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Seeing, Hearing, Feeling: Sound and the Despotism of the Eye in “Visual” Anthropology
Author(s) -
HENLEY PAUL
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
visual anthropology review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.346
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1548-7458
pISSN - 1058-7187
DOI - 10.1525/var.2007.23.1.54
Subject(s) - sound (geography) , feeling , filmmaking , ethnography , subject (documents) , soundscape , musical , aesthetics , visual arts , sound design , psychology , art , communication , sociology , history , movie theater , acoustics , anthropology , computer science , social psychology , physics , library science
Sound that is neither verbal nor musical not only adds a rich experiential dimension to the communication of the way of life that is typically the subject of an ethnographic film but also “thickens” the implicit ethnographic description. In the most imaginative hands, it can even be used to make interpretative comments on the reality portrayed. This article proposes that “visual” anthropologists reach beyond the limitations implicit even in the name of their sub‐discipline, and follow the lead of feature film sound designers by using sound more creatively and effectively in their filmmaking.