The Moon as a Feature in Storytelling

The Moon as a Feature in Storytelling

This essay is going to examine the use of the moon as a storytelling device. I am going to look at the way the moon is used in stories, films and television programmes to add to the story and the look and feel of the piece.

To begin with, I shall look at one of the most prolific scenes from a film, one that is used to illustrate the film when it is talked about, a scene that is both heart-warming and gives the viewer a sense of happiness for the characters. The scene I am talking about, is of course, from E.T.

That famous moment, when Elliot and his little alien friend ride across the moon on his bicycle, their silhouette showing up in front of the eerie blue of the moon. Here, this moment represents how much of a friend E.T. has become to Elliot, and also gives us a contrast between the earth (Elliot’s world) and the moon (part of Space, therefore E.T.’s world).

This image was used in the films posters, advertisements and merchandise, and remains one of the most famous from the film.



Another film that uses the moon, gives us a more lighthearted look at the use of the moon in storytelling. In fact, in this short film the whole plot revolves around the moon and its uses for the two characters.

The film, is of course, “Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out”. In this film, they have run out of cheese for their crackers. And what is a crackpot inventor and his faithful dog to do? Go to the place where cheese comes from – the moon, of course! They have their rocket, and so travel to the moon, where they go on to have a picnic there – after finding all the cheese they could want!

The moon here plays a large part in the story, playing on the ‘myth’ or ‘legend’ that the moon is made of cheese. This legend most likely comes from the fact that the moons surface is ‘pockmarked’ with crater-holes, and has a resemblance to some ‘holey cheeses’.



Of course, there are many other stories and films that make use of the moon. In ‘Earthsearch’, the characters visit the moon of far into the future, to find an almost shrine set up to “First Footprint City”. Here, they meet the moon sentinel who guards the mark made in the moon’s surface by Neil Armstrong. In the poem “The Owl and the Pussycat”, they:

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Then of course, there are the many songs that have the moon as the subject. Police’s “Walking on the Moon”, Pink Floyd’s album “Dark Side of the Moon”, the many times covered “Moonriver” and many, many more.

The moon has played a large part in the storytelling aspects of lots of films, books, songs and as such a majestic and mysterious thing, it will undoubtedly be used in the future.