The first article I read, “A defense- and history- of voice over narration”, brought up some very good points, considerably better than those of her opposition, which seem to consist of “it’s sloppy” or “it’s not real art”.  She lists many movies that make good use of voice over– and not bad movies, either. Mainstream, popular movies, like Clueless, A clockwork Orange, and Fight Club. She points out that voice over can convey some things better than the movie alone, as with the post-war documentaries, and womens’ films of the 1940s. She points out, as well, that some films are so complicated that voice over is essential to even understanding what is going on, and, as a rebuttal to the “telling is manipulative and coercive” argument, she points out that showing is often just as manipulative, as the director puts a lot of energy into using the pictures to make people see what he wants them to. In my opinion, one of the most important points she brought up was that voice over gives us insight into characters that we would not otherwise fully understand. She makes three final points– that voice over can make a film more poetic, more intimate, and, in spite of what many people say, actually more conplex, as it adds another dimension or layer to the film experience.

The next article probably should have been read first, as it breaks down voice over narration into its essential parts and explains them. She begins her other article, “Invisible Storytellers” with something very important– an explicit definition of voice over. She continues with a definition of narration, broken down into 6 kinds of sentences, and delves into some things; asides, soliloquys, that can sometimes be confused with voice over, and distinctly separates them. She admits that it can be misused sometimes, but then proceeds to list many films in which voice over has added greatly to her experience.

I completely agree with all of her points, especially about intimacy and character development. Often, in movies, we see the characters actions, but voice over narration adds another level: how they think about their actions. Whether or not they struggle with them, alternative motives, etc.

We’ve discussed sound a lot in class, and I have stated I personally beleive that it is a lot more powerful than visuals, a belief that I maintain here. The insight voice over narration gives us into the characters is priceless, and every movie I have ever seen with voice over was tastefully done, and came out enhanced by it.