Martinez Dettinger: Secondary Orality and Silent Movies

 Walter Ong names the new forms of communication that radio and television created after writing. He bases this off of the connection between television and radio with sound. So what would he think about silent movies? After reading Ong and Abram, I believe silent movies are indicative of another communicative direction that humankind could have explored further, a secondary pictographic communication. The lighting, visual cues, scenery, and music all combined to form dramatic explorations into the human ego, and fears of the unknown. This ended abruptly with the invention of movies with sound, but what would have happened if this had evolved further. Perhaps we would have transitioned into a new form of communication like texting with a series of gifs  or a heavier reliance on images in books than seen now. I think this also would have affected the way we communicate with others. Perhaps our actions during speech would have become more flamboyant, mimicking the silent movie actors and actresses. This possibly could also have led to changes in the individualization of thought after written culture individualized our thought processes. Perhaps a change toward the pictorial would have led us to form a closer bond between our words and that which they represent. This would have urged us back to a more communal understanding of the world around us. Maybe, this even would have recentered our attitude towards the environment back towards a more communal understanding of our role within it. 

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