“George Banks, and all he stands for, will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination. Because that’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.”
I just re-watched the charming film, Saving Mr. Banks, and was struck by the remarks (quoted above) made by Walt Disney, played by Tom Hanks, to P.L. Travers, played by Emma Thompson, in his climactic speech to Travers at her London home. He describes the imagination as the power that restores order. Especially in light of my post yesterday, this line resonated with me. Works of the imagination attempt to bring order or direction to our loves. They attempt to give us a glimpse of what a terrestrial paradise might look like.
Of course, all depends upon the vision of the artist. “Restoring order” can mean very different things for different people. This is why Plato in the Republic voices a lot of suspicion of artists. They aim to give us an attractive picture of the good life, but where are they getting that picture?
Where are you getting yours?
The image above is reproduced courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
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