ABSTRACT

Against the background of a widespread language skepticism among film theorists and practitioners, this article aims to highlight the evocative potential of spoken words in cinema. Focusing on an aesthetic device dubbed ‘suggestive verbalization’, it demonstrates how character speech can powerfully appeal to the spectator’s sensory imagination: language allows film viewers to imagine – in various sensory modes – something they do not see or hear. The article sets out to show that the evocative power of character speech and dialogue is largely uncharted territory in film studies and then defines the term ‘suggestive verbalizations’ more closely. By means of various examples, it subsequently distinguishes four types of suggestive verbalization along temporal lines: verbalization-of-the-past, verbalization-of-the-present, verbalization-of-the-future and verbalization-of-generalities. In the final section, several functions are discussed suggestive verbalizations can have for the aesthetics of a film and the viewer’s experience. An implicit goal is to contribute to the ongoing work on the poetics of ‘omission, suggestion and completion’ in the cinema and the phenomenology of the viewer’s imagination. The article thus supports attempts to define film not exclusively as a perceptual audiovisual medium but also as a medium that depends on and, in fact, thrives on the sensory imagination of the viewer.

摘要

在电影理论家和从业者普遍怀疑语言的背景下，本文旨在强调电影中口语的唤起潜力。聚焦于一种被称为“暗示性语言”的美学手段，它展示了角色语言如何能够有力地吸引观众的感官想象：语言允许电影观众以各种感官模式想象他们看不到或听不到的东西。这篇文章开始表明，角色言语和对话的唤起力量在电影研究中很大程度上是未知的领域，然后更密切地定义了“暗示性语言”一词。通过各种例子，它随后区分了四种类型的暗示性语言表达：过去的语言表达，现在的语言表达，未来的语言化和一般性的语言化。在最后一节中，讨论了暗示性语言表达对电影美学和观众体验的几种功能。一个隐含的目标是为电影中“遗漏、暗示和完成”的诗学和观众想象的现象学的正在进行的工作做出贡献。因此，这篇文章支持将电影定义为不仅是一种感性的视听媒介，而且是一种依赖于观众感官想象的媒介，事实上，它依赖于观众的感官想象。电影中的暗示和完成，以及观众想象的现象学。因此，这篇文章支持将电影定义为不仅是一种感性的视听媒介，而且是一种依赖于观众感官想象的媒介，事实上，它依赖于观众的感官想象。电影中的暗示和完成，以及观众想象的现象学。因此，这篇文章支持将电影定义为不仅是一种感性的视听媒介，而且是一种依赖于观众感官想象的媒介，事实上，它依赖于观众的感官想象。