Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Semester of Degree Completion
1983
Thesis Director
Douglas Bock
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify and critique the theory of sound in film semiotics. In order to accomplish this task, a cursory analysis of the nature and objectives of semiotics generally and cinesemiotics especially has been included. Direct references to the function of sound recording made by pioneer film semiologist Christian Metz, as well as others in that discipline, constitute the object of this study. Finally, a detailed critique of the resulting cinesemiotic position concerning sound in film evaluates this position in light of stated goals.
As is the case with most theories of film, the aural signifying elements-- i.e., spoken words, music and sound effects-- receive only secondary attention in film semiotics. Because the photographic image has historically been viewed as the primary material of meaning in cinema, sound recording tends to be studied as a mere supplement, dependent upon the image track for its very existence. This attitude toward sound cinema as expressed by respected cinesemiologists has not yet been properly articulated, and presents a problem area of this new theoretical and critical methodology.
While semiotics, applied to cinema, aims at a rigorous and scientific account of meaning in films, its theoretical stance on the issue of sound recording remains incomplete and poorly reasoned. If film semiotics is ever to achieve its objectives, it must address each signifying practice within the cinema without privilege or prejudice. That it has not done so in the particular case of sound reveals a necessary area for improvement.
Recommended Citation
Ingle, Kathryn L., "The Sound and the Theory: A Study of the Theoretical Position within Metzian Film Semiotics of Sound in Cinema" (1983). Masters Theses. 2888.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/2888
