Listeners gather information from a speaker’s voice that they then relate to certain personality types and social statuses. However, most of the information received represents the stereotypes people impose on specific voice qualities. How does this relate to an actor’s portrayal of a fictional character? Both John Reese from the TV series, Person of Interest (P.O.I) and Bruce Wayne/Batman from The Dark Knight trilogy (TDK) possess similar voices but they also reflect the anti-hero/vigilante archetype. Even with their differing backstories and roles in society, they convey similarities, that requires an exploration regarding the relationship between voice and character. However, before diving into voice and character, a brief description of
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Both men possess low pitch voices, a standard quality among people of their sex and age, which doesn’t cause any questions until linking another point: their regular loudness levels. Not only do they produce low pitch voices, they usually speak at a low volume as well.[][] This combination of low pitch and low violence already presents the audience with perceived notions, there is still more to their voices, especially Bruce/Batman’s. Before comparing their voices any further, a distinction between Bruce and Batman’s voices should be discussed. More often than not, Bruce’s voice follows the low pitch and low volume combination. On the other hand, Batman tends to increase his volume, especially during emotional situations. Along with his increased volume, Batman produces an exaggerated or extreme growl while he speaks; it’s as if he has a cold and his voice has hoarseness in it.[] His growl deserves to be classified as “exaggerated” because Bruce and John produce growl-like qualities as well, but toned down a lot compared to Batman. To examine this distinction further, the previous linked YouTube videos will provide some assistance. Video 1, called John keeping control of his temper shows a clip of John Reese talking to another main character, who’s a detective. Our main interest, John, appears behind …show more content…
However, his dominance comes from his voice more than his height. In Video 2, which is called I Own The Place, Bruce Wayne interrupts his ex-girlfriend’s dinner date. Even though Bruce and the date sound similar, Bruce lowers his voice as a way to continue this playboy/tough guy facade. While height may not play such a huge part in this casting, the low pitch and low volume could’ve because it reflects a serious and brooding character. During the scene, Bruce has some cheeky lines cause his pitch to increase a bit, but it still sounds low. These slight differences attract certain people to certain roles, especially if the industry wants to base choices on society’s stereotypes. However, Video 3, called Batman Begins - Ending, has less demonstration of power dynamics, it presents an amiable relationship between Batman and Lieutenant. Still, Batman possesses this growl that grants him some kind of power even though he arrived through the Lieutenant’s command (bat-symbol). It's obvious this scene portrays a different dynamic, but all of the videos contribute to these ideas about social statuses among characters. These videos explained it better than, trying to explain it with by using John and Bruce/Batman as examples first. However, if only focusing on voice stereotypes, which says that the lower the pitch, the more dominant, determining their position is simple. The lowest on the
Both men possess low pitch voices, a standard quality among people of their sex and age, which doesn’t cause any questions until linking another point: their regular loudness levels. Not only do they produce low pitch voices, they usually speak at a low volume as well.[][] This combination of low pitch and low violence already presents the audience with perceived notions, there is still more to their voices, especially Bruce/Batman’s. Before comparing their voices any further, a distinction between Bruce and Batman’s voices should be discussed. More often than not, Bruce’s voice follows the low pitch and low volume combination. On the other hand, Batman tends to increase his volume, especially during emotional situations. Along with his increased volume, Batman produces an exaggerated or extreme growl while he speaks; it’s as if he has a cold and his voice has hoarseness in it.[] His growl deserves to be classified as “exaggerated” because Bruce and John produce growl-like qualities as well, but toned down a lot compared to Batman. To examine this distinction further, the previous linked YouTube videos will provide some assistance. Video 1, called John keeping control of his temper shows a clip of John Reese talking to another main character, who’s a detective. Our main interest, John, appears behind …show more content…
However, his dominance comes from his voice more than his height. In Video 2, which is called I Own The Place, Bruce Wayne interrupts his ex-girlfriend’s dinner date. Even though Bruce and the date sound similar, Bruce lowers his voice as a way to continue this playboy/tough guy facade. While height may not play such a huge part in this casting, the low pitch and low volume could’ve because it reflects a serious and brooding character. During the scene, Bruce has some cheeky lines cause his pitch to increase a bit, but it still sounds low. These slight differences attract certain people to certain roles, especially if the industry wants to base choices on society’s stereotypes. However, Video 3, called Batman Begins - Ending, has less demonstration of power dynamics, it presents an amiable relationship between Batman and Lieutenant. Still, Batman possesses this growl that grants him some kind of power even though he arrived through the Lieutenant’s command (bat-symbol). It's obvious this scene portrays a different dynamic, but all of the videos contribute to these ideas about social statuses among characters. These videos explained it better than, trying to explain it with by using John and Bruce/Batman as examples first. However, if only focusing on voice stereotypes, which says that the lower the pitch, the more dominant, determining their position is simple. The lowest on the