Source #4

To continue with my research on sound I chose the article “The Non-Diegetic Fallacy: Film, Music, and Narrative Space” by Ben Winters in order to argue the true importance and great role music has in film. The article begins just like my research paper thus far, stating that certain movies like “Indiana Jones” would not exist without the music that accompanies it. The author, though, does not want to categorize the non-diegetic sound that is so characteristic of the movie to be seen as non-diegetic because it plays such a big role in the movie. By calling it non-diegetic, it “threatens to separate [the music] from the space of the narrative, denying it an active role in shaping the course of the onscreen events.” By categorizing music as non-diegetic is like categorizing it in the same way as a narrator, who is external. Music is every way part of the narrative as the mis-en-scene. The author also mentions that non-diegetic sound is a sort of indicator to the audience that was is going on on screen is part of its own universe, that it is fictional. This could also mean that diegetic sound is part of the movie’s universe, while non-diegetic sound is more so part of the audience’s universe. This makes me want to explore the interesting use of the same melody throughout the movie “The Great Lie” both as diegetic and non-diegetic sound.

This source is extremely credible because it sites many known film theorists, books, and articles on the subject, citing them accordingly. This source opens even further the door to discussing not only how different melodies but also different types of sound effect the movie and audience together and separately. This is a very strong source for my argument that the melodrama would not exist without music.