The Far Sound (1973)

      The short film The Far Sound focuses on Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone and the ways in which this everyday device has evolved in purpose and functionality throughout history. Telephone translates into "far sound," as distance used to determine how clear people could hear each other while talking over the telephone. To solve this transmission problem, Dr. Lee de Forest invented the vacuum tube. Another problem occurred with clarity in one's voice; to fix this problem, Harold Black invented a "negative feedback amplifier" which involved revolutionary circuitry to cancel out various distortions in peoples' voices. In the laboratories from which Forest and Black worked, Bell Laboratories, many other telecommunication devices were invented. Such inventions include electrical recording, the technology to provide movies with sound, broadcasting radio, and ship-to shore and long-distance communication technologies. The short film also discusses the purposes of microwave purposes.

     With such a focus on evolving telecommunication technologies, the film brings about many topics from LIS 201. The narrator in the film even describes Bell's tradition as a process to "find new and better ways." Communication technologies are ever-changing. When this movie was made, scientists were experimenting with various electrical signal devices, resulting in the invention of the transistor which, in turn, made the computer a reality. Likewise, even today, technological innovators are searching for ways to make communication more efficient. There are many similarities in the work described in The Far Sound with the work being done at companies like Apple and Microsoft. One thing remains clear: the curiosity for and creation of new telecommunication technologies is an ongoing process that has been prominent ever since Bell's invention of the telephone.

    Students can relate to The Far Sound as our modern society has a heavy focus on information literacy. Scientists that invent communication technologies must have an awareness of the needs in society as well as an appreciation for more convenient and accesible gadgets. Therefore, it is important for scientists to develop these attitudes early on, more specifically in the college classroom. Students can identify the errors in technology as they use many forms of it every single day. Their integration into an more modern communication infrastructure will be easy as long as they are up to date with their technological devices. The narrator in the movie seemed hopeful for the future and even discussed the possibility of a color picture phone. Clearly, the constant desire for change and improvement in telecommunications can make dreams into a reality.