The introduction sets up the scope and framework of the volume as a whole. Over the past three decades, the study of the film soundtrack has developed into a rich scholarly discipline, characterized by diverse approaches and methodologies. As an object of theoretical focus, the voice has helped correct the long-standing ocularcentrism of film theory discourse. Yet, the voice as a narrow concept is itself problematic in that it limits our understanding of how it functions among the various components of the soundtrack. Understood as part of an integrated soundtrack—that is, a soundtrack where t ... More

The introduction sets up the scope and framework of the volume as a whole. Over the past three decades, the study of the film soundtrack has developed into a rich scholarly discipline, characterized by diverse approaches and methodologies. As an object of theoretical focus, the voice has helped correct the long-standing ocularcentrism of film theory discourse. Yet, the voice as a narrow concept is itself problematic in that it limits our understanding of how it functions among the various components of the soundtrack. Understood as part of an integrated soundtrack—that is, a soundtrack where the various components have a sense of being planned or composed and where sound design and music are blended into a kind of conceptual unity—the voice assumes a somewhat different role and allows for a more complex and interpretively richer conceptual framework. This volume aims to reconsider and broaden our notion of what the voice as a concept can do for studies of film music and sound. The introduction explores theoretical concerns relating to film dialogue, vococentrism, the spectacle of the singing voice, film music’s commentative function as voice, as well as the voice of various cinematic authorship and production. It concludes with a brief summary of each chapter in the volume. Considering these many different conceptions of “voice” can provide new perspectives on how we consider the relationship between voice and cinema, broadly defined.