I have a confession to make. I have a small obsession with anagrams and hidden meanings. When I would get bored in grade school, I would start rearranging the letters in my teacher’s names to try and form a word to describe them. Remember Mr. Rones, well he turned into Mr. Snores. All in all, it provided a form of entertainment which may be one reason I continue to hide them in my stories to this day. If they entertain me, maybe my audience will find them amusing.
I have always said the best class I took in high school was cinema. Everyone laughs, but I am serious. This was by far the most enjoyable class, in which I learned so much about human emotion, plotting, character development and symbolism. Before this class, I never understood the words mcguffin, red herring, or homage. Symbolism was alien to me before that point in time; I never contemplated the depth that symbolism added to some movies. Understanding this has allowed me to enjoy completely different films than those around me and has forever changed the way I look at books and movies.
Take “The Shining”. If I were to tell you it is about how when we settled this country we killed lots of Native Americans, would you believe me? No, you would say, “Matt, it’s about a man and his family that goes to a remote mansion. The man goes crazy and tries to kill the family and it’s not that deep, right?” But it really is. Watch this movie carefully, notice all the Indian imagery, and notice the colors and symmetry. Notice the Indian symbols, colors and patterns in the tapestries and carpet. At its core, it’s a very complex and psychological thriller. This movie had so many hidden tidbits; even things like the jars of tang resting on top of the Indian labeled cans in the pantry make a statement. Watch Shelley Duvall, notice how she transforms, in the beginning she is always wearing red, white and blue; by the end while she is being hunted, she is wearing Native American colors, her hair is double braided to look like Indian pigtails. How many of you even noticed that? Probably not many, but I promise next time you watch “The Shining”…you will.
Why do authors and directors do these things? It’s more bang for your buck. You’re watching the same movie and reading the same book, but in a way you’re really not. Or I could be completely wrong, and it really is about poor Jack, whose life is all work and no play.
I’ll never forget the time we watched “The Godfather” and everyone in class yelled “oranges!” moments before Vito Corleone is shot. (By the way, every time you see oranges in the Godfather series, something bad is about to happen). Nor will I forget noticing the use of doorways as separation between mob and family life. Then you have these little nods to great work, for instance, in the show “The Sopranos”, if you pay attention to the arguments between main characters, there is usually a giant bowl of oranges in the background. Even the first time Tony gets shot, the bullet actually passes through a cup of orange juice. This homage is a way the show is saying ‘thanks’ to excellent work of its predecessor; and pure nerd gold for someone like me.
Have you ever noticed most, if not all, Stanley Kubrick movies reference the beginning and end of mankind. Seriously, watch them in order of creation, there are subtle to obvious hints to the end of the world and rebirth from movie to movie.
I know it’s all trivial and usually never amounts to any major plot point, but the symbolism adds a completely new layer of enjoyment for the avid movie watcher or book reader. It adds a re-watch or re-readability element that certainly justifies your ten dollars spent on the product. These things are important because for most authors or artists, the original reason you started the project was to entertain yourself and entertain the masses with your best work. Hiding these anagrams, symbolism and other things in books and movies is just another form of entertainment.
When it comes to something to sink your teeth into, I believe “Lost” takes the cake. I’m very happy with the amount of effort that went into planning this show. I followed it from beginning to end. I re-watched episodes looking for clues and hidden anagrams. I searched their webpage for extras that would hint at the bigger picture and I discussed/argued whether or not the show was about time travel on their online forums, and I was right (I bet you feel stupid now Lost_Fanboy 815). Either way, these extra little things the writers added kept me coming back for more. Now, if only I would have figured out the anagram on the side of the funeral van in season five was reincarnation a little sooner. (Oh yeah, spoiler alert! I forgot. If you haven’t finished “Lost”, you probably should have stopped reading around a paragraph ago.) Oh well, by the way, just in case you were wondering, The Island is really a depository for old snuggies and the unsold copies of Alien vs. Predator 2; and when they finally open the hatch all they find is a giant antique orange peeler. But I’m not going to get into “Lost” now. I’m sure I’ll at least mention it in passing, or write many, many blogs on things they did right in the future.
Back to anagrams, (shouldn’t this blog be over by now?). I love taking a character’s name and then rearranging the letters to reveal a future plot point or character flaw. I think of it as a bonus to any faithful reader I may develop. Personally, it’s nice to be able to go back as a reader, say to yourself, “Wow, he had the ending spelled out in front of my face the whole time and I should have known Bruce Willis was dead the entire movie.” I didn’t say spoiler alert because I’m not necessary talking about the Sixth Sense. Bruce Willis dies in most of his movies.
If only I would have rearranged the letters of Mr. Paces Broot’s name, I would have known he was a blood sucking robot from outer space that uses cotton candy as fuel for his star destroyer (not that I would use that particular one). But you get the idea. (Well, actually, I might have used that in my first attempt at writing years ago. I shudder to think of what I wouldn’t have used.)
It’s the care and time placed into these extra layers/Easter eggs that keep me coming back for more.
This is my way to play with my audience on another level. I say, “Here is your story. But there’s more if you want to dig a little.” To me when you buy a book, you are buying the author’s word that he will entertain you. Do you know that I will watch any movie by David Fincher or Sam Rammi? Likewise, I’ll read any book by Michael Crichton or Steven King. They have earned my trust, they have proven that they care and 98% of their work is awesome. I’ll always gravitate towards them because they go that extra mile.
I would never recommend you buy a book because of a carefully placed anagram or the oranges of death Sonny Corleone is juggling moments before he gets Bonnie and Clided at the tollbooth in the first Godfather movie. It’s the care and thought put into the work that will keep the readers coming back. If they can see you take the time to add little specifics, and truly care about your work, then they will trust in you as a storyteller. I feel as an author you owe it to your reader to at least give them something to chew on, whether it is a good back-story, an anagram, an homage, a twist ending, symbolism, a mystic island where no answers are ever given, or oranges of death. It’s your bond to your reader. You are telling them, “Pick up any one of my stories and you will be entertained on some level. I promise.”
