Stilwell (2007), "The Fantastical Gap Between Diegetic and Non-Diegetic"

Stilwell (2007) problematizes the way soundtrack theory has discussed diegetic and nondiegetic music as discrete categories. Instead, she argues that the boundary between diegetic and nondiegetic is fluid.

1. According to Stilwell (2007), many films stretch the boundary between these categories. These renegotiated forms are dismissed as deviant. Stilwell (2007) argues that instead of understanding these boundary-crossing films as anomalies, film scholars should realize that the inflexibility of these categories limits the range of interpretations available for film analysis.

2. By searching for areas in the borderland between diegetic and nondiegetic, film music scholarship gains a more thorough understanding of the emotional and cognitive work of film music.