Dolphin
echolocation is a sound perhaps like no other. Its series of whistles, pops,
buzzes and clicks is as diverse as they are unfamiliar. This is perhaps because
we have no suitable human equivalent. Our world is highly visual, and it is
visually saturated. Even shocking or sensational pictures eventually fade away
as others take their places. Dolphin sonar, however, has no corollary and is
notably persistent.
Echolocation is used in The Cove as a means of grounding viewers
in the participatory narrative. It’s strangely easy to dismiss the shocking
footage of The Cove as something that
occurs in some sort alternate reality.
Sound, then, is a way of locating that reality within our own.
Says Nichols, “The sense of bodily presence, rather than absence, that arises from sync sound exchanges between filmmaker and subject locates the filmmaker ‘on the scene.” It is a way of showing the filmmaker’s participation in actual life and engaging the viewer vicariously. Nichols continues, “ [in the participatory mode] we expect that what we will learn will hinge on the nature and quality of the encounter between filmmaker and subject. We may see as well as hear the filmmaker act and respond on the spot, in the same historical arena as the film’s subjects.” Viewers progress and learn alongside the filmmakers, and realize the filmmakers’ and therefore their own understanding is contingent on the participation of those making the film. The film is an exploration of a real-world problem unfolded gradually comparable to investigations of rape culture in Half the Sky.
The purpose of the film—true to its participatory roots—is to encourage its viewers to participate. The film seeks to keep them engaged through relevant pop culture references—Flipper, Sea World—and then by adding echolocation to the mix blends realities and demands active engagement instead of dispassionate observation. Whether this ploy succeeds is a matter of individual choice.
Says Nichols, “The sense of bodily presence, rather than absence, that arises from sync sound exchanges between filmmaker and subject locates the filmmaker ‘on the scene.” It is a way of showing the filmmaker’s participation in actual life and engaging the viewer vicariously. Nichols continues, “ [in the participatory mode] we expect that what we will learn will hinge on the nature and quality of the encounter between filmmaker and subject. We may see as well as hear the filmmaker act and respond on the spot, in the same historical arena as the film’s subjects.” Viewers progress and learn alongside the filmmakers, and realize the filmmakers’ and therefore their own understanding is contingent on the participation of those making the film. The film is an exploration of a real-world problem unfolded gradually comparable to investigations of rape culture in Half the Sky.
The purpose of the film—true to its participatory roots—is to encourage its viewers to participate. The film seeks to keep them engaged through relevant pop culture references—Flipper, Sea World—and then by adding echolocation to the mix blends realities and demands active engagement instead of dispassionate observation. Whether this ploy succeeds is a matter of individual choice.
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