As a film and media studies and political science double major, graduating senior David Rivas Discua is the only FMS senior to do a written thesis. When watching films, viewers may be drawn to the visuals or the sound; however, Rivas’ thesis focuses on the importance and meaning of silence in films.
“My focus is basically analyzing the intentional use of silence in the cinematic medium, specifically since doing some preliminary research in the past, we don’t really talk much about the silence that exists in cinema. Rather, we focus on sound design, sound tracks, sound effects,” Rivas said.
When thinking about his thesis, Rivas went back to his first-year studies, where he took a class called Cinema of the Apocalypse, which he credited as being incredibly influential when it came to deciding on a topic for his thesis. Initially not intending to be a FMS major, Cinema of the Apocalypse not only sparked Rivas’ interest in the subject but also contributed to his thesis.
“If I were to hone down on one [aspect] that was very influential, it was that Cinema of the Apocalypse class because it changed my perception of writing about film and interpreting film, and even the paper I wrote about that was the silence in the apocalypse,” Rivas said. “So that class was very important to me in bringing me both into the film and media studies world, but also this sense of writing for film.”
Within his thesis, Rivas focuses on two key films: “The Seventh Seal,” directed by Ingmar Bergman, and “Perfect Days” by Wim Wenders. “The Seventh Seal” follows a knight coming back from the crusades and having existentialist thoughts, questioning his faith and religion. Rivas concludes that silence in that film is “indicative of death and indicative of God’s silence, like more of a like existentialist notion.” “Perfect Days” uses silence as what Rivas calls a “transcendental notion.”
“It’s very observational cinema where there’s no narrative. You go day to day; it’s very mundane. It’s very boring to many people. And the man doesn’t really talk,” Rivas said about “Perfect Days.” “The director talks about, in some interviews, how this was a very emotional movie to many people because it’s a lot of people aspire to live this simple way of life — not caring about material belongings or not caring about having a good job, but rather just having a job that you enjoy. And then silence there doesn’t materialize as the absence of sound, but rather the absence of communication.”
While his paper tries to make sense of silence in cinema, Rivas also stated that he believes that silence in film does not have one true meaning and it is up to the viewer to make that meaning.
“What I try to end on the thesis is interpreting science as a very personal thing. It can mean a different thing to a lot of different people,” Rivas said. “And even when reading my thesis, you can disagree with a lot of things. But what I try to encourage people who will read it is this notion of like you should try to make your own meaning because that’s what the director intends.”
Rivas is aware that many will not read his thesis, saying, “I feel once I’m finished with it, only a couple people will read it, and then it’ll go into the archives at Tisch. And that's going to be it.” However, for those who might come across it one day, Rivas hopes to instill in them an appreciation for film through his work.
“I hope to instill in people that film is not solely something that you pay $15 to go to a movie theater or watch at home using a streaming subscription, and you just sit there for an hour, two hours, even three hours. And then you exit out, you talk about it a little bit with your friends and that’s it. I think film and movies overall have this power to really captivate your attention and make you think differently about your perspective on life,” Rivas said. “I hope people can come up with their own interpretations and not be discouraged from thinking about film intellectually and critically.”
