Theory: Suspension of Disbelief

“He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.”

Leonardo da Vinci

Suspension of Disbelief is the theory that people will accept something which is unbelievable or fantastic to make sense of a film, story or peace of fictional literature. The theory was put forth by Samuel Taylor Coleridge who was an English poet and aesthetic philosopher. Coleridge suggested that if an author injected an element of truth into a fantastic tale then the reader would be able to accept the story despite its possible implausibility.

This theory links perfectly with my MA project. According Coleridge to make set designs for fantasy films more believable the designer should incorporate elements of truth and reality. Therefore to more successfully design around the idea of nature for film, I should incorporate elements of the natural world.

Suspension of Disbelief is clearly visible in from James Cameron’s Avatar

This is a still from Avatar showing the forest covered planet of Pandora with its colossal trees and humongous plants.

This is an image of the Amazon rainforest. You can see similarities between the Amazon and Pandora. Suspension of Disbelief would suggest that the audience are much more likely to accept Pandora as a believable location because they can use the Amazon as a point of reference from reality.

Here is another scene on Pandora. Amongst the many types of Fauna on Pandora are these gargantuan hanging flowers.

The Pandoran flowers could be variations on the simple Fuchsia. The familiarity of the Fuchsia shape overcomes the fantasy element of a much grander scale, and still allows it to be believable.

The Seeds of the Sacred Tree share a resemblance to Dandelion seeds both in looks and

in character.

White, floating, spiderlike seeds that drift with the wind are not unlike dandelion seeds we can see in our gardens, this then allows the Pandoran seeds to feel natural enough to exist.

The Soul tree is one of the most fantastic elements of the Avatar story, allowing the Na’vi to hear the voices of their ancestors.

The Soul Tree becomes believable because it looks like a stylised Willow Tree. Its appearance as a Willow tree makes it believable because it looks familiar.

Suspension of Disbelief is a useful theory for my project as incorporating the natural world with elements of unbelievable fantasy is the main topic of my MA project. Cognitive Estrangement can also be linked to Suspension of Disbelief as it uses the audience’s ignorance or lack of knowledge to support Suspension of Disbelief. Further Research into this would be useful.