Witness to an Execution

          I am definitely more intrigued by documentary pieces at this point in time, which is why I love StoryCorps and Sound Portraits. There is still so much to learn and so many important stories to be told. The meaning that is conveyed through each story is my favorite part. I have really enjoyed the interview process in this class and think that the voice says a lot in and of itself. Sometimes there is no need for effects, music, or sound of any other sort other than the voice. I really enjoyed reading about StoryCorps and listening to Ghetto Life 101.

          After hearing about Witness to an Execution in class, I went and listened to it on my own. The majority of it is just voice and it really doesn't need anything else. The guitar music that plays every now and then in the background was okay to me to set a somber Texas mood in the beginning, but I didn't like when they kept playing it after that. The interviewees are so good at describing the whole execution process and what it means to them, that no sound effects are really needed. (Plus, that would probably be pretty morbid.) The interviewees are the people that work there or are involved somehow and when they explain the way they rationalize what they do, you can tell that they are also explaining it to themselves at the same time. Their voices really bring out the emotion behind what they're saying; it is so much richer than reading a book. 

          There are so many powerful moments in the piece, like when one interviewee describes one of the people being executed singing Silent Night as they drifted away. Another powerful moment is when the interviewees are explaining how the family members of the people being executed react during executions and one woman says "you'll never hear another sound like a mother wailing when she's watching her son being executed". That part really struck a chord with me because it reminded me of my mother's best friend wailing at her son's funeral after he was murdered. The fact that voice can strike chords with people and ignite old memories is another reason why it's so powerful. I think StoryCorps and Sound Portraits do some very important radio documentary work and I look forward to getting more into it myself.