Imaginative journeys
Uploaded by joeydaprof on Jun 12, 2006
Imaginative journeys
Imaginative journeys can be taken through the imagination or psyche of an individual as they explore, reflect and fuse together the seemingly intangible with reality. Imaginative journeys may draw on previous experiences and understandings but move beyond these limited perceptions into more speculative or fantastical realms. Another way of viewing an imaginative journey is its capacity to draw responders into a fictional, speculative setting. Imaginative journeys which will be elaborated below are represented in the Board of Studies Booklet Prescribed text-“The Ivory Trail”, the two Coleridge poems “This Lime Tree Bower My Prison” and “Kubla Khan”, the poetic text “Ode on a Grecian Urn” composed by John Keats and the visual text from the “Calendar of 2003” by Michael Leunig. The composers attempt to create a world in which imagination dominates the perceptions and views of the responders, as they are taken on a journey of magic and discovery.
The book cover- “The Ivory Trail” from the stimulus booklet represents that the individual may encounter new horizons by realising the limitless power of the imagination. The text provides an imaginative journey for responders as they are drawn to speculate upon the text and visuals provided. The text type’s purpose is to appeal to readers to purchase/read the book, however the references made to reality challenges responders to question the erratic, mysterious and obscure nature of the journey itself. This is communicated through the ambiguous, photographic montage of the sphinx, face close-up and minarets. An exotic setting is portrayed through the back drop of the eastern minarets and the sphinx’s Egyptian associations. The idea of a rare journey is evoked in the title: “The Ivory Trail”. Ivory is symbolic of the rare material from tusks of elephants and is known for its illegal trade. This exotic and rare allusion also evokes feelings of intrigue and mystery which gives an impression for the responders that this text is an imaginative journey.
The caption: “Not all journeys have an ending” is used by the composer to encourage the actualization responders come to after exploring the possibilities presented to them. It expresses an idea of continuum by suggesting that imagination itself does not have an end and that only through imagination continuum can be achieved. The dominant colours of red, black and orange and the use of shadows depict an atmosphere of fear, passion and threat. Subsequently responders do not reach a resolution or...