Exploitation Films: Silence
This post was originally written for a cult film course at university, in which we were tasked with devising our own genre of exploitation film genre.
restrictions, and/ or makes reference to the “Silent Era” of Hollywood. The silence may be contained in the whole film or in one character.
Several synchronized sound films contain non-speaking characters whose silence is a central focus of their persona. These characters usually elicit at least one of two responses from audiences: laughter and/or compassion. Harpo Marx is mute in contrast to his chatty co-stars, which creates comedic effect and allows for the use of physical comedy. It is also implied that his silence is due to an intellectual deficiency, thus creating a sense of pity and patronization. On the other end of the scale are characters of compassion who are quiet for reasons usually associated with past trauma or physical disabilities. These characters are often women, whose silence acts as a metaphor for their historical oppression and a character’s current personal struggle (e.g. Children of a Lesser God, The Piano, The Shape of Water). Horror films such as Don’t Breathe and A Quiet Place use the act of not speaking as methods of protection from a potentially deadly forces, referring to real life anxieties of persecution for ones ideologies.
Silentsploitation reached a high in 2012, when The Artist won the Oscar for Best Picture. This was the first silent film to win this award since the first ceremony in 1929. It may be argued that the film’s success was due exclusively to it being a silent film, as the story itself has been told repeatedly (i.e. A Star is Born with a happy ending). Watching a silent film today is akin to listening to music through a record player or writing a script on a typewriter, it produces a sense of superiority through authenticity. The reaction of modern audiences to silent film is usually one of exclusivity; we feel smart and “cultured” because it takes work; it requires us to pay attention.
Silentsploitation is a category of exploitation film created after the advent of sound synchronization in 1927 that uses silence for aesthetic and thematic purposes rather than due to technological
It should be noted that referring to films as “silent” is in fact, a retronym. During the early period of cinema through the 1920s, films that did not use dialogue or synchronized sound were not though to be lacking in any way. It was only with the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927 that the potential of sound in film was realized, and films without sound were retrospectively seen as primitive.
Silentsploitation can find its origins in the early 1930’s, just after the technology for synchronized sound became available. In three short years, sound dominated the industry. Garbo had talked, and the careers of stars such as Clara Bow and John Gilbert had been shattered. However, some filmmakers refused to comply with the new technology. Notable early exploiters of silence were F.W. Murnau, Yasujiro Ozu, and Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin stuck to silence in order to tell more stories from the perspective of the Tramp, whose meagre financial status and muteness made him the ultimate “everyman”. If the Tramp were to speak, he would suddenly have an additional level of definition, he would have to explain himself.
Two decades after the premiere of sound, the silent era would become a distant enough memory that it could be reminisced and mythified. Two notable examples of this are Sunset Boulevard and Singin’ in the Rain, both which retrospectively contribute the the myth of the silent film. While Sunset Boulevard portrays silent film as a sort of ethereal lost art, Singin’ in the Rain does not take it so seriously, lampooning its stars and archaicness.
Several synchronized sound films contain non-speaking characters whose silence is a central focus of their persona. These characters usually elicit at least one of two responses from audiences: laughter and/or compassion. Harpo Marx is mute in contrast to his chatty co-stars, which creates comedic effect and allows for the use of physical comedy. It is also implied that his silence is due to an intellectual deficiency, thus creating a sense of pity and patronization. On the other end of the scale are characters of compassion who are quiet for reasons usually associated with past trauma or physical disabilities. These characters are often women, whose silence acts as a metaphor for their historical oppression and a character’s current personal struggle (e.g. Children of a Lesser God, The Piano, The Shape of Water). Horror films such as Don’t Breathe and A Quiet Place use the act of not speaking as methods of protection from a potentially deadly forces, referring to real life anxieties of persecution for ones ideologies.
Silentsploitation reached a high in 2012, when The Artist won the Oscar for Best Picture. This was the first silent film to win this award since the first ceremony in 1929. It may be argued that the film’s success was due exclusively to it being a silent film, as the story itself has been told repeatedly (i.e. A Star is Born with a happy ending). Watching a silent film today is akin to listening to music through a record player or writing a script on a typewriter, it produces a sense of superiority through authenticity. The reaction of modern audiences to silent film is usually one of exclusivity; we feel smart and “cultured” because it takes work; it requires us to pay attention.
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