Author: Flora Braddell

Power, Politics & Performance, week 4’s lecture in Sound Studies and Aural Cultures, exploring how sound arts & studies engage with socio-political content. We began this lecture with an open discussion of whether or not our political values and opinions practices are weaved into our practices, and if so, is that a conscious choice? I believe, that regardless of your conscious choice, politics does find it’s way into the majority of peoples practices. For me personally, although the purpose of my practice is not political I am aware of how my opinions seep into my work, however, this is mainly through the effect that the current political state has on myself. I find the current affairs of both this country and the world in general incredibly depressing, there are so many aspects of contemporary political society that are irreparably destructive and devastating, driven by the greed of power. And it is this greed that I find most distressing and affective to my own mindset, in turn affecting the work I am making. I use my practice as a form of self release, I pour emotion and vulnerability into my art, therefore it is a representation of my current state, if I am feeling a certain way, this will be portrayed in my work. So in this aspect, yes my work along with many others is a form of political practice, characterised through the emotional expression.

Because of this kind of unconscious political stream entering my work, I think it is safe to say it will contribute to my audio paper, most likely in the form of the subject matter. When it comes to the more academic side of my studies, I prefer to research and write about topics I previously know nothing about. Although not knowing much about the subject, the choice still revolves around my current interests. Whether it be from a brief article or video I have seen online or relating to a more emotional aspect of my current life, I perceive the subject matter through my own experiences, making it relevant and therefore giving enthusiasm to the work. This relation also provides context as to why I have chosen that particular topic to research and write about. I am looking forward to choosing a subject matter for this audio paper as knowing I can use sound recordings to enhance my point really expands the opportunity for topics. Instead of having to physically explain each aspect of the topic, I can let the sonic components do that, giving context to the listener without boring them.

During this lecture, we looked at a range of audio papers, vastly different in subject matters and production style. It’s simply through listening that I am able to gage what makes for a compelling piece of work. Engaging the listener in a way that they’re able to take in, and process the information whilst still being engrossed by the atmosphere that is created sonically.

Lawrence Abu Hamda is a is a contemporary artist, who’s work looks into the political effects of listening, using various kinds of audio techniques to explore its effects on human rights and law. ‘Received Pronunciations’ is a sound archive that consists of audible extracts of works and interviews by Lawrence, together with specific fragments of juridical listening and speaking collected from a wide range of sources including the trials of Saddam Hussein and Judas Priest.

Received Pronunciations – Lawrence Abu Hamdan –

https://rwm.macba.cat/en/podcasts/received-pronunciations

I found this audio paper particular engaging compared to others I have listened to, layering ambient sound, voice recordings and Lawrence’s own narration creates an interesting, complex piece of sonic work. However, the auditory complexity doesn’t override the ability to comprehend the intention of the piece, it simply enhances the narrative. Time and space is left between points to allow the listener the ability to process and relate to the subject matter. This is not done through silence, but instead a pause from Lawrence’s narrative voice, leaving you, the listener, to sit with the atmosphere that is forming alongside the thematic direction. This ambience is created mainly though voice, used as both a structural and emotional tool, voice is fragmented and overlapped to emphasise certain sounds and words.

I really enjoyed the pace of this piece, moving from what felt like different narrative locations throughout the 13 minutes, involving different stories that consciously flow into one another without breaking loose from the environment created. This is a common issue I have found with other audio papers, when the narrator moves form one subject focus to another, however doesn’t do it in a seamless enough way. Often times, as the listener you are brought out of the piece before reentering into the new section, loosing the tone and feel that the narrator has worked hard to create. This is something I want to try an avoid within my work, I want to move from one point to another, using sound sources and recordings to unite the different sections of my vocal narration.

Below is another audio paper, this one by Carlos Manrique Clavijo,  a sound designer and filmmaker, he has worked on several award winning productions including fiction, documentary, and, predominantly, animation. This audio paper revolves around the topic of power in the context of sound, understanding how the audience engage in the experience of a film through it’s sonic qualities.

Carlos Manrique Clavijo: Dynamics of Power Dynamics – How are power dynamics evidenced through loudness in sonic storytelling?

I think that Carlos involves an interesting number or sound sources throughout this piece that evidence his point well, whilst also creating a strong presence and atmosphere. He leaves interesting gaps where he lets the sounds talk for themselves which does entice you as the listener, intrigued to what you’re hearing. However, I do feel a bit more critical of this audio paper, due to the fact that I found myself getting lost throughout the piece, zoning in and out of his overall message.

I struggled to remain alongside his narrative voice throughout, and this wasn’t just because I wasn’t paying attention, I tried multiple times to listen and absorb the whole thing, and each time I struggled to. It is not because the subject matter is uninteresting either, I think the issue lies within the ambience of the piece. The atmosphere that is created has a depth to it, however the darker, resonant sounds used to create this depth allow for a space to be created, a space that continues along side the narrator for the duration of the piece. This space is where I get lost within, the tones that are used make it easy to zone into my own thoughts rather than into the environment of the narrator.

There is also an issue of the slight mono-tonal voice which he uses throughout piece, there is not much variation within the exaggeration of his narration. This is something I find can take me out of an audio work, as I start to become bored of listening to the same tone of voice continuously. As well, it makes it harder to understand where the emphasis of the point lies within his narration. There is a kind of subconscious understanding of an audio paper that comes from the voice emphasising certain aspects of the topic that are of importance. This subconscious comprehension helps draw the listener in, as a change in voice tone often indicates a change in subject matter and so our brains know to refocus and prepare to absorb new material. However, without this Differentiation in tone, it becomes harder to fully focus and easier to again, zone out.

Although I do think this audio paper is done well and portrays an interesting subject matter, I am aware of how and why it doesn’t fully work for me. This awareness comes from being critical, so although I may sound harsh, I think it is important to acknowledge when a piece has flaws and try to understand where these lie so I can try to avoid it in my own work. Also, because this is the first audio paper I have worked on, I want to break apart existing works before beginning to construct my own in order to understand how I, myself engage with them. Therefore I can hopefully make a piece of work that encapsulates me as I work on it, and the listener as they listen to it.

Memory is a subject that I find fascinating, I have intensely worked with memory as a focus point for some of my previous work, exploring the effects memories have on oneself throughout life. Memory remains in all 5 sense, and can be brought up through the simplest of sounds or movements. The power it holds, whether people like to admit it or not, is strong, your memories shape your perception and therefore shape how you relate to the world around you. I think that memory embeds itself into more of life than we are fully aware of.

Throughout this lecture we talked about artists and academics whom I hadn’t previously heard of, working in different ways to portray their own interpretation of memory.

One example was Sebastiane Hegarty,  a sound artist, writer and lecturer. ‘His creative practice which is interdisciplinary and time-based in nature, explores the relationship between time, place and sensation.’ This piece specifically, is an audio paper surrounding the relationship of him and his mother, talking about the emotional and perceptual space left behind when someone dies, and how recorded sound can capture a fragile presence of a voice that can no longer speak.

‘It’s Just Where I Put My Words’ – Sebastiane Hegarty –

https://soundcloud.com/sebastiane_hegarty/its-just-where-i-put-my-wordssi=8c5ad200a23f47bca7e201b2ce48baf8&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This was one of the most emotional audio papers that I have listened to yet, it holds a different value than the more academically driven audio papers do. I am aware this is because the more academic ones have to conform to a structure so they’re able to convey their point, whereas this feels more loose and free. The use of both his and his mothers voice, playing in the present and from his multitude of recordings, creates a really interesting dynamic between the piece and the listener. Hearing his mother’s voice throughout her life feels incredibly personal and creates this relationship that was as if I knew her, I felt entirely present through the 28 minutes, intrigued by, what are really rather uneventful recordings.

The length of the piece itself is the first aspect that allows for more freedom, the longer the audio paper, the more time you’re able give the listener to process what they’re hearing, without having to spell it out for them. This is what allows for a more personal connection, as instead of being forced one interpretation (the speaker’s) they’re able to form their own perspective and idea on the subject matter, linking it to their own personal views and experiences. This means the listener becomes that extra bit engaged as they feel comfortable and aware of what they’re listening to.

Timing is one of the biggest concerns I have for my audio paper as 10 minutes is a rather short amount of time to convey a point, whilst balancing speech with sound recordings, and still giving the listener the necessary processing time. From what I have learnt listening to other audio papers, in regards to speech, less is more. Often times there is so much speech involved in the audio paper that it ends up fighting with the other sounds occurring, so much so you become lost in the point and I often unconsciously zone out.

To combat this I am going to make sure I am precise with what I say, leaving out unnecessary explanations that the listener themself can correctly interpret, in a way they stay engaged. Also, although I am aware that my piece is required as more of an academic paper, I still want to convey a level of emotion in the work as this is what I feel really captures the listener. I will have to do this in a more subtle way that intertwines with my subject matter in order to not loose the academic power behind my point. But I just feel having a balance allows the listener to engage factually with work, as well as emotionally through their memories and lived experiences, therefore leaving with the clearest overall interpretation of the paper.

‘How to Remember’ – Axel Kacoutié –

https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/feature/how-to-remember

Axel Kacoutié is an audio artist and poet who’s work ‘How to Remember’ is sonically inspired by Axel’s travels to Côte d’Ivoire. The piece is formed around identity, specifically the identity of not belonging, “this work is an attempt to reconcile and accept (in seven steps/scenes) all the parts of me that I’ve either wrongly internalised or intuitively known to be true”.

This work again, is an audio piece that holds a lot of emotion, telling a story through establishing it’s sonic surroundings and using a wide source of sound recordings to do so. This piece is arguing a point more directly, it is told through a personal experience which allows the listener to have someone to sympathise with, therefore being able to better understand the severity of the point.

The choice of sound sources really shone out in this piece, you have this main voice (Axel’s) guiding you through, but this voice is accompanied by other recordings that help emphasise the point and atmosphere created. There is this rather beautiful natural soundscape that flows in and out throughout the 10 minutes which, at parts really establishes the surroundings for the listener, like when talking about the beach. However, at other points it feels it is used as a form of controlling the atmosphere, creating a space where the listener can fall into and flow along with the speaker. The other sources he used that were incredibly effective were the clippings of voices from media snippets, defining the hate towards black people in this country. This choice of source brings attention to the fact that this is a relevant issue which greatly affects multitudes of people everyday, and this is where the anger begins to stir in the piece. Although throughout the piece Axels voice does not change in emotion (he isn’t audibly angry) you begin to feel this build up of emotion, anger as well as others, which is eventually broken when another audio source cuts in.

This use of interrupting the piece with another source is really unique and interesting with the effect it has. Instead of curating them to flow into each other, I really like this structure of using one to cut another up, interjecting itself into the piece when it is relevant and needed to quickly direct the listener to this point. I feel this is a less common effect in audio papers, but works really well for the time frame of 10 minutes. It means you don’t have to spend so long establishing context for the source and instead let it explain itself and give its own context. However, there is a fine line between this working and it not, as without enough context the source can get lost and misunderstood by the listener, taking them out of the piece and causing a disconnection to the point.

Having now listened to a range of audio papers, some more academic and formal, others more emotional and vulnerable, I feel confident in beginning to structure my own. I am aware of the effect I want it to have, and I am now conscious of the vast ways in which I can curate the piece to have that desired effect. I have taken inspiration from others work, understanding why it is it has inspired me, and how I can portray my own inspiration through my audio paper in order to keep the listener engaged and interested.

Affective contagion is the tendency to mirror the emotional behaviours and patterns of the people surrounding you, it is often a subconscious process that can be influenced by an array of different facial expressions, body movements, and/or conversations. It can occur on a small scale, such as returning a smile to someone, and can extend to much greater levels like, global mourning. Affective contagion has been specifically related to the feeling of empathy, which is known for causing shared neural activation between the observer and the one being observed, our brain activates similar neural circuits to mimic the experience. This is because the phenomenon is linked to mirror neurons, which are a type of brain cell that fire either when you yourself perform an action or when we witness someone else perform the same action. However, affective contagion is also linked to other systems of the brain such as the Limbic system, which controls the emotion, and the Autonomic Nervous system which controls bodily functions such as the heart rate and breathing.

There are many reasons as to why affective contagion occurs, it being a deep rooted evolutionary tool that humans have relied on for centuries. It is a form of communication that is able to go further than words, no matter the language, you’re able to understand the emotional context being conveyed. The ability to influence and be influenced by the people around you works as a catalyst for many important social experiences that help us grow as humans. For example, children learn through imitation, their ability to share emotion with both their peers and the adults in their life is what teaches them the necessary social skills to recognise, interpret, and respond to the emotional cues of others. As well, humans have used this contagion as a survival mechanism to quickly grasp an understanding of the situation they’re in, for example, fear spreading faster often correlates with danger getting closer. In cases like this it’s the emotional state that is contagious, causing responses like the release of adrenaline to be spread. This tool is incredibly useful in uniting groups, it allows us to regulate our emotions through syncing with others, which also makes for a closer bond within groups, built on trust and acceptance.

Research on the subject matter began in the late 19th century, with Charles Darwin actually being one of the first to publicly recognise that emotion spreads through facial expressions. In his 1872 book ‘The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals’ he argued that emotional expression is not cultural, but instead is something we are born with, that is universal and is inherited. This was a rather radical statement of the time, however paved a way for a lineage of scientific research on the matter.

In the late 19th century Gustave Le Bon, a French social theorist, wrote ‘The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind’, a book about group psychology. In it he argues that when individuals join a crowd they becomes much more emotion led and much less rational. They lose their individual identity and become part of a shared psychological state, which overrides personal values and heightens emotions. This theory gave inspiration and influence to some of the most influential researchers such as Sigmund Freud, who agreed with Le Bon’s theory that individuals behave differently in crowds, but he offered a deeper explanation based on factors such as identification and having group leaders act as father figures.

Research continued around shared emotional states, however it wasn’t until the 1980s when the term ‘affective contagion’ became more standard within sociology and psychology. In 1993 Elaine Hatfield, an American social psychologist, released her book (along side John T Cacioppo and Richard Rapson) titled ‘Emotional Contagion’, providing evidence and a framework for understanding how emotions spread between people. This book popularised the term and made it much more known and widely used within neuroscience, psychology, and cultural theory. The book focuses on the behavioural mechanisms such as mimicry that are involved in the process of emotional contagion, exploring evidence from various fields, suggesting emotional mirroring is a fundamental part of human interaction

Understanding affective contagion is an important factor for this work, as I want to be able to decipher the difference between when emotional contagion is occurring and when it is another factor at hand. This will become required when writing my script as the case studies I am using are videos, and so I want to be able to portray to the listener how I have seen, through the footage, affective contagion happening via body language and facial expression. I need to be able to express it sonically for the listener to grasp the full extent to which the crowds of people are affecting each other.

Collective mourning is a shared experience of grief that occurs within a group of people in response to a significant loss. It is a reaction that unites people through death, whether it be a community, region or entire nation, collective mourning is powerful and often brings out a kind of hysteria that is not very common within society.

There are lots of different examples of collective mourning that have occurred in the world, and not all involve the death of just one person, for example 9/11 saw a huge response of collective grief. However, for this project I am interested in looking at the reactions different communities have to the death of one important person.

The first example I am looking at is North Korea’s public reaction to the death of Kim Jong Il, the second supreme leader of North Korea, he ruled for 17 years from 1994 to 2011.

North Korea had an incredibly intense public grieving period, one that was filled with hysteria and horror on a mass level. The North Korean regime commemorated his death with elaborately choreographed ceremonies broadcast on state-run media.When I first saw the videos of the public’s reactions I was rather shocked, it was the noises that were being produced that caught me out. These were types of cries and screams that I had never heard in such large numbers before.

The death of Kim Jon Il was sudden and came as a surprise to everyone, he died on December 17 2011, age 70, from a heart attack he suffered on board a train. His death was announced in an emotional statement on national television, even the women announcing the news struggled to keep back the tears. A period of national mourning was declared from December 17 to 29. This national mourning process was compulsive, and I have found multiple sources stating if you did not attend you would have been punished. This mandatory grieving of course makes for a change in the way people react as it becomes a forced process rather than a natural one, forced out of fear. This factor alone holds responsibility for a huge part of the reasoning behind North Korea’s collective mourning, however it is not the sole root of the response. I am also not 100% certain on how this compulsion worked, if it was put in place, as there aren’t many sources talking specifically about it, this is something North Korea wouldn’t want outsider countries to necessarily know about, and so information is limited.

It is impossible to know the root of each individual emotional response, but I can confidently say that affective contagion definitely comes into play surrounding their collective mourning. (Referring back to previous blog post.)

This reaction is an amalgamation of different emotions, some of which are undoubtedly very common in response to death, however, there are many properties that group together to form this level of response.

It is not surprising that the North Koreans reacted in the way they did, as every individuals life revolves around their leader. They’re taught through their films, songs, posters, even in their school curriculum, that the Kim family are these almost spiritual figures who are there to act as protectors and saviours for their citizens. Their leader is pushed upon them as THE most important aspect of life, and so of course if you have grown up with these principles, then, although it be through manipulation and propaganda, you would feel distraught when he dies.

The lack of exposure and education to any kind of other life and world also contributes to the intensity of their response. There are no alternative narratives to the one they’re fed from birth and without the awareness of outsider information it is easy to believe what is in front of you, easy to believe that your leader is responsible for your very survival.

This responsibility also links the traumas that North Korea have lived through, such as the 1990s North Korean famine, the Korean War and intense ongoing poverty. Propaganda relentlessly frames the Kim leaders as the ‘hero’, stating he protects the country from external enemies, that he suffers for the people, essentially painting him as a symbol of survival.

I think there is also a level of fear that is feeding into the hysteria, a fear of the now unknown and next chapter that is going to infiltrate these peoples lives. Kim Jon Il reigned for 17 years, and his absence creates a new tension to arise, people are facing a future they have no control over, heightening the panic that fuels the collective hysteria. Change throughout any culture is something people struggle with, but a change that you have no influence, choice or power over makes it incredibly scary. Your life is being put into someone else’s hands entirely.

I will say however, coming from an outside perspective, especially a western one, I am aware it is incredibly hard to try understand the emotional response of North Korean society. I live a hugely different life in which I have shaped my perspectives and beliefs on the world out of my own free will. A choice North Koreans are never given. It becomes difficult to empathise as we have such different perspectives on life. And as I continue to dive into this subject matter I am aware of how this barrier can cause ethical questions, however, I am not picking apart their emotional mechanisms to judge and point out the differences, rather I am doing it to compare to other communities whom have grown up with contrasting values. Hopefully being able to show that no matter the cultural differences, people remain the same emotionally, especially in response to death.

So far I haven’t even mentioned the media’s influence on North Korea’s public response to the death. This is a crucial aspect in shaping an emotional response and one that hold a significant amount of power.

Media coverage is so highly controlled in North Korea, it functions entirely as a section of the state. There is no independent journalism or private media companies, and every newspaper, television channel, radio broadcast, and online platform is controlled by the government, all the content shown is produced to reinforce loyalty to the leading Kim family and the ideology of ‘Juche’ (North Korea’s state ideology meaning self-reliance).This makes citizens much more malleable, as our everyday media intake really influences who we are as a person, it is a tool used world-wide to manipulate and influence viewers.

Media teaches certain behaviours, and when in charge of media coverage it becomes a choreographed job to ensure you’re feeding your viewers with the correct message. In the case of the death, not only was the media used to produce a desired reaction but also to continually reinforce it in the days that followed the death. This drove the hysteric atmosphere that ruled over North Korea during the entire mourning period. The first images to be broadcast after Kim Jon Il’s death showed the crowds of people crying, screaming, and shaking in response. These scenes were reported to be continuously repeated across television and radio, functioning as a kind of ideal, appropriate emotional expression. Through watching others grieve, citizens learned and understood exactly what reaction was expected of them, and this created a kind of ritualised, collective behaviour of what it meant to mourn.

This kind of puppetry is one intense way in which media can interfere with a national reaction to death, intervening in the organic patterns of emotional contagion. It is able to create this un-natural, performative display from citizens, that through various means is able to manipulate on a mass scale. This is one example of the impact media coverage, of the mourning event itself, is able to have on people however I think media is also able to shape and pre-engineer a crowd’s reaction before the event has occurred. This kind os mass control is more common then we are really conscious of, especially now as everybody uses the internet on a daily bases, cookies are constantly being used to analyse patterns and behaviours of the brain.

Grief, on both an individual and a collective level presents itself through all the senses, each holding as much importance as the other, however sound circulates and projects feelings of grief with a power that no other sense is quite capable of. Whether that be through the sound we physically exert as grieving humans, such as crying or screaming, or through the sounds we hear (or don’t) in relation to death, for example, the rhythmic patterns of breath in a crowd.

Different cultures have distinct sonic rituals following the death of someone, some more of a controllable, conscious choice than others, however each reflective of the collective emotional state. One reaction that I myself and a vast number of people are familiar with is silence, using the complete absence of sound as a collective form to synchronise the atmosphere and hold space for the emotional weight of death.

Silence is a kind of universal language in regards to death, many cultures and communities around the world use silence as a form of mourning, and this is because it allows an emotional presence to breath. When a feeling becomes so powerful the expression of it through words becomes overwhelming, however there is an unspoken understanding through the silent emotional communication between beings, in which we can use to communicate. Silence is an ancient form of mourning that has been used to connect humans through the constant and inevitable process of death.

However in some cases silence can also be used as a tool for suppression, teaching the idea it is better to bury your natural emotions rather than allowing them to surface in a way that is stereotypically ‘out of control’ and ‘socially unacceptable’. This can happen on both an individual and collective scale, for example, in China (an Authoritarian state), after the Tiananmen Square massacre public mourning was prohibited and silence became a method of policing emotional expression rather than enabling it, ensuring the power and control remained in the dominating hand of the government.

Silence as a form of suppression has also been taught individually for centuries to boys and men around the world, pushed towards withholding their emotions rather than letting them out and showing them. Because of this social norm, an enforced quietness has been created in many mourning settings, such as funerals. This however, is more to do with presenting their strength rather than it’s relation to collective control. This is also something that is changing, males are now being more encouraged to release their emotions, to break the barrier that once stopped their vulnerability from being exposed.

In regards to sonic grieving processes, silence is not the only method used to mourn, there are many forms of audible expression that join people as a collective. For example, the voice is used as an instrument to communicate, both in the more traditional sense of talking as well as using it as a musical form of expression.

Public mourning can centre around talking, speeches and services used to remember the dead, uniting people as one community, they’re able to relate and basque together in the shared memories of the deceased. This contributes massively to creating a collective space in which people can grieve, using affective contagion to ignite the space.

Emotion expresses itself through the voice using crying, wailing and screaming, traditional exclamations of pain, upset, anger and hurt, as a processing mechanism, a way in which you’re able to put the energy you had for that person back into the world. These forms of expression are universal within their meaning, and are associated with death globally, for many cultures these sounds are a unifying aspect of their collective mourning. There are many ritualistic traditions that take the expressive sounds of wailing and crying and use them in a more musical way to vocalise their pain and sorrow on behalf of the community.

For example, keening is a traditional Irish and Scottish Gaelic form of vocal lament for the dead, performed primarily by women, keening involved a soft crying noise accompanied by low pitched singing or speaking that would then grow into a more intense, louder wailing sound. The main keener would begin the ritual of releasing the deep grief of the mourners into the open air, people would then join in with the moaning, chanting and wailing, allowing them to grieve using their entire bodies without feeling shame.

The ancient tradition died out in Ireland in the 1950s due to the catholic church. The church viewed keening as an inappropriate pagan ritual that undermined the authority of the clergy, families began to fear that engaging in keening would make them appear backward and judged by their community. It’s sad that this suppressive behaviour of the church couldn’t recognise the power keening had in uniting a grieving collective.

Another example of the voice being used as a tool to help express ones grief is ululation, a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal cry used within Middle Eastern and North African cultures. Known as zalghouta, zaghārīt, lelleh, or youyou depending on which region you’re in, ululation is primarily performed by women and is associated with events of both happiness and sadness.

Although ululation around the world sounds different, with each country having their own variation of the noise, it is recognised throughout cultures to have similar meanings and uses, making this a greatly unifying tool for communicating emotion. When used in mourning, the tone of ululation shifts, often becoming slower, lower, or more rhythmically broken, signalling distress, rather than joy. It becomes a public statement that a community is suffering together, allowing the women who perform it to express themselves without any restraint.

Ululation is a powerful example of sonic emotional contagion, as the rather piercing sound acts like a wave that is able to trigger an emotional resonance in the community. It creates an atmosphere that people are able to tune into, allowing a collective identity to form through the sound.

These are just a few examples in which communities use the voice to unite through collective mourning, however, there are many more cultures that use the power of vocalisation in unique ways to emotionally connect.

Sound theorist Brandon LaBelle’s work is incredibly relevant when understanding that collective mourning relies on these sonic atmospheres that exist within communities. In his book ‘Acoustic
Territories’ he talks about shared sonic spaces that are carved out into our physical world, influencing how we behave, feel, and understand one another. LaBelle argues that sound isn’t a neutral background noise, but rather, a medium for social transformation and cultural expression, sound reveals power and identity through a collective feeling.

These sonic spaces become incredibly charged during periods of mourning, emotions translate sonically though resonance and vibrations in which sit in the atmosphere being absorbed by others around. This creates a shared emotional field that people are able to tune in and out of.

Looking at the sounds of grief from a contemporary view, media reproduction is another tool used to unite mourners. Moments captured on video which are then released onto the internet for an eternity have a distinct power in forming a virtual space that people are able to grieve in. The ability to have the sonic moment of an event captured forever means that the audible memory is able to be preserved and referred back to whenever the viewer chooses to do so. Providing this constant access into experiencing the feelings of a collective identity, even when one is physically alone.

The impact this permanence has can be both positive and negative, in some cases like Charlie Kirk’s death, the video of the shooting is online indefinitely, re-enforcing the violent sonic imprint of the gunshot. Instead of comfort or unity, the shared listening experience becomes one of intense shock, fear, and traumatic repetition. What emerges is still a collective emotional response, but one rooted in horror rather than healing. This is just one instance showing how the internet allows for a brutal moment to be shared to a collective of people who were far removed from the original event.

While mediated sound can form connection and communal support through remembrance, it can also amplify distress, drawing listeners into a collective grief they didn’t necessarily chose to inhabit. In this way, the sonic immortality of digital recordings show how the media can both strengthen and unsettle the emotional bonds between people, shaping contemporary mourning in powerful new ways.

Ultimately, grief takes on a plethora of sonic expressions, an undefinable amount, personal to each individual, whether this be through the voice, instruments, recordings or even silence, it is able to create a resonant atmosphere which provides a collective bond in which people can find comfort in.

Acknowledging and understanding the sound of collective mourning requires an accompanied understanding of the physical effects crying, sobbing and other vocal expressions has on the mind and body.

Crying is a natural response to death, to pain as a whole, the indescribable feeling of hurt and loss takes it’s form through tears. It is a rather beautiful release, in which the vulnerability of someone is opened, a rare occasion for some, crying has the processing power like no other form of expression. In order to understand the strength crying has in uniting a collective, you first have to recognise what crying actually is, the physicality of it and how your bodies natural rhythm changes with it.

Scientific consensus suggests humans are the only species of animal that produce tears as a form of emotional release, whilst animals express their distress vocally or through body language, emotional tears are a uniquely human trait. The fact only humans experience this kind of response signifies the importance that the role of crying plays in connecting humans together, specifically in a time of need, where ones ability to help themselves is noticeably missing.

Sobbing is a full-bodied affair that can leave you feeling both physically and emotionally drained. Usual bodily functions fluctuate drastically during the emotional release of tears. One noticeable physical change that occurs during crying, is a disruption in your rhythmic breathing pattern. Instead of the normal, steady breath, upset can trigger rapid, shallow and uneven breathing as a stress response. This response is the sympathetic nervous system being activated, also known as fight or flight. Hiccupping inhales can also occur because the nervous system is overwhelmed and the diaphragm starts to spasm slightly. Crying can also create lengthened breathing responses, exhales can last longer and come out as sobs, sighs, or wails. This is because the chest and throat muscles tighten, as well as the vocal chords, causing sound to escape with the breath. After the emotional peak, the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest sector) begins calming the body, leading to slow, deep and exhausted breaths, often accompanied with tremors.

The change in breathing is an audible expression of emotional overload, during crying the breath carries the feeling of mourning outward sonically. Allowing others to hear and relate to these sound of hurt.

The activation of the sympathetic nervous system can also initially increase your heart rate, causing a surge in blood pressure, however as calming hormones like oxytocin are released from the parasympathetic nervous system your heart rate slows down again. Crying is one of the few emotional states where your heart rate both increases and decreases in quick bursts. This creates a kind of heightened state that your body enters, as your mind searches for equilibrium you become more sensitive and open to emotional contagion.

During intense periods of crying the body moves into a pattern of tension and release, activating the muscles of the entire body. Shoulders can begin to shake, jaw clenching, eyebrows pulling together, arms can tense at the side or wrap around the body, and, the chest can contract in rhythmic pulses. Together, these muscular responses of the body are able to create a physical feeling of grief, a feeling that becomes universal and unifying, bridging emotion with embodiment.

These disturbances in bodily functions allow for a communal, synchronised change in pace and purpose, as a collective, humans are able to connect through the disruptions to their usual, natural rhythms.

There is actually little research with defined answers as to why humans express an emotional response through crying, and the health benefits it has on the mind and body. Many theories have been released, however most lack the in-depth explanation required to be the sole reason. The lack of hard facts is surprising considering crying is such a fundamental part of the human experience. However, research suggests a large contributing factor to the reason humans cry as an emotional release is to form human connection. Tears show others that we’re vulnerable, and this vulnerability is crucial in forming meaningful relationships with others.

“There must have been some point in time, evolutionarily, when the tear became something that automatically set off empathy and compassion in another. Actually being able to cry emotionally, and being able to respond to that, is a very important part of being human.” – Michael Trimble, a professor emeritus at University College London.

One finding I found especially interesting was the fact that tears shed as an emotional release are chemically different from the ones people shed for lubrication purposes, when chopping onions for example. Emotional tears contain a higher amount of proteins which makes them more viscous. These tears stick to skin and run down the face more slowly, making them easier and more likely to be seen by others. This is another factor that evidences how physicalities expressed during pain and grief are used as a form of unification on a collective level.

The experience of crying triggers a strong emotional resonance, through the auditory relations as well as the physical body synchronicity. Forming a connection that is unique to humans, constructed through the shared experience of changing bodily functions.