What got me thinking about this was a blog entry by Harun Morrison about a sound effect used in Hollywood films as an in-joke amongst sound designers (link to Harun's blog). In a nut shell, a scream sound called "The Wilhelm" was found to have been used repeatedly in different productions during the 50's and subsequently a fraternity of sound people decided to insert The Wilhelm into films they worked on. Its quite a delightful story, but in order for this practice of Wilhelm'ing to have been possible without detection (and surely it must have gone undetected from directors) there must have been an artistic culture where the audience was considered dumb, and that sonic gestures need not be well articulated. I suspect that culture still exists. While I celebrate the disguise of a sound to give it a new meaning, I also bemoan the meaninglessness of it all. Not the Wilhelmers, they are but an undeserving point of focus for undue blame, but all sound merchants peddling crap should face consequences for their lack of respect for the audience.
Film sound designers painting a picture they hope you wont take much notice of, painful sirens bouncing through concrete canyons, machinery rattling away relieving workers of their long terms hearing prospects - does no one give a shit about what they hear? One of the most infuriating "innovations" is voice overs on public transport. Constantly we are bombarded by messages informing us that products can be purchased and to advise us on how not to look like a terrorist. This experience of constant noise makes my journey very unpleasant and I am jealous of halcyon images of the past in which a journey on the train is actually serene provided you've already paid for a ticket. Now the journey is anything but serene, the voice overs last longer and longer and are getting louder and louder (not to mention the demands more intrusive). Anyone in doubt of what I'm writing about should go on a Ryan Air flight and listen to the happy hardcore mix of The Birdy Song with voice over reminding the customers that there is a bar service on the plane.
And now comes the crux of my rant: all this inconsiderate sonic flatus has desensitised our minds and brought forth a culture of deafness. Think I'm wrong? What do you do if you hear a burglar alarm go off? Most the time people don't react, and one of the reasons why is because burglar alarms are heard all the time and mean nothing - its a false alarm, no one is in distress, its a waste of time. "Wolf" has been cried so many times that we will not take notice and not react. I've seen people on transport services ignore messages like "this service has been cancelled, all passengers must get off the train". There is too much noise in our society, and we will not realise it on a collective scale until a generation ends up deaf. But its not just loud sound, its meaningless sound too which deafens our brain which is in many ways a worse fate. And I haven't even mention muzak...
Keep your ears open and strive to keep your brain alert - wankers will pour foul advertising and propaganda into your senses, so make sure you filter out the crap but don't switch off!
