SOUND MATTERS: AURAL RHETORIC IN PHARMACEUTICAL ADVERTISING (TOWARD A THEORY AND METHOD OF AURALACY)
Date of Award
12-2009
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Legacy Department
Professional Communication
Committee Chair/Advisor
Katz, Steven B
Committee Member
Holmevik , Jan
Committee Member
Hilligoss , Susan
Abstract
As scholarly theories and explorations of visuality continue to grow in prominence within the discourse on multimodal communication, a gap remains in the literature regarding the affective qualities of sound in multimedia messages. The following study attempts to address this gap and likewise propose a theory of auralacy (aural literacy) by examining the audiovisual interactions present in three different pharmaceutical commercials.
This study begins by examining literature regarding Gestalt perceptual theory, with emphasis on its origins, historical developments, and current status in perceptual research. The literature shows that perceptual wholes may be formed visually, tactilely, aurally, or even intermodally. After reviewing this literature, a holistic methodology is presented for the interpretation of multimodal messages. Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen`s Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design is invoked to help analyze on-screen movement of visuals in the pharmaceutical commercials, and Leonard Meyer`s principles of pattern perception--derived from Gestalt theory and set forth in Emotion and Meaning and Music--are brought to bear on the advertisement`s soundscapes. The affective qualities of each soundscape are examined, including music, narration, and sound effects. A visual strategy for presenting audiovisual interaction, dubbed as the movement analysis, is used to help foreground the aural mode and display patterns of movement and shape. This study concludes with a discussion of auralacy as an important tool for understanding contemporary composition and communication, as well as potential directions for further developing the movement analysis.
Recommended Citation
Hovan, Michael, "SOUND MATTERS: AURAL RHETORIC IN PHARMACEUTICAL ADVERTISING (TOWARD A THEORY AND METHOD OF AURALACY)" (2009). All Theses. 739.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/739