4 ms·

A fantastic thing about reading fiction is that it allows us to feel we are in somebody else's head. We can HEAR THEIR THOUGHTS. That is not possible in real li

A fantastic thing about reading fiction is that it allows us to feel we are in somebody else's head. We can HEAR THEIR THOUGHTS. That is not possible in real life nor in movies. Watching a movie does not create this illusion because we feel we are still we, looking at the scene.

dredmorbius 7y ago
Voiceovers are the typical film trope for this.
- _0ffh 7y ago
  Yeah, unfortunately both internal monologue voiceovers and narration from the off seem to have declined in popularity with film directors over the decades. I really like what these devices can bring to the table when used skillfully.
  - dredmorbius 7y ago
    There are strong opinions on several sides of this (I'm not particular for or against). They can be an overused trope. They can be a critical (and often comic) element of films (Woodie Alan, Annie Hall, etc.). And there are times where a character can speak volumes without words, with the right acting, direction, cinematography, and editing. In text (absent illustrations / comics / graphic novels), words are very nearly all you've got. (Again: a few exceptions, largely notable for proving the rule.)
    - galaxyLogic 7y ago
      Still I think he effect is much stronger when reading fiction. In a movie you hear someone speaking. But when you read the thoughts of the protagonist written in a book those thoughts just enter your brain. The experience of reading them in the language used doesn't much differ from when you think your own thoughts.
      - dredmorbius 7y ago
        Agreed.
cousin_it 7y ago
Maybe you could design an even stronger experience of hearing someone's thoughts, by using VR + voiceover + some machine learning to match the viewer's own voice. I wonder if people have tried using something like that for brainwashing.
- galaxyLogic 7y ago
  That would be cool and trippy. Isn't audio-book a bit in this direction? Depends on the book of course

dredmorbius 7y ago

Voiceovers are the typical film trope for this.

_0ffh 7y ago
Yeah, unfortunately both internal monologue voiceovers and narration from the off seem to have declined in popularity with film directors over the decades. I really like what these devices can bring to the table when used skillfully.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  There are strong opinions on several sides of this (I'm not particular for or against). They can be an overused trope. They can be a critical (and often comic) element of films (Woodie Alan, Annie Hall, etc.). And there are times where a character can speak volumes without words, with the right acting, direction, cinematography, and editing. In text (absent illustrations / comics / graphic novels), words are very nearly all you've got. (Again: a few exceptions, largely notable for proving the rule.)
  - galaxyLogic 7y ago
    Still I think he effect is much stronger when reading fiction. In a movie you hear someone speaking. But when you read the thoughts of the protagonist written in a book those thoughts just enter your brain. The experience of reading them in the language used doesn't much differ from when you think your own thoughts.
    - dredmorbius 7y ago
      Agreed.

cousin_it 7y ago

Maybe you could design an even stronger experience of hearing someone's thoughts, by using VR + voiceover + some machine learning to match the viewer's own voice. I wonder if people have tried using something like that for brainwashing.

galaxyLogic 7y ago
That would be cool and trippy. Isn't audio-book a bit in this direction? Depends on the book of course