Analyzing film through dubbing and voice-overs: New guest faculty Kerstin Honeit introduces course Seeing Voices and Queering Film

What does it mean to “queer” film, and how can dubbing and voice-overs be a tool in achieving it? In the film course Seeing Voices and Queering Film: Dis/embodied Voicing and the Moving Image, new visiting instructor Kerstin Honeit is leading students in an exploration of this concept. Honeit is a Berlin-based artist working with experimental documentary moving image formats, and is teaching at BCB for the first time this semester.

The course, Honeit describes, analyzes how the voice, particularly the disembodied voice of film dubbing, often reinforces patterns of visual stereotyping and discrimination in film. According to Honeit, the “disembodied voice” in film holds the power to shake up expected norms. She explains, “Quite often we are not aware of how normalized our gaze is, due to the cultural matrix that mainly mirrors the logic of patriarchal capitalism. And because we have become lazy in trying to think outside these constructed norms, it luckily doesn’t take that much to get us confused or irritated, and therefore hopefully to rethink.” Sometimes all it takes is hearing an unexpected voice to prompt that rethinking process.

For example, elements of discrimination have been present since the introduction of audio in filmmaking, when movies became “talkies.” The musical classic Singin’ in the Rain (1952) tells the true story of silent movie star Louise Brooks, who failed to fulfill the new challenges a talkie required. However, what the musical omits is that the real Louise Brooks had to end her Hollywood career due to her working class accent. A contemporary example that Honeit gives of problematic politics of voice within the movie industry is The Simpsons’ questionable voicing of characters such as Apu.

With a background of teaching at German art schools, Honeit notes that teaching in Bard College Berlin’s unique international environment offers a diversity that she doesn’t normally encounter. “Here at BCB I very much enjoy the collaboration with international students and faculty members, and I particularly appreciate the privilege to learn from this multiplicity of perspectives.” Given the course’s focus on uncovering less-heard voices, it’s “exciting to see and hear this broad range of voices in class,” she says.

One way in which Honeit amplifies a range of voices in the course is by building “a framework where everybody can contribute their specific knowledge and experience,” which she says is crucial for critical thinking. Ultimately, this semester Honeit hopes that students will be “empowered after the course to go out and tell the stories that need telling, filmic or in any other form.”

Post Date: 03-11-2024