tinnitus
Have you ever heard of tinnitus? It’s a strange “ringing” sensation in one’s ears. People usually get it after getting a knock on the head, overloaded by noise, or during an extreme headache such as a migraine.
Please note, the rest of this article may be disturbing to some readers.
It’s easy to tell if someone is experiencing tinnitus. All one has to do is simply turn the lights down low or off, and be in a quiet room. If one has tinnitus, a ringing sound will seem to come out of no-where. It can almost seem to come from within someone’s own head.
Now, if one listens closely to this sound. It tends to have a definite tone, a type of frequency or “white noise” almost musical characteristic. It is very unpleasant. Yet we have heard this sound before…
If any American walks into a modern movie theater that is showing traditional First Run blockbusters and big studio productions, he or she will notice a type of fatigue after the film. This is more than just the flashing lights and loud booming sounds. Pay close attention to the films you watch…especially the ones that seem to fatigue the viewer at the end of the film. Over 80% of the films sampled in the last 2 years have had actual sonic attacks inside the films.
These Sonic Attacks are almost identical to tinnitus. The occurrences of these attacks are so common even across genres that it is almost obvious. But let’s spell it out in more detail.
The Best of Me – Romantic Drama – 2014 – Sonic attack after the main male character is blown from his Oil Rig
If I Stay – Young Adult / Drama – 2014 – Sonic attack during the scene where the main character is waking up after a car crash…only to realize that she is extremely hurt.
The Giver – Drama – 2014 – This film in particular is of special interest. The sonic attacks are much more subtle than the standard tinnitus sound in the above mentioned films…yet the attacks are far more frequent. Almost every scene where Jeff Bridges’ character delivers a “memory” includes a type of sonic attack. But what is specifically intriguing is how the city’s primary leader, played by Glen Close, gives the main character instructions that he is not allowed to take any medications for pain.
Man of Steel – Sci-Fi /Action – 2013 – Several Sonic attacks, especially during Superman’s childhood, strangely enough after the “Oil Rig” explosion scene, (noticing a pattern here yet?) and several occurrences of sonic attacks during “helmet” scenes concerning the enemy characters being “overloaded” by sensory information
Divergent – Young Adult / Action – 2013 – When the main character is boxing, she gets badly injured and there is a short sonic attack. To the viewer it seems minor and is almost expected since she got hit. (NOTE: why are sounds which are often attributed to severe headaches being used in Mass Media entertainment?)
Avengers – Sci-Fi /Action – 2012 – During the scene where Iron Man, falls from the sky and is disoriented and almost comatose (or dead), a sonic attack occurs. This is only broken by a secondary sonic attack of screaming by the Hulk.
The Hulk – Sci-Fi/ Action – 2009 – This film is so riddled with sonic attacks it is almost beyond mentioning. The scene that should be paid extra attention to is the “University Skirmish” with the soldiers vs. the Hulk. In this scene trucks with large SPEAKERS pointed at the Hulk are used to attack the Hulk. If there is another film which more blatantly uses sound weaponization than please leave a comment below. We’d like to know.
Concluding thoughts:
1. Perhaps filmmakers are noticing better box-office profits for films that have sonic attacks as part of their audio tracks. This could be a product of American audiences’ propensity for self-punishment. Being sonically punished in groups could be a sort of bonding experience for young adults and adults.
2. Everything included in a film costs money. So nothing is done on accident.
3. This could be part of a bigger picture. People who are most resistant to sonic attacks tend to be people who are the least susceptible to headaches. This group can be further split into two categories: A. People who can’t hear very well and especially have trouble hearing nuances and subtle sounds in music and films. B. People who can hear normally, but whom have adapted to sonic attacks in modern life. Could these sonic attacks in Modern American Cinema be part of a bigger initiative for the conditioning of the American Populace? If this is so, what will the end result of this conditioning be?
-Tyler