In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

SILENCE VS. NOISE 327
light enters the mouth of the tunnel, followed by a unanimous, unheardof
shouting, which immediately grows to extreme intensity, like a giant
engine whose individual vibrations can no longer be distinguished ...
Every new second wants to swallow the previous second in its burning
throat, although an increase of tension seems impossible. Compared to
this raging outburst, all previous battles are fading away like children's
play ... Here, the only way of surviving is to let go and allow oneself
be molded by the hand of the world spirit itself. Here, we experience
history at a focal point" (Junger, 101f£'). junger's formula of "letting
oneself be molded by the hand of the world spirit" is just another
example of subject-definition by setting limits to subjecthood. No individual
voice can ever be heard over the din of modern warfare. Likewise,
no individual voice can usually be identified among the noisy spectators
of a boxing match. This is why the Silence of the huge crowd that
accompanies the Dempsey-Tunney fight for the world heavyweight title
is so eloquent. It announces that something important is about to happen-something
beyond the individual victory or the individual defeat.
[see Boxing] When the fight is over, and the more than 144,000 spectators
begin yelling the name of Jack Dempsey, the defeated ex-champion,
they honor a fighter who, because he has taken a severe beating from his
opponent, has looked into the face of death. [see Immanence = Transcendence
(Death)] Eloquent Silence and powerful collective voices always
come from a perspective of Authenticity; they always confirm the belief
in an existing cosmological order.
As antitheses to expressive Silence, one might cite the victims' sighs in
Lorca's Romance de la Guardia Civil espanola; the sound of jazz; a
gramophone playing in a Great War trench; the always expected, yet
always disturbing ringing of the telephone in Kafka's Schloss; the strange
sounds from the receiver that precede each telephone conversation and
each radio transmission; the "strong needles" that amplify the recorded
music played at dance parties. [see Dancing, Jazz, Telephone, Wireless
Communication] All Noise that occurs for no particular reason stands
opposite to Silence and expression. It is provocative without being eloquent.
For while Silence may easily coincide with meaning, Silence and
Noise do not go together-with perhaps one exception. Most of the
many pictures that Joan Mira completes during the summer have no
titles. But among the very few pictures that have titles are The Cry and
Dog Barking at the Moon (Dupin, 498-499).