Sound can be described as having an “invisible presence” but is this negative or positive? If your neighbour is having a party and you want peace and quiet, your perception of the sound you are hearing is very different from theirs. Within this fifth podcast, we discuss how silence can be the means for us to step back from the noise and gain perspective.
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In this episode of ‘A Sound Effect on People’ we quietly explore the new film “In Pursuit of Silence” with the film’s Executive Producer and Director. The film investigates both the negative impact of noise in our lives and the positive benefits of setting aside time for silent and natural reflection.
Poppy Szkiler, the Founder and Manager of Quiet Mark, discusses how she feels that silence is the “undiscovered subject” and how people may feel uncomfortable with the idea of silence. However, although we may believe we can block the sound out, constant noise can still have a subconscious effect on us mentally, causing us to feel strained. She believes silence can help to create a “harmonious society” and how silence can be a “place of discovery”.
This topic is then taken further by the Director of In Pursuit of Silence, Patrick Shen, who continues to discuss the relevance of balancing the amount of noise we absorb. He explains his motivation in creating a film for people that acknowledges the disruption of noise and proposes his idea of how allowing space for silence can create a better atmosphere for our lives. As much a meditation as it is a documentary, In Pursuit of Silence is an exploration of our relationship with silence, sound, and the impact of noise on our lives.
