There are a handful of image systems used throughout the film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, that help tell the tale of the characters search for the truth of events. An image system is one that “uses recurrent images and compositions in a film to add layers of meaning to the narrative” (Mercado 21). These image systems allow for themes and motifs to be more grounded. While some of the image systems are more obvious (the sound used to communicate with the aliens, the blatant use of the color red, etc.), some are not so obvious (the camera’s focus on phallic images). While there are many more image systems used within the movie, the latter one is very important in creating a new layer of meaning to the film.
Throughout the film, phallic images seem to encompass most of what seems to be important. One of the first times we see this phallic shape is when Roy first sprays the shaving cream in his hand. Although originally it does not resemble a phallic shape, he molds it to appear more of one, however it does not fully appear to be one. When he first sprays the canister into his hand, the camera dolly’s in, allowing the audience to focus on the importance of the shaving cream. The camera only shows the shaving cream, Roy, and not much else. This scene potentially shows that he does not yet have the power he needs to fully understand the central question the movie is trying to convey.
Another example of the use of the camera’s focus on phallic shaped symbols is when he begins recreating the Devil’s Tower. The Devil’s Tower is a more accurate depiction of a phallic shape, and is his recreation of it in his house is when we see that he is getting closer to solving this mystery. Roy has almost what appears to be a psychotic break, after losing his job and his family (both important aspects to masculinity), he begins to recreate something that could resemble what he has lost. While he is building the Devil’s Tower in his house, the camera’s use of low angles allows for the wife to looks superior of her husband and make her look sane, while it does the opposite to him. There’s also a plethora of unbalanced shots in this scene, with the neighborhood on one side, and Roy on the other. This proves that Roy is pretty much alone in his quest to find what this shape means. Once he has finished recreating this structure, the camera pans right and tilts up, showing the power it holds. This is important in the structure of the film, because the camera movements prove how important this phallic shape really is, and how much it has changed since the beginning.
Finally, when they arrive to the Devil’s Tower, we see that Roy has gained a lot of strength. He finally feels like the question of what all of these signs are supposed to mean has come to him after seeing this ‘tower’. The use of the dolly in when he first sees Devil’s Tower in front of him allows the audience to see how important of a matter this is to him. He has finally come to this thing he has been trying to grasp the entire movie. While Roy and Jillian battle to make it up the hill (which is still pretty phallic shaped), he slips and falls down it quite a few times. Roy’s fall alone uses choker close-ups, medium close-ups and medium shots. This allows for the audience to feel the pressure and stress of the situation within the short amount of time.
Throughout the movie, image systems (such as dolly-ins, pans, and close-ups) allowed for the phallic shape to be represented in different ways. Beginning with a poor representation and dolly in of the shaving cream, to the recreation of the Devil’s Tower when camera angles show the power of it, and finally to the many close-up shots of them actually discovering the tower itself, it is seen that many of the image systems are used to focus on the importance of this phallic shaped symbol.
Media Design and Criticism 