Soundtracking American smart cinema: self-expression, identity and alienation

Abstract

The thesis argues that American smart cinema, a film development identified initially by Sconce (2002) and expanded by Perkins (2012), demonstrates a variation in its use of the diegetic soundtrack. This has allowed characters within its narratives to use the expressive qualities offered by listening and consuming music, furthering their desires to communicate with other characters and regulate their sense of self-identity. The thesis has therefore assembled a new and effective method of viewing this cycle of films, one that is characterised by its treatment of music, situated diegetically within the narrative. Rather than view the interrelationship between sound and image as a hierarchy in which the image dominates and soundtrack is subordinate to the visual realm of cinema, the thesis first looks to establish traditional soundtrack strategies and chart their development and alterations across the American smart cinema cycle, in contrast to more mainstream and historical modes of soundtrack. The intersection of the thematic concerns of American smart cinema, most overtly in representations of alienation, identity and memory as barriers towards communication, are supported by the use of the diegetic soundtrack, reinforcing uniformity across the cycle and helping to maintain a general consistency of tone, mood and characterisation. To conclude, this thesis contributes to a body of thought on the use of diegetic soundtrack as a key component in cinema, in this case helping to establish themes within the smart film cycle, namely those of fractured relationships, alienation, identity and nostalgia. Critically, I consider these features and examine the signifying functions in the overlaps between representation, narrative and soundtrack within American smart film.