Music in the Cinema
The Emotional Effects of Music in Movies
Group A
Group Members:
Megan Christine Bennett
Jordan Bockelman
Amanda Cole
Alexandria Nicole Ray
Joseph Simonsen
Thomas Thompson
Class: EDP101B
Introduction
An often overlooked, but pivotal part to any film is the music found throughout it. Many people don’t take time to appreciate all that music adds to a film. It reinforces emotions, creates fear and sadness, and works with the movie to more clearly illustrate the characters’ feelings. Our group decided this was a topic worth further exploration and aim to conclude what effect music in cinema has on the viewer’s emotions. Each group member researched a different genre to discover how each varies in the way they use music to improve the film.
Romance
Romances are often accompanied with extremely moving music that illustrates the love and emotions felt by the characters. It further emphasizes the emotions that the characters’ actions are already making the viewers feel. Atonement, being a romantic tragedy, went beyond happy, simple love songs to give real sadness, intensity, and beauty delivered through the music.
Atonement tells the story of a young girl, Briony, who falsely accuses her sister’s lover, Robbie, of a crime he did not commit. He is sent to prison and then becomes a soldier while Briony’s sister, Cecilia, discontinues contact with her family and becomes a nurse. Realizing her mistake years later, Briony writes a book entitled Atonement to apologize and to attempt to give them the life she took away.
The movie begins with an introduction to the character of Briony through music. This music, played multiple times throughout the movie, is accompanied with typewriter noises in the background. The intensity of the music played during this beginning scene is “… born of the piano, an icy, minor refrain, rhythmic in its construction and performance and ever so slightly in a state of mild panic” (Beek, p. 1). It creates a feeling of suspense, foreshadowing what is to come.
In following scenes, softer and livelier music is used to evoke happiness during scenes such as the brother’s return and interactions between the lovers, but often this music is marked with a dramatic finish to make the viewers cautious of this temporary bliss. The music varies but returns to the intensity that is often accomplished with fast playing of the piano or dramatic percussion during beautiful, simpler music.
During a scene in which Robbie is writing a letter for Cecilia, he puts on a record of an opera that is slow and soothing. The scenes cut from Robbie to Cecilia and the music aids the viewer in discovering the secret love that they have for each other. The music then returns to intensity as they search for the missing boys. It begins slow but then grows faster and louder. This creates a feeling that something bad is about to occur and just as the scene reaches its climax the music reaches its loudest point and abruptly ends.
After the lovers are separated, the music becomes must slower and softer. This change aids to the feelings of sadness and reinforces that the characters are devastated without one another. As Robbie tours the war camp and recollects images of his mother, the music continues to be slow and saddening. There is pain and darkness in this scene that the viewers feel more deeply because of the music.
During Robbie’s flashback to times spent with Cecilia, the music returns to soft and romantic music that was played when the lovers were together. Then the focus turns to Briony, who is accompanied by her typewriter theme. The music is once again intense, but at this point the feelings of suspense are replaced by those of anger. The music in the final scene is a mixture of the two emotions. It is simple, not happy or sad. The lovers are enjoying themselves but it is not real, and that knowledge makes the scene semi-sweet which is reinforced by the music.
Our textbook defines emotion as “the awareness of a feeling elicited in response to an environmental stimulus, accompanied by physiological changes and certain overt behaviors such as facial expressions” (Davis & Palladino, 2007). Music evokes and reinforces such a variety of different emotions, and it is difficult to positively state why exactly that is. Some sources believe that “the emotion created by a piece of music may be affected by memories associated with the piece, by the environment it is being played in, by the mood of the person listening and their personality, by the culture they were brought up in: by any number of factors both impossible to control and impossible to quantify” (Vaidya p. 1). With this theory, people associate music with emotions based on past experiences. This is likely true with certain pieces and types of music, but it doesn’t explain why music heard for the first time can naturally make one feel a particular way.
Levitin discusses music’s affect on the body. He says, “[music] invokes some of the same neural regions that language does, but far more than language, music taps into primitive brain structures involved with motivation, reward, and emotion” (Levitin, 2006, p. 187). He believes our change in emotions comes from our body’s physical response to the music. Although music clearly has an effect on people and can alter emotions, it does not always tell the exact story. One example is when a man is nervous before a big speech. The music can not express that nervousness, but “…it can communicate nuances like tensions, trembling and the rawness of this feeling, and thus make the feeling more real and the experience more vital” (Have, p. 1).
If simply listening to the soundtrack to Atonement, the audience would not know the complete story. They would however, feel the sadness, intensity, and love so clearly illustrated in the music. The exact actions of the characters are unclear, but the emotions associated with this music stand strong. Similarly, if the audience were to watch the movie without the music, those emotions would be present but felt much less intensely. The pair are both necessary to obtain the full experience of the romance and the full extent of the tragedy.
Disney
Music is an especially important aspect in Disney movies. They are always known for their soundtracks, and their songs are cherished and sung by millions. Disney movies are often categorized in childhood memories, and even after long periods since their childhood, his audiences are still able to sing old Disney songs, like “Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from “The Lion King.” Why is that? Daniel Levitin says “By better understanding what music is and where it comes from, we may be able to better understand our motives, fears, desires, memories, and even communication in the broadest sense.” Disney not only offers catchy tunes and irresistible musicality, but it also offers an emotional sense for the audience. Without the music in their films, Disney viewers would not have near the reactions to Disney movies as were intended. In this portion we will explore how Disney is able to bring about a sense of emotion in their audience, and how those emotions somehow latch onto our memories and stay with us throughout our days. In analyzing Disney’s “The Lion King”, we see a prime example of what music brings to the film.
In the opening scene, there is African music and vocals which sound like a chant. This makes it obvious to the audience that the setting is in Africa, and not only that, but whenever there is a loud noise from the African Drums, all the animals look to the sky. This gives the audience the perception that something important is about to begin. There is also a soft chanting when it shows all the herds migrating in the same direction. This delivers uniformity, and shows that all the animals live together in harmony.
When Mufasa is shown on the screen, there are always soft, but resonant drums being heard, which signify strength and importance, and the animals bow whenever the drum is hit. There are also soft flutes which are used to introduce the tenderness and love for baby Simba and his mother Sarabi. When Scar, the antagonist is introduced on screen, there is an English horn and low woodwinds, which makes an ominous sound, signifying he is evil. The instrumentation when he appears is low and threatening, which appropriately juxtaposes the music of the royal family.
Percussion is usually a fearful or glorifying sound. A big timpani sound can be heard when the sun rises, and a loud cymbal crash when it rises over Pride Rock, signifying importance and royalty. There is also a prominent timpani beat along with the low English horn solo when Simba is about to be punished. Drums also offer an ominous appeal during the “Be Prepared” musical scene, as well as a xylophone. That unique percussion ensemble is supposed to strike fear into the audience, or at least some sort of strong emotion.
Strings are the most important instrument group during this film. Strings are what seem to hold together the music. The cello and bass offer a low, ominous feel, which the high pitch of the violins in the style of sixteenth-note runs evokes a sense of fear or panic in the audience. The tempo of the strings is what drives the other instruments. When the strings become slower and more expressive, the scene becomes very emotional. In the scene where Mufasa is trying to save Simba from the wildebeest stampede, the strings are fast paced and high on the neck of the instrument. There are a large amount of sixteenth notes, loud timpani, trumpets and a vocal chanting. All of this music makes the scene seem very tense and busy, like the audience does not have time to grasp what is happening. The music evokes fear, also showing Mufasa’s bravery and heroism, all while also making the audience nervous for Mufasa’s fate.
Throughout the film, there are many different musical phenomena occurring, which each offer a different emotion. When beginning the research, it was thought that perhaps each instrument family evoked a different emotion. Instead it is shown that it is rather the style and dynamics of how each piece of music is played and not the individual instrumentation. For example, when young Simba pounces playfully on Mufasa, there are twittery flutes and oboes that can be heard. When Simba and Nala play, there are also high pitched pipes, which bring a sense of joy and happiness to the audience. One would assume that flutes and other high woodwinds would bring a joyful emotion to the audience. However, when Mufasa dies, there are vibrating, low strings as well as a slow flute solo, which is prominent above all other sounds. The sound the flute makes is one of sorrow and of glory though no joy is heard from this instrument.
From this evaluation we can gather that music is a necessary entity to Disney films. We can sing Disney songs and dance to them because as Levitin states, “Singing and dancing were a natural activity in everybody's lives, seemlessly integrated and involving everyone.”Without music and singing, emotion would not be as easily attainable for the audience.
Comedy
The movie Superbad is a prime example of a comedy film that portrays music as a big part of the film. Music is important in this movie because it makes it more entertaining and puts the audience in the mind of the on-screen characters. Music can also be used for background noise that makes the viewer think of the scene differently. For example, during the scene when the cops are looking at Fogel’s ID (who is still in high school), there is music playing in the background, such that, if the music was taken out, the scene would not be as intriguing. The music makes you want to keep watching to see what happens. Another example is during the parties, music is always playing. Without the music it would not really be a party and it would be sort of awkward because everyone would just be standing around. Music makes the movie flow and keeps the attention of the audience.
According to Levitin, singing is considered an essential human function. Singing is important in movies and especially in comedies. A lot of the music played in “Superbad” was about funk and funny music. This added to the comedy and made the movie funnier. “Superbad” is a comedy movie because a lot of the scenes are funny. The music the director chose definitely reinforced this fact. If the music were taken out of the movie, the movie would not be nearly as funny. The characters dance to the music as if the music was part of their life. The actors would look silly if there was no music because they would be dancing or talking with no other commotion. All of the focus would be on them. The music makes the audience pleased. Psychologists, such as Levitin, have studied music in depth and have decided it shapes some of the ways that we live. Accordingly, music plays a big role in all of our lives. According to Davis & Palladino, music is a big part of our lives because it we grow up listening to music. Some of us even play music or make music. Superbad, Levitin, and Davis and Palladino are all connected because they all relate music to our everyday lives. As the latter two note, music surrounds us and is everywhere around us. It especially plays a big part in comedies because music can be funny and lighten the moods of the listeners. For many of our generation, funk music is funny because it reminds us of “old school” music and of days gone by when things appeared to be more “over-the-top.”
Music is important in all kinds of movies and lightens the mood in comedy movies. As such, we can see that a good comedy film needs to have a soundtrack that supports the feeling we get from the acting on-screen; this is something that was certainly achieved in Superbad.
Action/Sports
The movie Any Given Sunday tells the story of a young, unknown quarterback, played by Jamie Foxx, who gets his shot in the professional league due to the injury of the team’s star veteran quarterback. Due to the highly intense game scenes that occur throughout the movie, the soundtrack of the movie follows a highly intense genre consisting of a mixture of hardcore rock and rap. The use of upbeat music helps to portray the speed of the game but also the thoughts conveyed by the players. In the first two games of the season, prior the injury of the team’s veteran quarterback, Cap Rooney, the music used was very loud to show the emotions of the players in a big game situation. After the injury of Rooney, backup quarterback Willie Beaman was forced to enter the game for the first time in his career. As Beaman walked toward the huddle to take his first snap he quickly takes a step back in order to vomit. The music during this scene is one of the most intense and upbeat songs of the entire movie. As Beaman begins to come more comfortable during his first game he begins to perform at a high level but it is still easy to tell that his nerves are running high based on the tone and speed of the music.
Days after the injury to veteran quarterback Rooney, it is found by the team’s medical staff that Rooney will be unable to play for the majority of the season, giving the starting position to the new talent Beaman. Through his high level of performance and exciting play, Beaman quickly increases his level of fame and fortune through a series of endorsements and even the production of a music video. As the season continues and the team finds success and eventually makes the playoffs, Beaman receives abrupt notice that he will be forced to give up his starting position in order to make room for Rooney to return to the field. Naturally, Beaman does not take the news easily and he feels betrayed by the same coach who had given him a shot and the same coach who he had trusted in. Going into the first game of the playoffs, Beaman carries this sense of betrayal and harbors strong feelings against his head coach.
At the start of the first half of the playoff game, veteran Rooney takes the field with his team and music at this point has the strongest effect that it has in the entire movie. As the first snap is taken, rather than blaring high speed and fast paced movie, the director rather chose to use a slower paced and more relaxing song. This choice has a strong effect in many profound ways. The relaxing music shows the veteran quarterback’s state of mind as he plays the game. Due to his successful career and his extremely high level of experience, he no longer becomes nervous prior to games and is able to control his nerves and emotions throughout the game. Rooney performs at a high level throughout the first half and even scores a touchdown by diving over two defenders into the end zone, but eventually Rooney aggravates his injury just before the end of the first half. At half time, Beaman receives the news from his coach that he will take the field for the rest of the game. As the second half begins and Beaman settles into the game, the music once again is relaxing; a much slower pace than the games earlier in the season. This is important to the overall effect of the movie because it represents the growth of Beaman over the course of the season. It also shows that by being forced to watch Rooney from the sidelines in the midst of a playoff game, Beaman was able to learn from a teammate who has a much higher level of experience in the professional league. With this in mind, Beaman was able to take control of his team.