Staging the Urban Soundscape in Fiction Film
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Echoes of the city : staging the urban soundscape in fiction film Citation for published version (APA): Aalbers, J. F. W. (2013). Echoes of the city : staging the urban soundscape in fiction film. Maastricht University. https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20131213ja Document status and date: Published: 01/01/2013 DOI: 10.26481/dis.20131213ja Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement: www.umlib.nl/taverne-license Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at: [email protected] providing details and we will investigate your claim. Download date: 01 Oct. 2021 0 Echoes of the City Staging the Urban Soundscape in Fiction Film PROEFSCHRIFT Ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Maastricht, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus, Prof. dr. L.L.G. Soete, volgens besluit van het College van Decanen, in het openbaar te verdedigen op vrijdag 13 december 2013 om 10.00 uur. door Jasper Frederik Willem Aalbers 1 Dit werk maakt deel uit van het onderzoeksprogramma Soundscapes of the Urban Past: Staged Sound as Mediated Cultural Heritage dat (mede)gefinancierd is door de Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO). Promotor: Prof. dr. K.T. Bijsterveld Copromotores: Prof. dr. A. Fickers (Université du Luxembourg) Prof. dr. P.P.R.W. Pisters (Universiteit van Amsterdam) Beoordelingscommisie: Prof. dr. R. van de Vall (voorzitter) Prof. dr. ir. W.E. Bijker Prof. dr. G.L. Evans Prof. dr. F.E. Kessler (Universiteit Utrecht) Dr. J. Wachelder 2 Reque minas firmat. Tantum haec in fine loquendi ingeminat voces auditaque verba reportat. (Echo still repeats the last words spoken, and gives back the sounds she has heard.) Ovid, Metamorphoses III, 368-69 Translation by Mary M. Innes 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 6 1. Introduction: Echoes of the City 8 1.1 The myth of the cinematic city 8 1.2 Soundscapes of the urban past in fiction film 11 1.3 Theoretical rationale 14 1.4 Corpus selection and method of analysis 17 1.5 Setting the stage 21 1.6 “Enhanced echoes” of the city 23 2. Practice in Theory, Theory in Practice: Developments in Film Sound Technology and Film Culture, 1927-2010 26 2.1 Introduction 26 2.2 The introduction of film sound and debates between formalists and realists 27 2.3 “New Hollywood,” new film sound and new theories 32 2.4 Theorizing the digitization of film sound 37 2.5 Conclusion 42 3. Big Village or Small City? The Soundscape of Amsterdam-in-film 44 3.1 Introduction 44 3.2 Traffic sounds, background sounds and the reality-effect 45 3.3 The soundmarks of Amsterdam-in-film 51 3.4 Amsterdam-in-film: a glocal village? 57 3.5 Conclusion 60 4. Berlin Part I: City under Construction (1926-1945) 64 4.1 Introduction 64 4.2 Symphony and cacophony of a big city 67 4.3 The soundscape of Fritz Lang’s Berlin 75 4.4 The sounds of “class struggle” and “Kampfzeit” 77 4.5 Conclusion 83 4 5. Berlin Part II: City under Reconstruction (1946-2001) 86 5.1 Introduction 86 5.2 Reconstructing the city-in-film 87 5.3 “New Cinema,” new politics and new realism 94 5.4 All quiet in the border zone? 99 5.5 Unbordering Berlin and the city as a dance party 103 5.6 Conclusion 109 6. The Soundscape of the Lived City: Staging Sonic London 112 6.1 Introduction 112 6.2 Arriving in London 115 6.3 Traveling in London 122 6.4 Living in London 127 6.5 Leaving London and the end of the metropolis 133 6.6 Conclusion 135 7. Conclusions 138 7.1 Representing the city: variations on a theme? 138 7.2 Representing cities in image and sound 140 7.3 The sound of silence 144 7.4 Echoes, resistance and play 145 7.5 Creative encounters: Sound Studies and Film Studies 147 7.6 New (sound) perspectives 149 Annex A: Filmography (corpus) 152 Annex B: Films set in London, categorized by genre 168 Annex C: Other films discussed 170 Annex D: Tables 172 Bibliography 175 Samenvatting 187 Curriculum Vitae 194 5 Acknowledgments Yes, indeed, this is my dissertation, but it could not have been written without the help of many people, whose input, assistance, support, friendship, trust and love must be acknowledged here. First of all I want to thank Prof. Dr. Karin Bijsterveld and Prof. Dr. Andreas Fickers. Back in Utrecht, in 2007, Andreas thought of me when he was looking for someone to carry out PhD project 2 of the Soundscapes of the Urban Past project. And Karin accepted me in the project, even though at that point we had only met once. Without their trust, input, and guidance this dissertation would never have existed. I also want to thank my co-promotor, Prof. Dr. Patricia Pisters, for her advice, help and insights from a Film Studies perspective. And I am grateful to Annelies Jacobs, my fellow PhD colleague in the Soundscapes project. Her work has served as a constant inspiration for my own. My colleagues in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Maastricht University turned a few historical buildings in the city center into an intellectual home. I am grateful to them, and to the supporting staff of both the faculty and the University Library. Without their work it would be impossible to carry out any research or, for that matter, to engage in teaching. I want to thank the students for the joy and inspiration I derived from tutoring them over the past five years. Many people have read parts of this dissertation, or attended my presentations. For their feedback and input I want to thank all my colleagues and participants in our faculty’s Graduate School, the research group for Science and Technology Studies, the WTMC workshops and summer schools, the NECS conferences and other (international) events. Specifically, I would like to mention Joeri Bruyninckx, Eefje Cleophas and Alexandra Supper, as well as Carolyn Birdsall, Nessa Johnston and Dana Mustata. I want to thank the Netherlands Graduate Research School for Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC) for their excellent graduate training program and their financial support in printing this dissertation. Special thanks go out to Larry Sider, Georges Bossaers and Ben Zijlstra for sharing their professional knowledge and experience with me in interviews and correspondence. Kasper Peters, at Hollands Filmdoek, provided me with materials I could not have obtained otherwise. The staff at the former Filmmuseum in Amsterdam was most friendly and welcoming when allowing me to work in their library outside opening hours. 6 Writing a dissertation can be a maddening process, but I was able to keep my sanity through acting. I am very grateful for all the dramatic experiences I had with the people from “Alles is Drama” and the PhD improvisation group. If I say that my friends, in Maastricht, Utrecht and elsewhere, provided the necessary distractions from my work I would not do them justice. Their friendship was an essential part of my life these last five years. I would list all of them here if that was only possible. Which only leaves me five people to thank. Suzanne Zelissen was my partner for the better part of my PhD years. She reminded me that there was more to life than films. My sister Petra is everything a brother could ask for, and more: a sister, a friend and a confidant. Sofia Kaliarnta came into my life just over a year ago, but her love and care mean everything to me. Finally, my parents Wim and Joke Aalbers have raised me, guided me and supported me throughout all these years. There are no words or means by which I can express my gratitude to you. 7 Chapter 1 Introduction: Echoes of the City 1.1 The myth of the cinematic city Notting Hill, my favourite bit of London … And so this is where I spent my days and years, in this small village in th middle of the city. (William Thacker, as played by Hugh Grant) In NOTTING HILL (Roger Michell, 1999), the Notting Hill area is introduced to us, the film audience, as a pleasant, sun-drenched village, with people walking across a market and a few bicyclists passing by.