(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Ronan, Carah Dawn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter Metz
Through revisionist anthropology, postcolonial theories and feminist theories, an alternative language in film can come to light. The analysis of spoken words in film calls attention to the use of language as a cinematic tool. Las Hurdes uses narration to construct a fictionalized society presented within the context of a documentary. This unconventional approach encourages viewers to view films more skeptically, while Everest: Beyond the Limits, reinforces the dominant ideologies of the west. Films without spoken words also call attention to the use of language that is conveyed to viewers in film. Films such as Playtime and Triplets of Bellville must connect with the audience through gesture and emotion, using few or no words at all. Surname Viet Given Name Nam calls attention to the use of voice-over in film and examines the issue of traditional interviewing with a solution of multiple voices and highlighted artifice. As Jacques Derrida points out, all language is a crisis. A solution can be found through a reading of the works of filmmakers and theorists. No single language exists without the larger context of work. The theorists whose work influences this approach include James Clifford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Michael Ryan, Amy Lawrance, Hélène Cixous and Kaja Silverman. By analyzing language within both social and linguistic frameworks, a framework for reading and viewing films through an unspoken language can be constructed.
