LOOK AWAY/RUN AWAY -**'The role of the artist is to not look away.'** Akiria Kurosawa

Seeking Quiet
Travelling on a train between two Irish cities ( Galway and Dublin) last weekend, I found myself cursing the wisdom of Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa. What I wanted - quiet- and what I got were two very different things. Akira Kurosawa would have gorged on the "train drama" and made something beautiful with it. I just wanted to scream "F*^k off!"

(Dreams by Akira Kurosawa)

Not Looking Away
The reason being that I wished to not be a 'privileged artist' and witness the rowdy, messy shouting of my drunken fellow travellers. It was like a punishment to have some man's arse sit on my hand rest as he cracked jokes to his mates. Leaning back onto my face without a care in the world - well, without a care for me- his behaviour made me feel that I ought to leave, abandon my seat and let him have two: His own seat further up with his mates and this seat further down with his mates. Yep, they were a big group.
My desire of silence grew as the crescendo of cackling cracked and bounced round the carriage, thereby escalating the general hubbub and conversation. Everything and everyone got louder. The peace and quiet I so desperately wished for was extinguished with incessant guffaws.

(Pixabay, Alexas_Fotos)

Being an artist
'Seize the moment to write about this hell. Put in in your next script'. It was the wisdom of Akira from another dimension- perhaps.
But, it did get me thinking about sound- how powerful it is. In film-making, there is a well-founded belief that the soundscape of your movie is at least 60% of the storytelling. In other words, get the sound wrong and suspension of disbelief is lost, ergo your audience.

(Pixabay, HeungSoon)

Sound Power
Can sound change you on a molecular level? There are many reports that suggest we are very much affected by the sounds that surround us, not just emotionally but psychologically and even physically. They say singing helps alleviate depression. Perhaps I should take more notice of Akira Kurosawa and his wisdom and of course his films. Life might be much lighter then.

(Cinematheia, picture of Akira Kurosawa)