In a World of Noise, Silence Sometimes Speaks Loudest

The world of entertainment is all about making noise. “Look at me!” movies shout. “No, over here!” our phone screens blare. For years, our culture has shouted at us, pulling us toward the newest, coolest, you’ve-got-to-watch-this thing.

But lately, we’ve been seeing a few bits of entertainment try to pull us in without shouting, or even saying, a word.

Silent entertainment is nothing new, of course. In movie history’s earliest days, there was nothing but silent movies to choose from. And every now and then, a new truly silent film will, ironically, get audiences buzzing. The Artist—a mostly silent movie about a silent film actor trying to make the transition to talkies—won a Best Picture Oscar in 2012.

But recently, I’ve “heard” more silence on screens than usual. 

Let’s begin with Echo, Disney+’s newest Marvel show.

Oh, Echo is noisy, no question: It’s a superhero story, after all. So the television speakers are alive with the sounds of explosions and exposition and hammering instrumental music. But the show’s deaf protagonist never says a word: She signs. Her friends sign back. That makes Echo quieter than many a Marvel show—and makes it stand out from Disney+’s increasingly crowded Marvel landscape. (‘Course, it stands out for far less positive reasons, too, but you can go to our review for that.)

But 2023 saw a couple of even quieter entertainment options land on the big or small screen. The PG-13-rated No One Will Save You, a science fiction flick that made some noise on Hulu last September, featured only about five words of real dialogue during its 90-minute timeframe. It didn’t need them: Strange and gripping, No One Will Save You’s silence spoke volumes.

In December, legendary action director John Woo rolled out Silent Night, a hard R-rated thriller featuring a mute protagonist and some incredibly quiet characters. The film was certainly not one I’d recommend, given the blood and violence we see. But story-wise, the gimmick kinda worked. It forced Woo and his team to tell a coherent story without even a page of dialogue—and that forced some unexpected creativity from them.

And while we’ve not reviewed it yet, Robot Dreams—a potential Best Oscar contender for Best Animated Feature—is reportedly free of significant dialogue too. (Though according to the trailer, it apparently has a nice retro soundtrack.)

Let’s be honest: Very often, these departures from the cinematic norm—effective or no—are also kinda gimmicky. A movie’s very silence can do the same thing as shouting, “Look at me!” We’re inherently attracted to the new, the different, the unusual. In a noisy world, silence stands out.

And maybe that’s worth reflecting on. Because outside the realm of entertainment, the practice of silence goes well beyond gimmickry. It can be an important tool in our spiritual toolbox.

Just as in our movies, silence in real life is counterintuitive. In our brand-conscious society and our social media-crammed days, we sometimes feel like we need to say something about everything—from the latest political scandal to what we had for breakfast. And listen, I know that I’m a symptom of that very dynamic. I write my reviews. I talk on our podcast. I am very happy to tell you exactly what I think about just about everything. I’m adding to the noise daily. And let’s be honest: If I just stopped doing all those things, I’d not be employed at Plugged In for very long.

But I’m mindful that, historically, our faith has placed more emphasis on listening than talking. More on silence than noise.

The Bible is filled with exhortations to speak less and listen more. “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back,” we read in Proverbs 29:11. In Psalm 141:3, the psalmist prays, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” Habakkuk 2:20 reminds us that silence is a form of deep respect: “The LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.” And God Himself commands us in Psalm 46:10 to “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Medieval monks often practiced the art of silence, believing the practice helped keep them from worldly entanglements and allowed them to hear the still, small voice of God better. In 400 A.D., Alexandria Patriarch Theophilus wrote, “Monks—if they wish to be what they are called—will love silence and the Catholic faith, for nothing at all is more important than these two things.”

It’s hard to find real silence these days. And many of us would be scared to even look for it. If it’s too quiet in the car, we flip on some music. If a conversation lapses into silence, we scramble to say something. Quiet is a rare, oft-unwanted thing.

But as some cinematic stories suggest, that might make quiet all the more powerful, all the more impactful. And it might be worth working some silence into your own personal or familial days now and then. We live in a noisy world. To hear God’s still, small voice today takes effort. But that effort seems well worth it.