ABSTRACT
Through the evocative notion of "reveling in the rubble," Susan McClary has in recent writing addressed how musical styles become imbued with historical traces, and what new generations of musicians do with that knowledge. The comments speak against audio-visual unity, which is reflected also in the manner in which the media are synchronized. Audiences in Northern Europe and North America typically have low tolerance for loose synchronization. Instances that diverge from the norm of tight synchronization are likely to be perceived either as of unacceptably poor quality or in some way challenging the norms of mainstream cinema. An aesthetics of audio-visual divergence is visibly inscribed in Glass's writing from the voice. An obvious sync-point occurs only three minutes into the film when Dorothy falls into a pigpen after balancing on a farmyard fence. This cinematic action coincides with Gilmore's emotive line, "balanced on the biggest wave, you race towards an early grave.".
