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Tone in written documents is usually denoted with punctuation marks like exclamation points. Italics can be used to stress a word as though it was being enunciated, while boldfont and CAPITALIZATION can emphasize loudness of the word or phrase.
Other things are harder to show on the limitations of a white page. In more visual mediums, color palettes greatly influence the emotional response from the audience. The feel of a character's voice, or the speed at which they speak a line, can also impact tone. Imagine a mother singing Rock-a-bye Baby to her child. Now, imagine Anthony Hopkins singing it in his Hannibal Lecter voice from Silence of the Lambs.
Speed, or tempo, is a factor that applies to music and literature equally. One of the most prominent examples from my childhood is from a favorite movie of mine, Disney's The Brave Little Toaster(1987).
Sung by junked cars in a scrapyard, "Worthless" is about all the things they accomplished in life as they await a magnetic crane to hoist them into a trash compactor.
I'll give you a minute to let that sink in.
Perhaps the only thing that prevented myself and other 6 to 10 year-olds from bawling our collective eyes out over this premise was the actual music in the song. For what it is, "Worthless" is rather up-tempo, with a rock beat and what I make out to be a major key. There are heavy implications of death, aging, and even a debated suicide in the sequence, but the music masks it for less perceptive minds. The movie and its sequel (the one good sequel, that is) have a number of mature elements that you wouldn't expect from the box art alone.
"An adorable adventure that kids will treasure"
- The Chicago Sun-Times on Toaster
A n insightful post -stylish and well-written.
ReplyDeleteMismatched tone occurs often in music. Ever hear "Pumped-up Kicks" or Buddy Holly's "Last Kiss?" It's creepy to bob your head and tap your fingers along to a tragic story.
I've read a few things recently about whether or not a text message can convey tone and how texters make the most of the tricks you mention here (plus emoticons).
I really enjoyed this post Brian, you use such humor, like when you said imagine Hopkins in his Hannible Lecter voice singing rock-a-bye baby. I literally laughed out loud.
ReplyDeleteWhat you wrote was so true though, sometimes in my own essay writing I find it hard to convey a point. Often times in text it is hard to make sure you reader knows how to read you message,like what emotion is behind it.
This was a very good example to show how tone can affect meaning. I am also pretty amazed that Ernie brought up carcinogens in a children's movie from 1987.
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