We’ve all heard of or referred to Silent Film as a universal language. It’s not just because the films are wordless, although that certainly levels the playing field. But it’s true. But it’s because of that same leaving-out that is at the core of the medium’s communication and storytelling.
There is something about Silent Film that tends to rely more on the universality of the human experience. By its allowing us to assemble pieces of what we’re seeing into gags, emotions, drama, this same right-brain function we all possess kicks in, and in the same way.
Why else would an audience in South Korea get all the jokes and react with the same laughs that an American one does? I had an opportunity to accompany Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr. and Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman at the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival in 2016. Outdoors, in front of close to 3,000 people. As roaring-20s American as one may think Harold Lloyd is, as well as the plot of The Freshman, absolutely everything landed. I’d actually played for Steamboat Bill, Jr. a few times earlier that year, and — because I listen to the audience when I’m playing — I noticed that the Jecheon audience not only laughed in the same places, but in the same way.
The same goes for the audiences of 6th graders in Tromsø, Norway, above the Arctic Circle, when I accompanied and helped to present Arbuckle’s The Cook and Keaton’s One Week. And for the Kindergarteners I show Oranges and Lemons with Stan Laurel to every year at a private school in NYC.
You can hear some of my playing at the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival in episode 19 of my Silent Film Music Podcast. The segment is toward the beginning of the episode, or you can just drag the slider to about 7:20 here.
The first post in this series is here.
The previous post to this one is here.
The next post is here.