Dimensions of Noise and Silence in the Novel ˮBeautiful Ruinsˮ by Jess Walter
Dimensions of Noise and Silence in the Novel ˮBeautiful Ruinsˮ by Jess Walter

Summary/Abstract: The novel Beautiful Ruins (2012) by Jess Walter combines a satirical vision on Hollywood industry, with haunting nostalgia of sixties. The reign of visibility goes along, in contemporary film culture, with the increase of noise. Too much visibility appears as an alternative to stuff the noise of the world, to make it inaudible. The industry of film, as presented in the novel Beautiful Ruins, tends to have more and more in common with voyeurism, responsiveness to curious gaze superseding the barrier of intimacy and the overall desire of the public to see something 'unseen'. The influence of a new lifestyle made in Hollywood, the paparazzi style that permeated more strata of society has got into our daily life. Silence belongs to other ages. Silence could show man the forgotten path to himself. Silence does not find any roots now. Silence cannot have any longer the function of reconnection. People tend to disconnect more easily from themselves and from their fellow beings; they are used to different stimuli. The noise of the world is also a stimulus. Without it, everything seems life-less. Inflation of visibility and noise are intrinsically related.

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