The first text by Kozloff, the introduction, attempts to define voice-over narration at both a literal and exemplary standpoint. The ‘voice’ quite simply means spoken by a human. ‘Over’ is defined by the fact that the ‘voice’ cannot be seen on camera in that scene or any scene by that matter. The ‘voice’ is speaking from another “time and space”, so it is technically reviewing ‘over’ the scene. Finally, narration involves describing the scene, usually done before the scene takes place, to provide context for what the viewer is about to witness. Also, the narrating usually involves using the past tense, the past tense conveys an assurance, and not a possibility.

It is interesting to note, that in the introduction, Kozloff states that the cinema is the youngest form of storytelling, while oral anecdotes are the oldest, most commonly used forms of storytelling. The combination of the two provide a link from one generation to the next. The voice-over technique began in the thirties so it is by now means a new idea. It also points to the fact that a large number of movie-goers don’t realize it’s there until someone brings up it after the movie, or in our case, we have to study its prevalence and siginificance in a class!

The way I reacted to these two texts was mainly with compliance and epiphany. There were many parts of her text, where I found myself saying “Oh yeah!” or “Is that what it is?” Two shows that came to mind while reading Kozloff’s work were “The Wonder Years” and “Arrested Development”. Aside from the humorous nostalgia that came to my mind, I asked myself a question that Kozloff asks in her text: “If I took the narrator out, would the show change? And if it did change, would it be for the better or for the worse?” I found in both cases that the show would be much worse. There are parts when the narrator will complete a sentence that a character begins, simply because the character in that scene chose to halt his or her sentence on the basis of either a brain fart or a desire to hide something. In that situation, when the narrator finishes that sentence off with the truth, there is a moment of brilliance, and it can make any viewer laugh or cry depending on the scene, because you know, but several characters within the scene do not know.

So what does it come down to? Why debate the presence of voice-over narration? Kozloff defends voice-over narration because there are so many critics opposed to its use. They feel that the technique draws away from the art of cinema, saying that it is “a cheap shortcut, the last resort of the incompetent”. How voice-over narration taints the art of cinema is by “telling” the viewer of certain emotions or events that “should be shown” through methods such as point of view, editing, pantomime, or facial expressions.

I see cinema as a culmination of many major art forms such as photography, literature, music, theater, dance, etc. In that respect, it is an enhanced art form borne from the previous art forms. Therefore, applying the ancient art form of oral story-telling can only help the objective of the modern movie. If the deception and creativity of the director or screenplay writer is questioned, the discretion of what they put it in or how much they reveal to the viewer should be the point of debate.

Does voice-over narration affect your interpretation of the film piece? I feel no, because the point of voice-over narration is to enhance, either through providing context or adding entertainment value. However, how you watch the movie depends on who is telling the story. Two major methods of voice-over narration are first-person reflection and third person omniscient. In the case of the former, I tend to always look beyond what the main character is saying, simply because the movie is geared towards his or her perspective. Regarding the latter method, I see the “all-knowing” narrator as only giving me the right clues to basing opinions on which characters I like or dislike. Kozloff supports this argument when she says the voice-over narration creates “a special, intimate relationship with the viewer”. A movie should immerse its audience. That’s why I think people made inventions like the IMAX, or surround sound; people want movies to be increasingly more of an experience. The narrator adds that feature, and while it’s not included in all movies, its purpose is to make us feel more important, like we are really there, and the story-telling does cinema justice.

Two movies I think would be interesting to analyze are “Fight Club” and “L.A. Confidential”.

I find this piece by Erik Davis, titled “Acoustic Cyberspace”, extremely unique in that it offers both a revelation and a caveat. Its revelation is that sound helps people explore different realms and possibilities while visual things typically display what we already know. What we see is usually something definite. In contrast, what we hear is up to more interpretation, and a close listening can reveal that. The caveat given by Erik Davis is that the messages sent through sound can be distorted and even become so complex that we lose a sense of “self” and are ultimately shaped by the ‘cyberspace’. For example, “It is no accident that you find the logic of youth subculture most strongly articulated around music.” You can ask anyone in our class and he or she will have an adamant stance on the type of music he or she tends to listen to. Music shapes us now more than ever. Artists and bands have views that we share with them and we turn to them when our families or friends don’t listen or don’t understand. Our generation thinks with sarcasm and cynicism, two products of contemporary and classic rock.

Upon analyzing Megan Nordstrom’s Response Paper 1.2, I found her emphasis on audience very interesting. The point of knowing your audience is simple, they must be able to understand what you are saying. Even though her emphasis on audience was solely to fulfill one of the outcomes of the class, it also pertains to her argument. She claims in her paper that  she “showed how narration changed the feeling of the clip in the three angles I looked at”. Without the narration the message of the clip would have been vastly different, and the clip itself would seem quite empty. Nordstrom’s quote offers a different perspective that is supported by the purpose of the paper. It seems in both cases, one for the class outcomes and one for the actual argument of the paper, that tone sets the mood which in turn changes the outcome of the message.

When I hear the word “service”, I usually associate it with the notion of sacrifice. Some may argue that the intention or ulterior motive is usually different for each type of service, but I believe my association remains true when it comes to giving something up ‘to serve’. Sometimes time is given up, and other times energy is given up. In my case, I had to give up my fear of failure. Two years ago, I visited my sister in New York City for my spring break. She told me that I would be volunteering for her school. She works as a math teacher at Kipp Star School in Harlem, which is a charter school for 6th graders to 8th graders. At first, working as a tutor, it was overwhelming, because the kids had just met me and they let it be known that I was a stranger. Either through angry glances or words under their breath, they constantly nagged me. However, I decided to use humor with a couple of the kids that did respect me, and once I won over those kids, I ended up becoming very comfortable as a teaching assistant.

Upon analyzing the playlist, “What I Value Most”, I realize that the playlist is organized in order of most valued to least valued, from top to bottom. For example, the first sound byte is of “family members calling”, and the second sound byte is of “talking with friends”. Here, you can see that the people closest to the author are valued most. Beyond the second sound byte are hobbies and favorite entities of popular culture. Another sound clip that could possibly “fit” in this person’s playlist would be the sound of a whistle, because he or she seems to enjoy sports. Furthermore, I would assume that this person plays sports in his or her freetime, and watches sports on television. Another thing I would assume about is that the author is a male because Lil’ Wayne is a popular rapper among young men. In addition, Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 are coveted video games by most of the young male population.