Mike Franks asks:
"so . . . the really interesting question in this conversation [i think] is
whether there are abundant examples of NON DIEGETIC IMAGES IN MAINSTREAM
CINEMA, and--if so--whether the border between diegetic and non-diegetic is
played with on the image track the same way it so often is on the sound track
. . ."
 
 
Well, such images certainly exist, but they are not quite abundant.  They are
to be found most often in works of European Art Cinema, c. 1950-1968--
Godard being the touchstone here, of course.  Or think of the interjected
material at the beginning and in the middle of PERSONA.  Such things do occur
in American mainstream film from time to time, but it's often subsumed under
larger goals of thematic and narrative continuity in relatively recent films.
 
For example, in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, the narrative is periodically interrupted
for what appear to be nondiegetic "interviews" with happily married couples.
None of these couples are characters in the diegetic world of the film (that
we are aware of, at least) but the last such interview is with Harry and Sally
themselves--now, what's diegetic and what's not?
 
In SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER, we periodically see newsreel and home move
footage of the real Bobby Fischer while listening to the (displaced diegetic)
voice of Josh, the film's main character.  But there's no indication in the
film that Josh is actually viewing this footage or has viewed it at all.
 
 
I think there are a couple of reasons why nondiegetic sound is so  readily
accepted as a convention, while nondiegetic images are relatively rare:
        1) the first uses of sound, musical accompaniment during the silent
era, were by nature nondiegetic, coming from the piano, orchestra or whatever
playing along with the film.
        2) there's a long tradition of nondiegetic music in theater--opera
being the extreme case, but also vaudeville and other kinds of productions.
In the film, the background music is simply part of the film for the
convenience of not having to tote musicians around with the print!
 
 
Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)
 
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