Hey, North Seattle volunteers! Are any of you going to the Wednesday volunteer orientation? Want to meet beforehand to take the bus down together (and take the bus back together afterward)? Just to have someone to walk with after dark, especially given that recent assault just off campus…. e-mail me (krystay@u.washington.edu) or comment on my post if you’re interested.

Now, to my real topic. “Acoustic Cyberspace” went several yards over my head, and I suspect I’m not the only one. The trouble is that it’s written for a much different audience. The complex vocabulary, allusions to subjects such as the Renaissance, and difficult ideas are targeted at very mature, educated, intelligent, and intellectual listeners. Certainly I consider myself mature, educated, intelligent, and intellectual, but not quite to the extent or in quite the same way as the conference attendees. These people are all older than I am, perhaps businessmen, presumably with at least a bachelor’s degree for the most part. Notice that in my previous sentence, I not only say “not quite to the extent” but also “not… in quite the same way.” I am an exceptionally left-brained thinker, so I struggle with “abstract ideas” and “open-ended notions” – which Davis explicitly states to be the topic of his speech. I’m intelligent, but I pick up calculus and computer science much more easily than ideas such as those Davis proposes; I’m intellectual, but I’d rather sit down with a logic puzzle than some of the great classics.

McLuhan’s ideas confused me, but perhaps Davis summarized them too concisely to give them justice. I understand the metaphorical differences between acoustic and visual space: acoustic space, unlike visual space, has resonance and simultaneity. I just don’t understand why McLuhan concludes that, given these differences, electronic media are acoustic and print technology is visual. The idea of resonance is that “a small activity or event can gain a great deal of energy.” Ever heard of a book called Harry Potter? (Granted, McLuhan hasn’t – he died in 1980.) Harry Potter is arguably the strongest example of resonance. A woman nobody’s heard of, struggling to make ends meet in a corner of England, writes a humble little story and – poof – she’s launched a worldwide cultural phenomenon of colossal proportions. All thanks to print technology.

Quote: In discussing virtual reality, Davis writes, “Typically, people relegate acoustic dimensions to the ‘background’—a soundtrack or score that ‘accompanies’ a primary visual experience.” He, however, feels that “an immersive acoustic environment . . . is much, much, stronger than a visual experience . . .” Trying to understand why this is, he proposes that sound “affects different areas of the bodymind than visuals do. Affect is a tremendously important dimension of experience, and one of the most difficult to achieve in a visual environment. ‘Atmosphere’ might be a good way to describe this aspect: sound produces atmosphere, almost in the way that incense—which registers with yet another sense—can do. Sound and smell carry vectors of mood and affect . . .”

Davis’s educated audience is evident in these phrases. He uses elevated, professional/scientific diction (“relegate,” “vectors,”) where more accessible words would be sufficient. For instance, he could say “emotion” or “feelings” (thanks, dictionary.com) instead of “affect” when he uses it as a noun. The tone, consequently, is scholarly, intellectual, and perhaps even pompous - he almost seems to try too hard to show off his vocabulary.

In this quote, Davis laments that sound is underrated. Movies and TV push sound to second place, using it as a supplement to humbly enhance the visual. People obsess over video game graphics, yet I’ve never heard gamers get so passionate about the games’ music. And yet, sound is so emotionally powerful – a classmate once commented that the time people break down at funerals is when the music starts. To return to the video game example, when you’re rushing to complete a timed challenge, don’t you get much more worked up if the music is fast and has a “tick-tock” undertone? In Davis’s words, sound creates “affect” or “atmosphere.” The tremendous power of sound and the lack of emphasis it currently receives is one reason sound needs to be studied. Likewise, studying sound technology can help us use sound more effectively, better channeling its power and potential.

Megan Nordstrom’s portfolio, of course, was much more readable. Not only was it directed at 121 students, but it was written by someone at our level – meaning she probably couldn’t have written an argument as over-our-heads as Davis’s if she wanted to.

At one point, Nordstrom says, ” ‘It was obvious that the director wanted the audience’s main focus on the narrator’s voice instead of on the images’ (3). I observed that the visuals played a ‘background role’ to the vocals in the scene.” I thought this was interesting because Davis discusses how sound is unfairly used as the background to visuals. In the movie clip Nordstrom analyzes, the roles are actually reversed.

Quote: Nordstrom writes: ” ‘The narrator generates a picture of the “old fashion American man” in our heads, who could possibly remind us of our grandfather or even FDR’ (1).” Later, she also adds: ” ‘It is not necessarily what the narrator says about the production of car, but how he says it. He uses a slow, knowledgeable approach that helps gives a feeling of “Old America” ‘ (2).”

This quote has a much more familiar, casual tone than the quote from Davis. It doesn’t use elevated diction, instead using accessible wording (“helps gives a feeling of”). The colloquial phrases “old fashion American man” and “Old America” contribute to the informal air, as does the reference to “our grandfather” – inspiring feelings of familarity.

What I like about these quotes is that they show the importance of sound in narration. A major component of narration is the words themselves, which can be written on paper (or shown on the screen as captions) and thus stripped of any relation to sound. Nordstrom could have chosen to focus her analysis on the narration’s words and believed she was discussing sound, since narration is associated with sound. Instead, she cleverly avoids falling into this trap. She notes that in this movie clip, the words are not what matter - what matters is the fact that they are heard, not just seen. Her astute observation strongly demonstrates the importance of sound and, likewise, the importance of studying sound.