I love movies! I go to them all the time for the feeling of being in a large theater surrounded by other people. I also like watching previews and often enjoy them no matter how terrible they are. I love going with friends and sometimes even go by myself!
...Actual
ly, I just actively seek out socially acceptable settings to eat entire boxes of junior mints. But really, I rarely go because of the score. In many instances, the score is supposed to be background music--stuff composed so you are supposed to ignore it, but should intensify your experience. I hate to say this, but the New Moon soundtrack did a good job of this. Not gonna lie.
But I always notice the background music. Maybe it is because of my musical training, but sometimes I just space out and just pay attention to the music. And sometimes when I do this, I feel uncomfortable. Here are some of the things that make me uncomfortable in a film score:
1. The usage of non-western instruments to make something sound more exotic (wtf is that erhu doing there?)
2. The Random Latin Chorus3. When I know what the next four chords are going to be
4. When a solo female voice starts to sing modal-y melodies in another language/with no words at all
5. Similar to 4, those goddamn boy sopranos.
6. Any time anything by My Chemical Romance makes its way into a soundtrack
Okay, so my main problem with the "Avatar" soundtrack was when there were these scenes that were totally taken out of the Pocahontas "Colors of the Wind" scene in which the attractive indigenous woman takes the white dude out and shows him her culture. In the movie, this involved lots of DRUMMING. It came out of nowhere. Why do all "natives" enjoy percussive instruments? I don't know.
I don't know about you, but if I were a blue, humanoid alien organism, I would probably play the French horn. Think about it. Think about it really hard.
Of course it is wise to use the instruments of a culture you are trying to depict in a movie. I just thought it was a bit offensive because the Avatar Na'vi were supposed to be extraterrestrial. Not African.
Next, let me take a moment to describe a phenomenon called "Random Latin Chorus," or RLC. Yes, I actually use this terminology in real life and enjoy instances when it comes up. You probably know exactly what I'm talking about. RLC happens during seriously epic scenes during a war with a bunch of dudes charging towards the enemy or when there are a swarm of demons, or when there are a bunch of vampires standing around in a candlelit room doing something dramatic like sacrificing a virgin. Or attacking the president! RLC in X-men 2
Sometimes, it is totally okay. I mean, "Gladiator" was all about Romans, so it makes sense. It's a context thing. I know this is all my opinion, but sometimes it just makes me uncomfortable. It doesn't even have to be in Latin to unnerve me. There are, however, instances when it's done pretty well.
Next thing. When I saw the Lord of the Rings, I enjoyed the soundtrack. I did! I promise. Did you know that the "Hobbit" theme sounds almost exactly like the Lutheran hymn "This is My Father's World?" Beyond that though, the Hobbit theme also sounds like every wistful, pastoral, village-y song ever written. Wind instrument playing over strings! While this doesn't really make me uncomfortable, it gets annoying when you hear it everywhere! Off the top of my head: Avatar, Eragon, Stardust, Harry Potter.
Another film scoring phenomenon I like to talk about that makes me uncomfortable is something I am going to call "Everything goes silent except for solo female voice singing in another language." You know what I'm talking about. Picture a hero in battle. He is running towards the enemy and he has some bad wounds already, but you know he will keep on going. Suddenly, it goes silent and a woman starts to sing in the background while he raises his sword and starts slashing at a Persian or something. Why is that woman singing? More importantly, why is it in a harmonic minor/mode? Also, what are all these semitones I hear? Most imp
ortantly, WHY IS IT ALWAYS ENYA?! 
Going off on this, I hate boy sopranos. This is an opinion. I used to be a boy soprano (and in a way, I still am). They pop up EVERYWHERE! Unlike boy sopranos in real life, they have many uses in film scoring. They can be really angelic and uplifting OR absolutely terrifying. Actually, I take that angelic and uplifting part back. Boy sopranos are inherently terrifying. This is a fact. I challenge you to challenge this fact.
Finally, I hate "My Chemical Romance." I was unable to enjoy "Watchmen" for this reason.
Yes, I know discomfort is a really awkward and subjective way to describe my feelings about these musical idioms, but it's true. I think the most interesting thing though is the fact that these musical idioms exist. I don't believe there is something inherent about the music and the performance style that lends itself to be used in a particular place in a film. However, I think that each sound has a social context and has a lot of social meaning ascribed to it.
For example, the whole boy soprano thing. We think of little boys as innocent and cute, so a scorer might have a vocal line sung by one to suggest something like paradise. However, when they're used in a creepy way, it highlights the drama because it sort of twists are expectations.
The Latin chorus too. I think it's supposed to invoke images of church, of the middle ages, and the institutions associated with those things because that's what we think of when we think of a chorus singing in Latin. I have no goddamn clue where the solo woman singing thing comes from though.
In conclusion, My Chemical Romance sucks and if you've composed it, there's probably already a Lutheran hymn of it. (left) MCR. Worse than every boy soprano ever? Make your call.
1 comment:
your observations are really sharp and interesting haha, stuff that I never really would think of
Post a Comment