lputnam@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Lee P Putnam) (04/06/91)
Can anyone out there name a film in which the trailer had a female narrator? I'm trying to find at least one 'mainstream' movie in which this is the case, but have found none. Which, of course, can lead to the discussion of why this true... -lee (p).
vicki@mathcs.emory.edu (Vicki Powers) (04/06/91)
In article <1991Apr5.220612.13190@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, lputnam@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Lee P Putnam) writes: > Can anyone out there name a film in which the trailer had a female > narrator? I'm trying to find at least one 'mainstream' movie in which > this is the case, but have found none. Which, of course, can lead to > the discussion of why this true... Two films by Terrence Mallick (spelling may be wrong): "Badlands", narrated by the lead female character (played by Sissy Spacek), one of my all-time favorite movies. "Days of Heaven". If I remember correctly, the young female character narrates at least part of the movie. I just re-read your question. These are films that are narrated by females, I don't know anything about their trailers. Vicki -- Vicki Powers | vicki@mathcs.emory.edu PREFERRED Emory University | {sun!sunatl,gatech}!emory!vicki UUCP Dept of Math and CS | vicki@emory NON-DOMAIN BITNET Atlanta, GA 30322 |
rshapiro@arris.com (Richard Shapiro) (04/07/91)
In article <1991Apr5.220612.13190@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> lputnam@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Lee P Putnam) writes: >Can anyone out there name a film in which the trailer had a female >narrator? I'm trying to find at least one 'mainstream' movie in which >this is the case, but have found none. Which, of course, can lead to >the discussion of why this true... If you mean "female voice-over" in general, there are a few, but not many. "Rebecca" and "A Letter to Three Wives" are two that come immediately to mind. Kaja Silverman covers this topic in a very interesting way in her book "The Acoustic Mirror: The Female Voice in Psychoanalysis in Cinema" (Indiana University Press, 1988). As for trailers, that's harder to say. I would guess you'd find some if you had access to trailers for "women's pictures" from the 30s and 40s (a genre that would include both films mentioned above). But trailers for older movies are fairly rare items, at least for the public at large. It may be that you can't find any for that reason. As to why female voice-over in general is so rare, I would suggest two reasons. First, voice-over has a kind of god-like authority, especially when it's disembodied voice-over (as it will always be in trailers). God-like authority and femininity don't mix well in our cultural heritage. Second, voice-over presumes a particular kind of "full" and coherent subjectivity; and, as many feminist film historians have shown, female subjectivity as depicted in mainstream cinema rarely has the same degree of fullness or coherence as male subjectivity. Voice-over carries a kind of strength that the culture at large is uneasy about granting to women. Silverman's book should be consulted on this topic; and Mary Ann Doane's book "The Desire to Desire" should be consulted on the problem of female subjectivity and its depiction in Hollywood cinema.
lputnam@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Lee P Putnam) (04/10/91)
In article <1991Apr7.154454.5148@arris.com> rshapiro@arris.com (Richard Shapiro) writes: >If you mean "female voice-over" in general, there are a few, but not >many. "Rebecca" and "A Letter to Three Wives" are two that come >immediately to mind. Kaja Silverman covers this topic in a very >interesting way in her book "The Acoustic Mirror: The Female Voice in >Psychoanalysis in Cinema" (Indiana University Press, 1988). >As for trailers, that's harder to say. I would guess you'd find some >if you had access to trailers for "women's pictures" from the 30s and >40s (a genre that would include both films mentioned above). But >trailers for older movies are fairly rare items, at least for the >public at large. It may be that you can't find any for that reason. I received several responses to my initial plea. However, perhaps because of my poorly written request, I was given titles of examples of female voices used in _narration_. But as the writer above picked up on, I was looking for _trailers_, those things they show before the mean feature. It always seems to be the case that I hear a male say such things as,"coming soon to a theater near you..." Have you ever heard a female say such things? If so, email me once again... -lee (p.)
rivero@dev8a.mdcbbs.com (04/10/91)
In article <1991Apr5.220612.13190@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, lputnam@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Lee P Putnam) writes: > Can anyone out there name a film in which the trailer had a female > narrator? I'm trying to find at least one 'mainstream' movie in which > this is the case, but have found none. Which, of course, can lead to > the discussion of why this true... Having worked in the film business, I can tell you why males predominate the "Mainstream" trailer voiceovers. The producers work under the assumption that when a male voice 'orders' you to see this film, that you will feel the authority a little more, and see the film. By contrast, most adult film trailers feature female voices, who 'seduce' (the predominantly male) audience into seeing the film or renting the tape. Mike
kenm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (...Jose) (04/11/91)
In article <1991Apr8.092931.1@dev8a.mdcbbs.com> rivero@dev8a.mdcbbs.com writes: >Having worked in the film business, I can tell you why males >predominate the "Mainstream" trailer voiceovers. The producers work >under the assumption that when a male voice 'orders' you to see this >film, that you will feel the authority a little more, and see the >film. By contrast, most adult film trailers feature female voices, >who 'seduce' (the predominantly male) audience into seeing the film or >renting the tape. Related to this might be the almost-universal use of female voices for things like automated messages systems (eg. most phone mail systems that I've encountered) and computer messages (mostly sci-fi, in this case.... eg. Star Trek.). Just a thought.... ....Jose -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ".sig quotes are dippy"|Kenneth C. Moyle kenm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca - Kenneth C. Moyle |Department of Biochemistry MOYLEK@MCMASTER.BITNET |McMaster University ...!uunet!mnetor!maccs!kenm
galanter@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Philip Galanter) (04/12/91)
In article <28021170.13754@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> kenm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (...Jose) writes: >Related to this might be the almost-universal use of female voices for >things like automated messages systems (eg. most phone mail systems >that I've encountered) and computer messages (mostly sci-fi, in this >case.... eg. Star Trek.). The NeXT uses a female voice, with a charming british accent at that, to tell you that "your printer is out of paper". Phil ============================================================================== Academic Computing & Network Services ~ AppleLink: A42 ~ ~ 627 Dartmouth Place ~ ~Advanced Technology Group Manager ~ galanter@nwu.edu ~ ~ Evanston, IL 60208 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Northwestern University ~ ~CompuServe: 76474,154 ~ fax: 708-491-4548 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Philip Galanter~ ~ ~ NeXT>gambuh.acns.nwu.edu ~ ph: 708-491-4050 ==============================================================================
rivero@dev8a.mdcbbs.com (04/19/91)
> Related to this might be the almost-universal use of female voices for > things like automated messages systems (eg. most phone mail systems > that I've encountered) and computer messages (mostly sci-fi, in this > case.... eg. Star Trek.). Actually, use of the female voice in such systems (which do not require "authority" of a male voice) are based on a large body of research which shows that the female voice is more likely to be understood in a "noise polluted" environment. Gene Roddenberry was aware of this data when he decided to give Star Fleet computers a female voice. Michael