Sonic Alchemy in Eraserhead: Analysing the Fusion of Audio and Imagery

The 1977 film Eraserhead, directed by David Lynch, offers a compelling portrayal of the human psyche through various audio and visual techniques. The immersive cinematic experience of this film owes much to its skilful incorporation of sound. Sound plays a crucial role in conveying both physical and non-physical elements of the narrative. One particularly noteworthy aspect of the film’s sound design is its ability to merge reality and fantasy. By using ambient sounds, Eraserhead creates a sense of realism that allows viewers to identify with the protagonist, Henry. The audience is transported to Henry’s world, and the interplay of sound and image facilitates this process. Sound is seamlessly integrated into the story, both within and beyond the narrative. Eraserhead’s adept use of sound thus creates a surreal and thought-provoking experience for viewers. 

The use of ambient sound effectively blends reality and fantasy to convey the atmosphere of the film’s industrial setting. The film’s soundscape is dense with ambient noises such as buzzing, hissing, and humming, which create an oppressive and unsettling environment (Birtwistle, A. 2014). As Henry walks the streets of the industrial landscape, a howling wind rushes through the air, enhancing the visual elements of the scene and creating a more immersive experience for the viewer. In Henry’s apartment, the radiator buzzes with an increased hiss, now surrounded by the sounds of machinery and metal clinking. This ambient sound establishes a sense of place through direction. As Henry’s perspective shifts to focus on the radiator, the sound and image become synchronised, emphasising the radiator’s physicality and elevating it from a mere object to a significant element of the film’s narrative (Rogers, H., 2019). Overall, Eraserhead’s use of sound contributes greatly to the film’s ability to effectively convey its themes and create an immersive and contextual experience for the viewer. David Lynch expertly created a setting through sound spatialisation. These sounds have a direct impact on the audience’s cognitive heuristics as sound is processed faster than images. (Barbosa, Álvaro, & Dizon, K. 2020). In Eraserhead, the innovative and provocative sound design seamlessly merges elements of reality and fantasy, resulting in a truly unique and captivating auditory experience.

FIGURE 1: INDUSTRIAL CITY

FIGURE 2: RADIATOR

Eraserhead relies heavily on audio to convey both physical and non-physical entities. Diegetic sound represents sounds that exist within the fictional world and are considered real. If we were present in the scene, we would be able to hear these sounds. On the other hand, the extra-diegetic sound is not objective because it does not exist in the film’s reality (Neumeyer, D. 2009). As the film progresses, we move away from the diegesis. A prime example of this can be seen in the crucial scene featuring the lady in the radiator. While the music plays on a dimly lit stage, a constant room tone emanates in the background. (As we move closer, the lady in the radiator makes her entrance. She steps out of the darkness into the spotlight and begins to sing ‘In Heaven’. The scene in question opens with a striking sound that is both believable and fitting for the tone of the film. The singer’s performance is diegetic, meaning it is in sync with the on-screen events, but the accompanying music is extra-diegetic. As viewers, we are presented with an altered version of the performance, subjectively manipulated by the scene’s main character (BULJANČEVIĆ, R. 2021). The revelation that Henry was in the audience further blurs the lines between the physical and non-physical aspects of the film. The chaos of the world around him reflects Henry’s internal turmoil, and the lady in the radiator serves as a symbol of his emotional state.

David Lynch takes meticulous care in considering the impact of his films on the audience. His use of concept-oriented narrative decisions is a deliberate way to make the viewer feel the same emotions as the protagonist. Sound is cleverly woven into the narrative, resulting in a mutual experience of transcendence and embodiment (Hillman, N. & Pauletto, S. 2014). The layered, distorted, and aggressive sound in Eraserhead may be disorienting, but it magnifies the protagonist’s anxiety about fatherhood (Morgan, F. 2011). The worm baby’s cry is particularly impactful in this regard. While the sound design adds to the surrealism of the film, it also serves to make viewers feel uncomfortable, as Lynch intends to evoke feelings of passiveness and existential anxiety. The scene with the lady in the radiator and the sperm-like creatures falling from the ceiling is another example of Lynch’s use of surrealism to elicit emotion from his audience. The woman’s smile as she crushes the creatures under her feet is both disturbing and thought-provoking. The sound is gory and visceral, binding sound with discomfort and violence. It is noteworthy that the lady in the radiator sings about death, indicating that the protagonist, Henry, is using death as a means of escaping from reality (Weidenbaum, J. 2003). This suggests that Henry is using his imagination to deal with the difficulties of life. The music in the background helps to reinforce this notion by creating a dreamy ambience. Overall, Lynch’s attention to detail and use of sound and imagery make for a powerful cinematic experience that leaves a lasting impression on viewers.

In analysing Eraserhead, it becomes apparent that the film’s use of sound plays a vital role in creating an immersive and thought-provoking cinematic experience. The amplification process employed generates a lifelike auditory environment that engages viewers, despite the movie’s surreal narrative. Through the use of both diegetic and extra-diegetic sound, the film blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy, allowing audiences to delve into the complex and troubled mind of its protagonist. The scene featuring the lady in the radiator exemplifies how sound can convey intricate themes and emotions. Overall, Eraserhead’s sound design serves as a testament to David Lynch’s exceptional filmmaking abilities.

Barbosa, Á. & Dizon, K. (2020) The Film Sound Analysis Framework: A Conceptual tool to Interpret the Cinematic Experience. Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts, 12(2), 81-96. https://doi.org/10.34632/jsta.2020.8528

Birtwistle, A. (2015) Heavy weather: Michelangelo Antonioni, Tsai Ming-Liang, and The Poetics of Environmental sound, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 32:1, pp. 72-90. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/10.1080/10509208.2012.757529

BULJANČEVIĆ, R. (2021) Sound Design is the New Score: Theory, Aesthetics, and Erotics of the Integrated Soundtrack, New Sound: International Magazine for Music, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 126–130. DOI 10.4312/0789610603122
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Hillman, N. & Pauletto, S. (2014). ‘The Craftsman: The use of sound design to elicit emotions’, Soundtrack, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 5–23.
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Lynch, D. (Director). (1977). ‘Eraserhead’ [Motion Picture]. Libra Films.

Morgan, F. (2011) Darkness Audible: Sub-bass, tape decay and Lynchian noise. United Kingdom: Electric Sheep Magazine.
http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/imgs/pdfs/Lynch_TheEnd_ESAnthology.pdf

Neumeyer, D. (2009). Diegetic/Nondiegetic: A Theoretical Model. Music and the Moving Image, vol. 2, pp.  26–39. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/musimoviimag.2.1.0026

Rogers, H., (2019) The audiovisual eerie: Transmediating thresholds in the work of David Lynch. Transmedia Directors: Artistry, Industry and New Audiovisual Aesthetics, p.244.

Weidenbaum, J. (2003) Lady in the Radiator; Phenomenology, Embodiment, and the World of Eraserhead. Glimpse, 4, pp. 123–126. https://doi.org/10.5840/GLIMPSE2003423