NOTES ON EXAMINING JUSTICE THROUGH SOUND
AUGEN OHNE BLICK
AUG 2023
EXPLORING // DISSECTING
SOCIAL JUSTICE,
KARMA,
& AGENCY OF CHARACTERS THROUGH THE FILM SCORE
PART I
CRAFTING THE SOUND PALETTE
WHAT DOES JUSTICE SOUND LIKE
…& FOR WHO?
At any given moment we can find ourselves constantly scanning our environment for balance.
But is it for the belief of balance being good or for the positive cognitive sensation that comes from identifying a moral certainty?
Is justice truly objective?
Is it just a house built by apophenia & the being-alive impulse of wanting to know how to survive better?
Is preserving our moral integrity analogous to preserving our physical integrity?
Why, how, and what do we value in knowing whats fair about the justice of the situations and environments we inhabit? Is it for survival? Is it for Good? Is it for God? Is it for Truth?
Who´s survival? Who´s good? Who´s god? Who´s truth?
This film score offers a unique opportunity for us to address the tensions and the paradox of fairness through sound; with it providing a language that transcends verbal hegemonic communication, prompting a dialogue to take place beyond its usual realm of reason.
By designing with care the sonic palette , the score can prompt strong reactions from the audience while still serving as a guide towards a more holistic reflection and a resolution of these tensions without necessary verbal articulation .
By thinking of every day sounds like symbols & creating sonic landscapes that represent our intersubjectively (& cognitively) weaved notions of justice & morality, this can serve as a catalyst for dialogue , understanding , and ultimately , an approximation to a resolve of moral and philosophical tension through sound .
SONIC SEMIOTICS // SOUND PALETTE
To represent the phenomena of / surrounding justice through sonic symbols, the sound palette must be crafted with elements that evoke the themes , emotions , and tensions associated with justice in modernity.
Thus everyday sounds can be employed to create a tapestry that enhances the audience's engagement with the moral questions that emerge.
Sonic semiotics (a concept I got from Phillip Tagg), emphasizes the influence of social structures on musical and sonic motifs and structures signaling towards the reciprocal relationship between them.
This perspective expands our exploration beyond just theoretical constructs , inviting us to examine the dynamics between sound , culture, and justice in a sonic dimension (which taking Taggs concept a step further I would propose as analogous to our cultural dimension // in more phenomenological terms, the schema of our collective consciousness).
Perhaps by understanding how the sonic representations of these cultural beliefs interact with each other, we can arrive at a more informed intersubjective cognitive understanding of what justice as a concept is signaling towards. What is it really? What is it for? Why is it for?
Many have tried to define it through words but maybe it is through sound that we collapse the distance between us and it…
but first, we have to find out if it actually exists.