Reading through Shaun Tan’s The Arrival was not unlike flipping through the pages of an old photo album or scrolling through a few trays of slides. He provides a seamless experience by juxtaposing imagery together in much the same way a movie does. Tan imagery is similar to that of a silent movie. Even though there is no spoken dialogue, we are able to follow what is being said via body language and recognizable iconography. Its pretty impressive how Tan was able to utilize an invented language to link the viewer's experience with that of the main character. With this approach he is able to convey emotions such as confusion and frustration because the audience shares in the main character's plight. Interestingly, Tan also uses known symbols to help bridge the gap in communication. Using symbols such as a drawn bed to convey a place to sleep or a drawn loaf of bread to symbolize food immediately links unfamiliar imagery with known concepts. To me, that was the crowning achievement of this book. There are so many attempts to break the rules of known iconography in the name of creativity but without a constant we have no frame of reference for the new imagery. The Arrival succeeds in that aspect of being visually innovative while making sure the audience is along for the ride.
