So the night before my capstone project was due, I was on Netflix watching my all-time favorite childhood show, Pokemon, instead of actually doing my project (in case you didn't know, the original season of Pokemon is on Netflix. You're welcome). In the show, these creatures (the Pokemons) can't speak English; they can only communicate with members of their own species by repeating their names. For example, Squirtle can only communicate with other Squirtles by saying "Squirtle." Now we have no clue what they are saying, but I think this is what makes the show so great. Because they have a language we cannot comprehend, we can only guess at what they're saying, and that itself is a lot of fun. Through their tone, we can predict their feelings and maybe what they're saying, but we never know for sure. That's why so many of us loved this show as kids. When we were young, our imaginations were wild, and it was so fun making up dialogue for the Pokemons because we are involved with the show. The show was "interactive" for kids because we could have these creatures say whatever we want.
Many other films and shows use this technique of an unknown language to add mystery and imagination to the characters and stories. In Despicable Me, the Minions had their own language that no one understood but nevertheless, it was the most entertaining part of the movie. In Avatar, there was the Na'vi language. Although we never knew what the characters in these movies/films were saying, we enjoyed them for that very reason. We, the audience, had the power to fill in the holes, to write our version of the story.
