Music is an important part of every film. Even before there were "talking pictures" the filmmakers used music as background noise to help tell the story. With or without words music can be so powerful that it increases the intensity of the film immensely. Can you imagine Fantasia without all of its classical scores? There are many theories about music in film today. While some believe it adds a lot to film others think that music should never be secondary to images. I believe that the two go hand in hand equally to bring the best of the audio and visual worlds together. Especially now that lyrics have come into play. The words of a song can bring so much more emotion to a scene t ...view middle of the document...
Although, now, the darkness is so absolute and thick it is even hard to hear. The only way he is able to see the possibilities of life is to be in his subconscious and hope that the visions are important enough to remain in his blurred mind. Sleep is his escape from the darkness of his mind. In a sense, Ben feels dead. For example, on his 21st birthday he just sits at the bottom of the pool wishing he could be anywhere but there with all of those people. Also, at the graduation party that his parents throw for them all he wants to do is escape to his room to be alone. Not to mention that every person there is an adult, friend of Ben's parents, not a young one in the whole bunch. To him the sound of silence is the end, it means that his life is nothing. He feels as though he has no effect on others or life and they have no influence on him either. This is because he has not begun to found love and passionate feeling. Even during his affair with Mrs. Robinson, life is just the same old every day, all bland as ever. In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone Beneath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence In the second verse things start to get a little more complicated. I think that the best visual description is the scene where Ben is floating in the pool. His father asks him what he is doing and Ben responds with, "just drifting." Drifting is exactly what he is doing, but not just in the pool, but through life as well. Weeks after graduation he is still doing absolutely nothing, not even thinking, just letting the darkness take over. When Ben and Mrs. Robinson have their first argument he tells her that he cares about her, and maybe he thinks he does, but he has no idea what feelings of caring really are till he falls for Elaine. Throughout his life he walks alone, not even noticing the others surrounding him. He just watches out for himself so he can make it to the next day. Life is no challenge, just a nuisance, till he gets a slap of life in the face. The "flash of a neon light" symbolizes this, which occurred in the strip club when Elaine started to cry. Ben actually felt horrible and began to realize he had a part of himself that felt things that were so strong he could not control them anymore, it was in essence like being stabbed with life. Elaine set off something inside of Ben that was able to "touch the sound of silence." Suddenly, he was able to talk (almost) freely with her and the darkness begins to slowly fade away. And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never shared No one dared Disturb the sound of silence The more time he spends with Elaine, the more he peels away his wall to her. He realizes that his life of silence does not have to l...
