Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

In the 1930s Movies with synchronized sound took off and quickly became the norm. At first these films with an actual sound track and the ability to produce audible dialog and sound effects were viewed as a gimmick to get audiences into films. Sound aids in making the film more believable. It enables the audience to escape the fact that they are sitting in a noisy theater, that is filled with what seems to be high school kids and crying babies, and fully experience the illusion the film is trying to create. This is especially the case for films that take place in unnatural setting. One can say that a setting that exploits and often break the rules of sound to the fullest is a science fiction setting, and more specifically the movies that take place in space. In reality and according to the laws of physics, there cannot be any sound in space, but audiences are still captivated by this blatant and obvious bending and breaking of the laws of sound. The Star Wars Franchise, and the movie Independence Day are a couple of movies that are a great example in which the laws of sound are broken. On the other hand sound can also be portrayed correctly to create a different kind of appeal. The films 2001:A space Odyssey and Apollo 13 follow the rules of sound in space, but are equally as appealing. Due to the fact that perceiving different sounds is essential to life, allows directors to break the laws of sound in order to make a movie in space more appealing to the mainstream audience.

The Aliens franchise is famous for coining the phrase, “In space, no one can hear you scream.” This is a pretty awesome quote, it is also absolutely Correct. Sound cannot travel in space at all, therefore if one were to scream in space, no one would hear it. For one to understand this concept he would have to understand how sound works in the first place. Sound is a physical vibration through all forms of matter (solids, liquids, and gases). Oscillation occurs when the matter is displaced by the sound waves. The oscillation is composed of frequencies which require specialized organs to perceive. Humans have ears, which are hearing organs. Humans can hear. We can perceive sound largely due to the fact that we live in on a planet with atmosphere. Because, as previously mentioned, sound is basically waves that move matter in and atmosphere. No atmosphere = no sound. Space is a vacuum and does not have an atmosphere, and therefore there is no sound.

The fact that sound needs an atmosphere is not unknown in the least. So why are we so open to accepting that there is sound in space when it cannot exist? The answer to this is because hearing is an essential component to life. It is used as a means of detecting danger, navigation, predation and communication. If a director decides to create sounds in a space battle or when a planet blows up it is because it is a way of making the audience perceive what is going on in the scene. Nonetheless it is very inaccurate, but works.

One major film that has completely obliterated the laws of sound in space is the 1996 sci-fi movie, Independence Day. There are several scenes where the film breaks the rules of sound. The most significant one is during the conclusion of the movie. Humans board and alien ship, fly into space, and encounter the alien mother ship. During this sequence the alien ship whizzes through space (with a pretty cool sound effect) encounters the ominous hum of the enemy mothership, and finally blows the mothership to pieces which creates a really loud explosion, in which the humans screams are drained out in a white flash (they survive). So why even do this in the first place? One reason for this may be: due to poor direction and pacing, sound saves the interest of this scene. Well if one were to mute this scene, it would not be that interesting. Sound in this case creates an atmosphere. It indicates the speed of the small space ship, the size of the enormous alien mother ship, and the intensity of when the mothership blows up.

Another movie that famously breaks laws of sound, and could even be said to promote it, is the whole Star Wars franchise. One scene that can be seen as a combination of a whole bunch of sound laws that are being broken is the starting of Star Wars: Episode 3. This scene is full of sound absurdity. After the opening title text crawl, the audience follows two ships going towards an enormous one, and enter a chaotic space battle. As this is happening the different sounds of the two small space ships are whizzing about. They also fly through loud explosions, lazers zipping past their ships, and an cylindrical-like robot screaming like a little baby. Sound is absolutely necessary in this scene because it would not be composed in the way it would be without it. The director wanted to direct the audiences attention towards all the amazing computer animation that was done (because everyone knows the story wont be enough).Another fact about the Star Wars franchise is that it has made leaps and bounds in the sound engineering world. So much so that Lucasfilm, the company in charge of all aspects of the Star Wars films, has a devision specifically devoted to outstanding sound engineering, Skywalker Sound. This amazing achievement is no excuse for the fact that space is a vacuum without any atmosphere, so there cannot be any sound.




Audiences are captivated but sound engineering and it also helps to explain what is going on in the film. Because of the advancements in sound systems, there is a lot more that can be done with sound. So when a space ship whizzing through space and is accompanied with a very unique robotic sound it is to create a sound scape. It can describe how large, small, empty, or full an environment is. The sound engineers can create an environment where if you were to close your eyes you could hear a space ship whizzing from the left of you to the right. Breaking the rules of sound enables the film makers to create a new experience for the viewers.
Sound in space is not always portrayed incorrectly. In the film Apollo 13 the physics of sound in space is done perfect and to the T. This is in part due to the fact that it was an accurate depiction of the actual events that surrounded the real Apollo 13 flight.In the scene that causes the main conflict in the movie the audience witnesses a scene where the camera runs through Apollo 13's hull to where the oxygen tank ruptures.



The audiences then follows the oxygen till it leaks out of the ship. A very noisy scene ends when the oxygen ruptures through the ship's hull and into space where it then instantly stop making noise. This is an accurate scene. The effect of loud and intense sound effects suddenly silencing establish a strong feeling of hopelessness. In this case the lack of sound and the reality of space provides a very an experience that conveys a sense of fear and hopelessness.
2001: A Space Odyssey also takes advantage of the reality of sound in space to create a very elegant and monumental scene in space. In fact it can be noted as one of the best scenes in space.

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An astronaut has to go outside the space station to replace a part of a communications antenna. While he is doing this complicated process the only thing that the audience can here is his breathing within the space suit. This sound becomes hypnotic after a while and the only thing that can be seen is the beautifully complex scene compositions. The void of space is obvious and the sense of loneliness is quite obvious.

Most science fiction movies that come out are riddled with misconceptions of sound and space. Due to the fact that perceiving different sounds is essential to life, directors are able to break the laws of sound in order to make a movie in space more appealing to the mainstream audience. The ability to either portray sound accurately or inaccurately is completely based on what the director wants to achieve with the story, not to comply with the laws of physics. Cinematic Fiction will always prevail over Science fact in this scenario.