In Lateral Displacement a word or phrase is selected to establish a 'starting point'.
To this starting point a modifying (or displacing) word or phrase is added that describes or defines a direction of travel.
How does 'Lateral Displacement' Work?
In Glanside Creative Thinking creative thought flows from the Specific to the General.
Lateral Displacement starts with a Specific Idea. The specific idea - embodying the direction, material, concept or theme that you wish to investigate or dissect - is then developed in possible alternative directions by the creation of the General Ideas derived from creative thinking.
The general ideas in Lateral Displacement are produced through the application of a starting point and a modifying word or phrase that defines a direction of creative travel.
Illustration: Lateral Displacement
The following are examples of Lateral Displacement used in the construction of The Tailor.
Each Lateral Displacement consists of a description of the starting situation (specific idea) and then a direction of travel (general ideas) the creative text will take.
- To endure - but not to engage
- The camouflage - of the conspicuous
- Textile - yet textual
- Certainty - as a garment
Lateral Displacements:
Conceptual Breakdown
The above lateral displacements serve as the foundation for the narrative, dissecting themes of monotony, appearance, and the mechanics of persuasion.
1. To endure - but not to engage
The Concept: This displacement focuses on the Factory Manager's emotional detachment. It explores the idea of performance without passion, where speaking is mechanical rather than communicative.
Connection to Narrative: This generated the opening imagery of the continuous unbroken drone and the comparison to a sewing machine. It implies the character is physically present (enduring), but his spirit is not engaged.
2. The camouflage - of the conspicuous
The Concept: This investigates the paradox of corporate individuality. It questions how we try to stand out using the exact same methods as everyone else, resulting in a uniform distinctiveness.
Connection to Narrative: This sparked the description of the tailored suit with a hand-dyed tie. The tie is conspicuous (visible), yet acts as camouflage, allowing the wearer to blend into the tribe of the successful.
3. Textile - yet textual
The Concept: This bridges the gap between the physical trade (manufacturing) and the abstract goal (persuasion). It posits that language is a material that can be cut, shaped, and sewn just like cloth.
Connection to Narrative: This is the root of the Manager looking at the ceiling to find the material he needed. It drove vocabulary choices like stitching persuasion, alteration, and fastening a hem.
4. Certainty - as a garment
The Concept: This treats confidence not as an internal state, but as an external layer that can be put on or altered. It suggests that gut-feel is a product of what we see on the surface.
Connection to Narrative: This led to defining investment as a leap of faith insured by the impression. It culminates in the request that everything we wear radiates the message of confidence.
Illustration: Lateral Displacements developed into the narrative
The following passages from The Tailor were constructed on the foundations of the above Lateral Displacements:
He spoke in a continuous unbroken drone, with few intervals between the sentences, sounding like a sewing machine fastening a hem in place. It was clear that, to him, this was just another difficult task on another difficult day. It was another difficult day of work and it must be endured.
Any investment is a leap of faith - but understand - it is a leap of faith insured by the impression, the gut feel. You put on a tailored suit with a hand-dyed tie, and you stand amongst twenty other people with tailored suits, their individuality, their distinction, expressed in just that tie. It is the same hammer that strikes in the same old way.
There was a moment's pause whilst the Factory Manager looked up at the ceiling. There he found the material he needed, and started up again. 'You can help me by increasing certainty. You can help me by stitching persuasion into presentation. You can help me by alteration, so that everything we wear radiates the message of confidence we need to transmit to this audience.'