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Creating the Sound of Silence / This is Your Brain on Silent Films

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gtr

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Dec 11, 2011, 4:19:45 PM12/11/11
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Inexplicably this article, as it appears in this morning's LA Times is
called "Creating the Sound of Silence". Online though, on the LA Times
web page, it is called "This is Your Braing on Silent Films".

I've always known that my brain behaved differently when watching
silent movies. It can be more dream-like, and lull me to sleep quicly.
And my wife even more quickly. But it's not like we're tired or
bored, it just has a curious effect. Once we get a little nap in we can
usually get up, make a cup of (caffeine-free) tea and pick up where we
think we last left off. And for good results.

Curiously some sound films, but with scant text (Wings of Desire for
one), can have the same effect.

Here's the article which only vaguely touches on some of this:

http://tinyurl.com/8x8fok5
--
I do not feel obligated to believe that the same God who has endowed us
with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use.
-- Galileo

globular

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Dec 11, 2011, 5:59:07 PM12/11/11
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On 12/12/2011 8:19 AM, gtr wrote:
> Inexplicably this article, as it appears in this morning's LA Times is
> called "Creating the Sound of Silence". Online though, on the LA Times
> web page, it is called "This is Your Braing on Silent Films".
>
> I've always known that my brain behaved differently when watching silent
> movies. It can be more dream-like, and lull me to sleep quicly. And my
> wife even more quickly. But it's not like we're tired or bored, it just
> has a curious effect. Once we get a little nap in we can usually get up,
> make a cup of (caffeine-free) tea and pick up where we think we last
> left off. And for good results.
>
> Curiously some sound films, but with scant text (Wings of Desire for
> one), can have the same effect.
>
> Here's the article which only vaguely touches on some of this:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/8x8fok5

There is a kind of languid style that shows up in silent movies, of just
sort of lingering on a picture, I noticed watching a Garbo movie
recently, The Mysterious Lady from 1928. This kind of style does tend
to show up in TV shows and movies in recent years, a little more
pretentiously.
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