“On May 8, 1945, 60 million Americans (nearly half all the nation) tuned in to hear On a Note of Triumph, Norman Corwin’s masterpiece marking the beginning of the end of WWII”, that’s ‘break[ing] through the sound barrier” says Porter in his Essay on the Radio Essay that analyzes the elements of the avant-garde radio essay along with its sporadic developments. Specifically in pioneer cases such as Corwin’s, “the commentator could be trusted. His spoken words not only bore wit-ness to history but signaled an affirmation in face of fear and dread” they were sustenance for the mass of Americans stricken by the socio-psychological conditions of WWII and at the proper time the radio essay becomes a perfect medium for the transition.
However “the radio commentator, as one might expect, did not survive the arrival of television or radio’s own dwindling resources in the 1950s”, the radio no longer had its niche over the public as before. TV reigned supreme. “If not for National Public Radio, the radio commentator would now be all but forgotten, an obscure footnote in the history of the wireless”, because NPR made story matter and left the focus of rhetorically poetisis stuff to other parties. They “had the good sense back then to develop the appeal of outliers.”
On more contemporary terms, Sarah Vowell’s voice was such a critical component of her character’s emotional impact and influence. When she describes how proud she is of her father, it’s much easier to appreciate the simple praise with her voice (13:00). However Lovell’s didn’t have any particular voice to him, in fact it was crackly and seemed unrehearsed at times. I think this is because he doesn’t believe in the performance, or maybe he just is bad at it and if it was intended to show something, I didn’t feel anything beyond a broken man revealing his faults. However his story was truly a memorable and honest deprecation of his character that did well to connect the dots of his tale. Because how he reveals his experiences, unveils how traumatized he truly was as a child, but has overcome it as an adult. When the mother makes him pancakes in the morning, I felt like I was sitting right beside him and both of us witnessed the sequence of events. I don’t even know where to begin, he did a good job at sending a message, especially by ending the essay with some smooth jazz (43:00). I thought Vowell’s story structure lacked in comparison, but her voice picked it up, especially at the end when she reveals her plans for her father’s ashes. The significance of the essay carries a lot of weight in that tell, and the voice gives it a key element (15:30).
The radio essay is thus a slippery slope of untapped production that requires “a good ear to know when the radiophonic parts of your essay (voice, sound, music, ambience) are in tune, when its meaning is more than the sum of its tracks, and this may take a greater knowledge of radios literary and artistic past”, or just “the importance of aurality of language.” Let’s not forget, it’s only an essay.