The Schizophonic Imagination: Audiovisual Ecology in the Cinema
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The Schizophonic Imagination: Audiovisual Ecology in the Cinema Randolph Jordan A Thesis in The Humanities Program Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada September 2010 © Randolph Jordan, 2010 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Randolph Jordan Entitled: The Schizophonic Imagination: Audiovidual Ecology in the Cinema and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Humanities) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: Chair Dr. D. Salée External Examiner Dr. C. O’Brien External to Program Dr. P. Rist Examiner Dr. R. Mountain Examiner Dr. J. Sterne Thesis Supervisor Dr. C. Russell Approved by Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director Dr. B. Freiwald, Graduate Program Director August 27, 2010 Dr. B. Lewis, Dean Faculty of Arts and Science ! ABSTRACT The Schizophonic Imagination: Audiovisual Ecology in the Cinema Randolph Jordan, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2010 This dissertation examines a set of films that deal with narrative issues of ecology using innovative formal approaches to sound/image relationships. The guiding concept for these analyses is schizophonia: a term coined by R. Murray Schafer to refer to the split between sound and source by electroacoustical transmission, an aspect of modern soundscapes that Schafer ties to increasing alienation of the people that live within schizophonic environments. Although problematic in its implied anti-technological bias, I argue that the term schizophonia can be used as an analytical tool for addressing how sound in film can evoke ecological issues pertaining to alienation. I re-cast the “split” between sound and source to the technical division between sound and image inherent to sound cinema. This technical split, although conventionally obscured, informs the ideologies that govern approaches to synchronization. Thus I address sound/image relationships in film by way of acknowledging their separation, a strategy that I refer to as audiovisual ecology. I argue that schizophonia is best understood as the subjective experience of mediation, and I develop the idea of environmental engagement as the awareness of mediation that allows for the synchronization between interior psychological experience and the external world. My chosen films present characters in various stages of achieving this environmental synchronization, developing themes of alienation and engagement through reflexive approaches to audiovisual synchronization that foreground the mediation at work between sound and image. The films under discussion are: ! """! ! Jacques Tati’s Play Time (1967); Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (1979); Peter Mettler’s Picture of Light (1994); Gus Van Sant’s Elephant (2003) and Last Days (2005); and the films of Sogo Ishii (1976-2005). In my analyses I bring the field of soundscape research to bear on film sound theory, exposing productive points of intersection through which established terms in film studies are enriched through comparison with relevant concepts from acoustic ecology. I argue that these films eschew conventions of synchronicity in order to emphasize the schizophonic nature of sound cinema, engendering a form of audience engagement that I call reflective audioviewing in which schizophonic experience becomes a model for understanding sound/image relationships in the cinema anew.! ! "#! Acknowledgements Over the course of my doctoral studies I have received much support and guidance from my supervisors, colleagues and family to whom I would like extend my heartfelt gratitude. First, I have been lucky enough to work with three wonderful advisors: Dr. Catherine Russell, Dr. Jonathan Sterne, and Dr. Rosemary Mountain, with whom I have established excellent relationships that have guided this project, and the trajectory of my academic career, in important ways. Dr. Russell has been a consistent influence on my graduate studies at Concordia University for the past 11 years. I was first introduced to her through the research methods course that provided the backbone of the MA Film Studies degree that I began at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in 1999, and she has been supportive of my doctoral project since my entry into the Humanities program in 2003. She has been as available and open-minded as one could hope for a supervisor to be, all the while maintaining a critical perspective that continually forced me to develop my position within film studies as clearly and concisely as possible. Her timely feedback on my thesis materials over the past couple of years has been instrumental in shaping this project, and as a dedicated and productive scholar she has been a model for what I hope to achieve in the years to come. I first met Dr. Sterne through the sound studies seminar he taught upon his arrival in the Art History and Communications department at McGill University in 2004. In the opening class his breadth of knowledge and generous spirit were immediately evident, and I instantly approached him about being an advisor on my project - a role he didn’t v hesitate to take on. That same year he established the “Sound and Stuff” working group for his advisees, giving me the opportunity to receive a wealth of substantive feedback on various early drafts of this material. Over the years he has pushed me to think hard about the relevance of my work to the field of sound studies, helping me to fulfill the interdisciplinary mandate of the Humanities program. And his unfailingly positive demeanor has provided a wonderful example of how to navigate the often-turbulent waters of academe, ever urging me to seek out the good in my research materials and to be kind in my critiques. This project simply would not have been the same without him. I first approached Dr. Mountain in Concordia’s Music department when looking for a specialist in electroacoustic music studies while putting together my application for the Humanities program. During our first meeting it became clear that our research interests intersected in significant ways, and soon after she invited me to join her team of collaborators on the project that has come to be known as the Interactive Multimedia Playroom: an environment for exploring our experience of multimedia materials. In helping her develop the Playroom I have had the chance to work in a genuinely interdisciplinary milieu. There I interacted with an international group of professionals and graduate students, allowing me to develop many of my ideas about sound/image relationships to a far greater degree than would have been possible otherwise. Her enthusiasm for my project has helped spur me onwards in times of doubt, and the warmness that she and her husband Harry have shown me over the years has given me a real sense of community here in Montreal. vi Of course this lengthy process has benefitted from the help of many people outside the inner circle of my academic supervision, and to these people I would also like to extend my thanks: To Dr. Donato Totaro and Sandra Gallant for their friendship and contribution to my development as a scholar. As the editor of the online journal Offscreen to which I have contributed regularly since 2001, Dr. Totaro has provided me with a place to work through many of the ideas that eventually made it into the dissertation. In the weeks leading up to my thesis submission, he and his wife Sandra kindly read through my chapters and provided essential comments that helped polish the final version. And their friendship has been an important support base for me throughout this often-difficult process. To Dr. Peter Rist for being a mentor and friend since my earliest days as a graduate student at Concordia. Dr. Rist shares my rabid love of film festivals and I have logged more time in darkened cinemas with him than anyone else I can think of. Last summer we took a trip to Tokyo where we co-chaired a panel on Sogo Ishii that helped inform the last chapter of this dissertation. And when asked to sit on my defence committee he enthusiastically agreed, ultimately offering a good measure of thought-provoking insight on the material. To Sharon Fitch, secretary for the Humanities program, whose hard work and uncommon level of professionalism in the office has helped keep me on track with departmental guidelines and procedures, ensuring that the whole process moved forward as smoothly as possible, and aiding in the resolution of more than one administrative jam. Things would have been a lot more difficult without her in the Humanities office. vii To Dr. Mario Falsetto, my MA Thesis supervisor with whom I have maintained regular contact throughout my doctoral studies. Dr. Falsetto has regularly invited me to speak in his undergraduate and graduate seminars on avant-garde film and the work of director Gus Van Sant. Having a public forum to help work through my ideas on the use of sound in Van Sant’s films has proven invaluable for my chapter on the filmmaker’s work, and I have greatly appreciated the input Dr. Falsetto and his students provided. And to Dr. Charles O’Brien who accepted the invitation to sit as the external member of my defence committee, making the trip over from Carleton University in Ottawa to provide some excellent feedback from the perspective of a film sound specialist. His comments were friendly but firm and forced me to think through some important questions about my methodological approach that will undoubtedly inform my future work. Finally, none of this would have been possible without my family to whom I would like to extend an especially warm round of thanks: To my mom and dad, for always encouraging me to follow a path of my own choosing and maintaining a positive outlook through all of my decisions.