The power of words

Calvin Weir - Fields - “One may read this and think it's magic, but falling in love is an act of magic, so is writing. It was once said of Catcher In The Rye, "That rare miracle of fiction has again come to pass: a human being has been created out of ink, paper and the imagination." I am no J.D. Salinger, but I have witnessed a rare miracle. Any writer can attest: in the luckiest, happiest state, the words are not coming from you, but through you.” 

- Ruby Sparks, 2012

I believe words have a certain power. I don’t mean bad words or good words, cursing or praising. I mean all the words, words in general.

I think everything descends form words, everything is made of them. And all the things in this world we call ours started with an idea, or a feeling, or an experience. And these ideas, feelings and experiences wouldn’t be distinguished or even known as so, without words to name them.

Historians say the greatest invention, what separates all of our time from pre-history is writing. I must say, I agree with them. There’s not a single invention that does not use writing of any type or size.

Books, for example, are what I believe to be the second greatest invention ever (actually, they are on par with cinema, but anyway…). I guess books (and stories in general can change our lives in a way nothing else does.

To imagine, feel and then realize what’s beyond comparisons, metaphors and metonymies is something only books (or screenplays) can make us do perfectly. That’s why I think we are (I mean, our psychological characteristics) made of words.

And that’s “Ruby Sparks”‘s biggest metaphor/ theme.

Calvin (Paul Dano) is a famous young novelist, out of ideas. He suddenly dreams about a girl, and writes it on paper. The idea becomes interesting for a book and he is so deeply connected and concentrated, that this girl, named Ruby Sparks (Zöe Kazan) becomes real. And it’s not the “in of his crazy mind” real, but real real.

They fall in love, but Calvin starts to change her, by writing it down. When Ruby realizes what he is doing, they fight, and Calvin lets her go.

It’s mainly a story about the amazingly graceful power of words. But we should always remember that too much power, of any kind, is no good.