Individual Feature Analysis

Margaret are you grieving? A cultural history of weeping

Margaret are you grieving? A cultural history of weeping is a feature that belongs to Sunday Feature, aired on BBC 3 Sundays at 18:45.

This feature is not only about crying but the meaning of crying as a response of humans towards arts: music, paintings, performances... In this feaute experts explain the cultural reason for that and give several theories of why humans cry. Margaret are you grieving? A cultural history of weeping places the voice of the host with the voice of the experts, also at the beginning several people are interviewed and ask about what things make them cry.

The use of the music is scarce but it has the role of introducting the listeners to theme of the program. It is a sad and slow song. Also several pieces of music are pieces during the feature, another example is while talking of religion a religious song is played.

The importance here fall on the tone of voice: while taking the host does it in a normal-paused tone of voice but while reading stories and poems the voice suddenly changes and the pauses start to be longer,  the voice sometimes crumbles and breaks because of the feelings, nevertheless it doesn't reach the weaping. The sound effects are also very reduced, the sound of people walking is used to show movement, when talking of showing the art pieces of Mark Rothko. And the low voice with a different echo to show they are in a museum or a different room.

To sum up, weeping is not a reason of embarrasment, even though people try to avoid it. There are several signs that show we are about to cry. Nevertheless, even the experts doesn't have all the reason why human cry they have explain some of them, for example a way of communication when we are kids or how art evokes on us several feelings and it is our wat to express them.


Raquel Romero Morales