Top Gun Tension

[Your Voice - VIII]

My kids aren’t going to watch Top Gun II.

Because I just watched Top Gun I… and it’s a movie about sex. Literally the whole thing is full of tension—heated dialogue and suggestive body language leading to bed. (Even the flight scenes, I think, are euphemisms for the “bedroom” desires.) Another way to say it: the whole movie is an attempt at intimacy, to realize passion, to touch skin to skin, and I can’t imagine the sequel being any different.

Think of your voice this way.

Your voice should include tension.
Pressure.
Intimacy.
Passion.

Your voice must be intimate. Skin to skin.

There should be no distance between you and the voice you are practicing to develop. Top Gun would only have a few fans without sensuality. It would be about flying fighter jets. Nothing more. But the way it’s written, it’s one of the most popular movies of an entire generation. Because of the intimacy and tension.

Cold and distant, your voice will be a few words hurled into the air. Keep it close-up. Intimate.

[h/t Stephen King]