Our centuries-long quest for ‘a quiet place’ (original) (raw)
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Introduction: Noise and the Concept of the Cinema Soundscape
2019
"So, what do you do?" I turn, still grasping the tongs from the cheese platter at a reception, and take a breath as I face the question. Or I bellow the response while waving my pear cider over the nearly tangible sound waves of overly loud music at a dim local bar. I answer it politely over the plate of asparagus at the walnut table at a very nice dinner party hosted by a friend. Sometimes I speak to it quickly while walking from place to place across campus with a new colleague, as we mutually attempt to explain just what it is we do before we arrive at a university event. Speaking about my research with friends, family, and new acquaintances, I often find myself having varying levels of conversation about the topic. If I do not believe the conversation will last long, I say that I write about cinema sound. If the conversation continues, I am often asked what I mean when I say this. When most people ask whether I write about the sounds of films, I say that I have done so. I also clarify that it is not really what I do. All academics, of course, risk boring their listeners when they get too deep into their objects of study in conversation, and I keep an eye out for this. But I also watch for perplexity, which I feel I am more likely to need to combat. So, when I explain what I really study, I monitor where my listeners begin to resist the narrative. As I get deeper into the historical and cultural details of my objects of study, I see their expressions change, moving from a place of understanding and polite interest to a fracture of the social facade. "How is that cinema?" they ask. This story
One in five citizens of European cities are exposed to harmful sound levels. Noise pollution is nowadays one of the most widespread and at the same time most persistently ignored hazards in the civilized world. In a visually oriented society soundscapes change rapidly and protection of them is an issue that attracts marginal attention. The paper describes how Witold Lutosławski and Raymond Murray Schafer fought for silence and clarity of sound. The description of the World Soundscape Project demonstrates how everyday sounds can be rethought and creative ways of activating the public to take care of the soundscapes around them developed. The paper focuses on a series of workshops held in Krakow, Poland. Four meetings with different groups of citizens (high-school students, university students, senior citizens, and people with visual impairments) provided the material for an analysis of how people's reactions change when they take a walk focusing on the soundscape. They also provided an opportunity to explore the differences in the perception of soundwalks by fully sighted citizens and those with visual impairments.
Six Types of Silence: On Quiet Atmospheres in Cinema
Daniel Yacavone/Steffen Hven (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Moving Image Atmospheres and Felt Environments. Oxford: Oxford University Press (forthcoming)., 2025
In this article I distinguish six types of silence in films. I claim that they can be considered as atmospheres of silence. After clarifying how I understand the concepts of ‘silence’ and ‘atmospheres,’ I discuss filmic examples of (1) oppressive, (2) brooding, (3) foreboding, (4) relieving, (5) cozy, and (6) idyllic atmospheres of silence. In a final step I try to show how these atmospheres of silence can be distinguished according to three experiential aspects: their levitational-gravitational effect, their centripetal-centrifugal tendencies, and their backward-forward-leaning temporalities.