap
Interesting post
Well done 
.-= RunningWolf´s last blog ..Movie Recommendation: The Abyss (1989) =-.
Thanks
My recent post Driving Conflict in the Communication Gap