Paper #2: Comparing and Contrasting Badlands and Modern Times In the film Badlands by Terrence Malick and Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin both use sound effectively. In our book, sound is described by “Sound-talking, laughing, singing, music, and the aural effects of objects and settings-can be as expressive as any of the other narrative and stylistic elements of cinematic form” (Barsam, Monahan 388). Sound can also create audience expectation, give a point of view, create continuity, emotion, and emphasis. In Badlands, the sound shows the disconnect in the relationship of the characters and what we see. In Modern Times, the sound helps pull a connection between what we see and hear.
While Badlands and Modern Times are completely different in plot, they can be connected through their use of sound. For example, both
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For example, if an audience sees a scene where someone is walking down a hallway with happy music. The audience would interpret that the character has had a wonderful day and is off to bed. But, once the music changes to something suspenseful, the red flags immediately go up. Without the use of sounds I believe there would be a huge disconnect in story and with the audience. While believing this, I am not ruling out the use of silence. Silence can also bring out all three of the emotions listed above. Silence after a funny joke, silence when we can see the killer behind the main character, or silence after someone has passed away in the film. All of these examples are used in films to connect the audience to the story and shapes analysis and interpretations. Silence can also make a scene seem more profound or even prophetic and frustrates our normal perceptions (Barsam, Monahan 409). I believe sound to be one of the most important elements in producing a great film. The use of sound can lead the audience to imagine and interpret beyond what is just