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Quarterly.
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Joseph G. Kickasola
Upstream Color is an exploration of themes and (and things associated with it) in the narrative, stylistic
abstractions rather than a concrete narrative, but its also and experiential analogues to respiration, and perceptual
like a puzzle box with all the pieces laying [sic] at your feet. prompts toward respiratory response in the viewer. Yet
You may not be able to figure it out, but thats part of the
all this is the product of leading with the ear because
point of this sensually-directed, sensory-laden experiential
Carruths auditory strategy plays a dominant role in con-
(and experimental) piece of art that washes over you like
stituting its aesthetics of respiration. This essay primarily
a sonorous bath of beguiling visuals, ambient sounds and
attends to film sound, but does so with a focus on its
corporeal textures . . . . Upstream Color could be an exhaled,
ephemeral dream where time, space and madness
multisensory capacities.
intermingle. Its a picture thats not easy to process, and Multisensory analysis has its root in the general turn to
thats part of what makes it so breathtaking and brilliant . . . . embodiment in both the humanities and cognitive neuro-
Its fleeting, transcendental. Dont ask me what it all science and can be seen as a phenomenological mode of
means.Rodrigo Perez, IndieWire (2013) embodied cognition theory, focused on perception. It begins
with the sensual perceptive event and combines phenome-
Close your eyes . . . Upstream Color, first line of dialogue
nology with perceptual research and theory to understand
the relationship between film form and perception.
Whatever else Upstream Color might or might not be
The equation that interests us hereaural experience
about, an aesthetics of respiration drives it. What this might
plus multisensory perception/analysis equals aesthetics of
be, and how the sound design of the film helps to create it,
respirationrequires more unpacking, but lets suspend
forms the bulk of this essay, but the foundational argument
that for now. As Jean-Luc Nancy suggests in Listening
here is that writer-director-actor-editor-cinematographer-
(NY: Fordham UP, 2007), sometimes we need to listen
composer Shane Carruth leads with the ear, and the rest of
before we theorize. The films puzzling character en-
the body follows.
courages us to start with the experience, then move to the
The films story rolls out cryptically, but as the quote
ideas. If we are to know what a cinema of respiration
above suggests, the sensual register of the film is notably
might be, we ought first to breathe with it.
high. Before any stable sense of character, place, or trajec-
tory solidifies, sensual thematic strands emerge: breathing,
water, thirst, pulse, rhythm, and a general theme of uncon- Opening Scenes: An Auditory Profile
scious activity or intuition privileged over conscious decision Discussing multisensory perception through a focus on
or comprehension. These themes provide a coherence, not audition (hearing) risks confusion: Audition should be
initially given by the narrative, that tunes our bodily expe- seen as a gateway to the full perceptual experience, not
rience in very specific, powerful ways. As a focused corpo- a hermetically sealed, unimodal perception. If one analyzes
real experience, the film calls for multisensory analysis. the sound as a solely aural event or even as a complement
The aesthetics of respiration in Upstream Color consists to the picture, the larger, embodied effect is overlooked.
of three important dimensions: themes of breathing This is more than Michel Chions wise admonition never
to isolate picture and sound in film studies. To lead with
Film Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 4, pps 6074, ISSN 0015-1386, electronic ISSN 1533-8630. the ear is to maximize the auditory dimension to engage
2013 by the Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please
direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content the whole body through it.
through the University of California Presss Rights and Permissions website, http://
The detailed analysis that follows is limited to the open-
www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintinfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/FQ.2013.66.4.60
ing sequences, which should be viewed before you read on,
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a man (later introduced as Jeff) joggingand respirating, significantly affect the characters; its a classic example of
we noteat an intense pace. what Michel Chion calls emanation speech. This transi-
Interestingly, Carruth chooses to ramp down the natu- tions us to a very unexpected image: a huge constructed
ral noises until the surging, respiring man is noiselessly creature, stumbling backward and forward, its uneven gait
floating on the screen, accompanied by the nondiegetic resounding. The thumps of its steps yield to the sound of
music, which has returned to the alternating chords, shift- clicks, as we realize we have subtly shifted to a computer
ing every five seconds or so. Jeffs running is then intercut image of the thing, which is an art project; we hear Kris
with shots of Kris running. scrutinizing the image at her art-gallery desk and
Natural sound reemerges faintly amid the music keyboard.
through a cell-phone call that Kris receives. In keeping After some brief shots advancing the narrative, wherein
with the sensual focus of the opening sequences, the dia- Kris discusses problems with the project and dialogues
logue is at a low volume and does not drive the visuals or with the artist who has created the creatureinterestingly,
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from her a hidden coin collection and the monetary equity and documents are signed, the timpani and strings surge,
she has in her house. Again there is a sequence of shots the Thiefs monotone commands drone on relentlessly. Kris
(mostly close-ups) with rhythmic emphasis: a stash being copies Walden, plays with the checkers, robotically repeats
uncovered, the coin box withdrawn and opened (with the conversations she has had in the equity-acquisition process,
sound of Kris urinating in the background), a printer knits, and drinks more water.
printing (a home-equity credit application). Sixth MovementMusique Concrete: The music ceases
Fifth MovementMusic: The procession of images does suddenly. Quiet, quotidian sounds indicate minimal move-
not break stride, and nondiegetic music emerges to reinforce ment around the house. The Thief quietly cleans up and
it as the Thief finishes his work. It is a different musical gathers his loot. Kris cackles inexplicably at a painting on
theme: mechanical and inexorable arpeggios with more the wall while eating ice out of a stockpot, her eerie laugh
ominous minor intervals than before and a heavier tempo. interrupted only by periodic crushing of ice. The Thief
Timpani provide percussive regulation. The final checks declares to her that her fast is over, and unnerving sounds
of aggressive swallowing fill the soundtrack. We see Kris ups of Kriss hands, arms, legs, and feet sliding over the
camped before the refrigerator, guzzling and gorging on sheets as she awakens. It is the quiet before the storm, not
all the food she can cram into herself. The man exits amid unlike the rhythmic lapping of waves on a shore before
this horrifying cacophony, bearing a garbage bag full of thunder rolls in. After about 12 of these shots we again
the paper chains Kris has made from her Walden tran- realize that the room tone has become slightly louder and
scriptions. We hear (do not see) the door open, suggesting ominous. This time it is not the sound of an airplane but
he has finally departed. The visuals shift to silent tableaus the gradual rise of a low, ominous musical tone. Before
of half-eaten food scattered around the kitchen floor. The long, a worm slithers into sight beneath Kriss skin.
only sound is the grinding, hollow, cycling hum of the After unbearable tension, the scene climaxes with a cut
open refrigerator. to a cry and a close-up of Kris sobbing while scratching at
Most of the room tones exhibit minute cyclical patterns her skin. Her blood drips on the kitchen tile. She lurches to
that Carruth exploits for their temporal virtues. (Excessive, the dishwasher, rattles through its contents, and pulls out
poorly balanced room tone is a common flaw in low-budget a knife. We listen to her panicked breathing for a few
filmmaking, but whatever the circumstances of the record- seconds as she contemplates the unthinkable. Then she
ing here, Carruth transforms it aesthetically.) These pat- takes and holds a determined breath. As we mimetically
terns are prominent in the next sequence, creating hold our breath with her, the tension finally breaks with
a fascinating aural tapestry woven with Kriss deep, labored the sickening thump of the knife pounding into flesh and
breathing and gentle movement on the sheets as she awakes. a pathetic sob from the abused woman followed by heav-
Gradually the room tone builds to a rumble, like that of ing, gasping respirations amid enormous pain. Then
a distant aircraft approaching on a runway, until a climac- comes sudden silence, except for the empty room tone and
tic cut plunges us (as in the second movement) into the the ironic, cheerful chirp of distant birds over tableaus of
microscopic worldthis time within Kriss bloodstream. blood and of Kris passed out on the floor.
The sound quickly fades to a quietness markedly different Seventh MovementAuditory Multisensory Realized:
from the quiet of the macroscopic world where refrigera- The next image shows PA speakers in a vehicle, amid the
tors hum and rooms have air movement. This vacuum- cyclical rumbling of highway noise. The Farmer places the
like space inside the body contains silent, horrifying speakers in the field with a now-familiar pattern of three
worms writhing and swimming in the blood. Its awful thumps. A cassette is placed in a player, and the click of the
silence continues for about 20 seconds. play button (again, amplified) initiates an overwhelming
Then we return to the macroscopic world with a beguil- cycle of wavelike rushing noises that will beckon to Kris.
ing sequence of hushed sounds and gentle, rhythmic close- When she appears, the sound pattern continues at its
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The Ear: From Audition to Multisensory Watching someone grasping a beer mug, biting an apple,
Experience or kicking a football activates the same cortical regions
normally activated when actually executing the same ac-
The power of the films sound design can be illuminated tions. Further brain imaging studies showed that the [mir-
through a proper understanding of hearing as a multisen- ror mechanism] also applies to emotions and sensations.
sory experience. The core assumptions of a multisensory Witnessing someone else expressing a given emotion such
approach are as disgust or pain or undergoing a given sensation such as
MultiHuman sensory systems are intermingled. touch activates some of the viscero-motor . . . and sensory-
There are connections between modalities, and there are motor . . . brain areas activated when one experiences the
multisensory neurons attuned to stimuli in all the sensory same emotion or sensation, respectively. Such shared activa-
domains of the brain. The auditory system in particular is tions ground an apparently external stimulus (someone
extensively multisensory. Research has revealed that mul- elses emotion or sensation) in our personal experiential
tisensory perception is rich, common, and foundational to acquaintance with the same emotion or sensation.
(Embodying Movies: Embodied Simulation and Film Stud-
perception; our view of what perception is should therefore
ies, Cinema: Journal of Philosophy and the Moving Image
move away from unimodal sense-to-sense correspon-
(2012), pp. 184-5)
dence considerations. Older theories regarded hearing
as employing the auditory system alone and speculated Although we do not literally taste Babettes little quails
that in some unknown way the brain learned to make in coffins, our memories and cognitive experiences are
systems talk to each other, assembling an aggregate pic- actively pulled toward the audiovisual stimulus, with re-
ture of the world somewhere in the brain. The actual sults that are not merely imagination or memory because
situation is far more complex. Although there is an audi- parts of our perceptual apparatus are engaged.
tory system primarily dedicated to auditory work, that Returning to the relationship between hearing and
system is highly multisensorial. breathing, these considerations help explain why multisen-
SensoryHow many senses do we have? This is still sory analysis regards hearing as not only an isolated part of
debated, but Aristotles enumeration of five senses is sim- our response to breathing, but rather as a multisensory
plistic. At least nine senses are more or less agreed on in the gateway to our entire embodied experience of respiration.
scientific community: the Aristotelian five plus propriocep- There are several theories as to how these particular phe-
tion (bodily presence ad integrity), nociception (pain and nomena combine with memory and interact with the cog-
noxious stimuli), vestibular perception (spatial orientation nitive structures and operations that promote meaning, but
and balance), and thermoception (temperature). Under- Luis Rocha Antunes sums up the most important concept:
standing of the latter four senses has resulted in part from The medium is audio-visual. The experience is
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All of these elements contribute to the films aesthetics Is there such a thing as a cinema of breathing? This essay
of respiration. In addition to the respiratory dimensions of answers in the affirmative and articulates how such a cin-
music, as when swelling chords mimic inhalation, the rela- ema can work. Like every aesthetic, the aesthetics of
tion between music and breathing can be one of temporal respiration is a constellation of forces and ideas that cre-
regulation and expectation. ate an overall effect. It is not the only aesthetic at play in
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