- 180 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
About this book
"Let me tell you a story," each film seems to offer silently as its opening frames hit the screen. But sometimes the film finds a voiceāan off-screen narratorāfor all or part of the story. From Wuthering Heights and Double Indemnity to Annie Hall and Platoon, voice-over narration has been an integral part of American movies.
Through examples from films such as How Green Was My Valley, All About Eve, The Naked City, and Barry Lyndon, Sarah Kozloff examines and analyzes voice-over narration. She refutes the assumptions that words should only play a minimal role in film, that "showing" is superior to "telling," or that the technique is inescapably authoritarian (the "voice of god"). She questions the common conception that voice-over is a literary technique by tracing its origins in the silent era and by highlighting the influence of radio, documentaries, and television. She explores how first-person or third-person narration really affects a film, in terms of genre conventions, viewer identification, time and nostalgia, subjectivity, and reliability. In conclusion she argues that voice-over increases film's potential for intimacy and sophisticated irony.
Through examples from films such as How Green Was My Valley, All About Eve, The Naked City, and Barry Lyndon, Sarah Kozloff examines and analyzes voice-over narration. She refutes the assumptions that words should only play a minimal role in film, that "showing" is superior to "telling," or that the technique is inescapably authoritarian (the "voice of god"). She questions the common conception that voice-over is a literary technique by tracing its origins in the silent era and by highlighting the influence of radio, documentaries, and television. She explores how first-person or third-person narration really affects a film, in terms of genre conventions, viewer identification, time and nostalgia, subjectivity, and reliability. In conclusion she argues that voice-over increases film's potential for intimacy and sophisticated irony.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, weāve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere ā even offline. Perfect for commutes or when youāre on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Invisible Storytellers by Sarah Kozloff in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Film & Video. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
The
Prejudices
against
Voice-OverĀ
Narration
21
How
Green
WasĀ
My
Valley.
Huw
[voice-over):
After
dinnerĀ
whenĀ
dishes
had
been
washed,
theĀ
boxĀ
was
brought
toĀ
the
table
forĀ
the
spendingĀ
money
toĀ
be
handedĀ
out.
money.
ThisĀ
overlappingĀ
relates
toĀ
the
cherishing
of
theseĀ
moments
byĀ
the
older,Ā
nostalgic
narratorāwe
lingerĀ
overĀ
theseĀ
momentsĀ
contentedly,Ā
sharing
the
doubleĀ
perspective
ofĀ
the
reflecting
narrating-I
andĀ
the
participatingĀ
child.
ThisĀ
lingeringĀ
forces
the
spectator
to
viewĀ
suchĀ
simpleĀ
familialĀ
details
asĀ
em-
blematic
ofĀ
all
that
is
lost;
as
GuidoĀ
FinkĀ
remarks,
"Things
must
be
twice-told
in
order
toĀ
be
safely
redeemed
fromĀ
time
and
decay."
28
Far
fromĀ
being
an
egregious
fault,
thisĀ
overlap
isĀ
a
modestĀ
plum.
"TheĀ
Last
Resort
of
the
Incompetent"
Is
it
[voice-over
narration]
a
meaningful
conven-
tion
.
.
.
Or
isĀ
itĀ
an
emergency
cord
theĀ
filmmaker
pulls
when
heĀ
orĀ
she
cannot
think
of
another
way
to
begin
a
movie
or
deliver
some
important
piece
of
information?
BernardĀ
Dick,
Anatomy
of
Film
According
to
anotherĀ
commonĀ
view,Ā
sinceĀ
realĀ
filmmakersĀ
knowĀ
that
film
is
essentially
a
visualĀ
medium,
itĀ
isĀ
the
unimaginative
and
incompetent
who
Table of contents
- Cover
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Prejudices against Voice-Over Narration
- 2 Ancestors, Influences, and Development
- 3 First-Person Narrators
- 4 Third-Person Narrators
- 5 Irony in Voice-Over Films
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Filmography
- Bibliography of Works Cited
- Index