Into the Vortex: Female Voice and Paradox in Film

265 Pages·2006·3.23 MB·English

by  Britta Sjogren

IIIIInnnnntttttooooo ttttthhhhheeeee VVVVVooooorrrrrttttteeeeexxxxx
Female Voice and Paradox in Film
Britta Sjogren
into the vortex
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 1 1/19/06 3:52:56 PM
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 2 1/19/06 3:52:56 PM
into the vortex
female voice and paradox in film
Britta Sjogren
University of Illinois Press
Urbana and Chicago
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 3 1/19/06 3:52:56 PM
© 2006 by Britta Sjogren
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 C P 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sjogren, Britta, 1958–
Into the vortex : female voice and paradox in film /
Britta Sjogren.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-252-03028-4 (isbn 13 - cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-252-03028-1 (isbn 10 - cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-252-07267-3 (isbn 13 - paper : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-252-07267-7 (isbn 10 - paper : alk. paper)
1. Women in motion pictures.
2. Voice in motion pictures.
3. Voice-overs. I. Title.
PN1995.9.W6S59 2006
791.43'6522—dc22 2005011374
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 4 1/19/06 3:52:57 PM
for Sean
Neither I am me,
nor you are you,
nor you are me.
Also, I am me,
you are you
and you are me.
We have become one
in such a way,
That I am confused whether
I am you,
or you are me.
Rumi
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 5 1/19/06 3:52:57 PM
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 6 1/19/06 3:52:57 PM
contents
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue: Voices, Vortexes, and Dialectics 1
1. A Metapsychology of the Voice-off 21
2. Point of View and Paradox 78
3. Discourse, Enunciation, and Contradiction 128
Epilogue: Passionate Blindness 189
Notes 199
Bibliography 231
Index 241
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 7 1/19/06 3:52:57 PM
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 8 1/19/06 3:52:57 PM
acknowledgments
The writing of this book would not have been possible without
the influence and assistance of many, many people. Above all, I want to
thank Janet Bergstrom, a truly inspiring scholar and incomparably gener-
ous mentor, for all that I learned from her challenging, brilliant intellect,
her example of professional rigor, her flawless aesthetic sensibility, her
encouragement and guidance, and the warmth and depth of her generosity
and friendship. Her fingerprints are all over this book. Nick Browne, with
his inimitable Socratic style and droll sense of humor, offered invaluable
criticisms of the first draft of this manuscript that I very much appreci-
ated. Teshome Gabriel and Frances Olsen, likewise, gave me sound advice
at this beginning stage of writing. I am grateful for all that I learned from
my exceptional friends and colleagues at UCLA: Alison McKee, Lynn Kirby,
Nita Rollins, Vicky Callahan, Ayako Saito, Lynn Spigel, Jonathan Kuntz, and
Rhona Berenstein. I owe Alison McKee, my dear, wonderfully sage friend,
special thanks. Her exuberant and searing intellectual companionship is
00.FM.i-xiv_Sjog.indd 9 1/19/06 3:52:57 PM