The sunshine soundtrack as aural attraction

Abstract

Abstract The relationship between image track and soundtrack within film has generally privileged the moving image. Early cinema and contemporary special effects cinema have both been described as a ‘cinema of attractions’ due to the emphasis upon special effects and computer-generated imagery. Within science fiction the importance of image has been emphasised as a way of conveying alien environments and new technology. Drawing on the work of writers on sound such as Chion and Sonnenschein, on Mikhail Bakhtin's notion of the chronotope and the idea of the sublime, this paper explores the ways in which soundtrack fulfils the role of ‘aural attraction’ as an alternative way of understanding the function of sound within science fiction film. Sunshine is a British science fiction film which charts the journey of a crew travelling into the sun in order to save the earth. The soundtrack is a collaboration between Underworld and John Murphy and it draws upon ambient and dance music in order to convey the atmosphere of fear, hope and the sublime when facing the sun. In evoking the space mission the soundtrack blends sound effects and musical score to provide an evocative aural composition which accentuates, extends and replaces the visual image within the film.