The Unexpected Virtue of Transgression: Sound and Image Relations in Birdman

Abstract

In this thesis I argue that the 2014 film Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) presents its viewers with several moments which undermine a leisurely viewing of it. In each of the three main chapters I take an in-depth look into distinct scenes which force us to adjust our expectations of the fictional truth presented. Drawing on several different theoretical concepts, such as the “fantastical gap” between the diegetic and nondiegetic realms, the phenomenon known as synchresis, and the literary concept of focalization, I argue that the filmic experience triggered by Birdman encompasses more than a single moment of reflection, leading me to suggest an adjustment to Francesco Casetti’s definition of the filmic experience.