Diegetic Music

I thought our discussion about diegetic music yesterday was going to be horribly dull, but it actually ended up making me think quite a bit. Go figure, right?

When we go to see a movie, we expect music to be there. We know that when the big emotional moment happens, the music will swell and our hearts will be warmed. We know that when the killer sneaks up behind the unexpecting teenage couple to murder them, the music is going to get so creepy that we just might have to close our eyes in anticipation. We expect this, and I think for the most part we enjoy it. I mean, music is a huuuge part of the movie experience, especially in Hollywood films. If it wasn't there, I know I for one would be disgusted and disappointed. So many films rely on music in a big way. Let's face it--the storylines of most movies these days just aren't gripping enough to give a really stellar effect without diegetic music.

What's really interesting is when filmmmakers decide to leave the music out of big scenes. We talked about this in class, and a few examples immediately popped into my mind. "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," which I FINALLY saw over break and is unbelievably good (seriously, go rent it) features music throughout most of the movie. However, during a pivotal scene during the end, when a tragic thing happens, the music disappears. We sit in silence as we watch disjointed flashbacks occur, until suddenly we're taken back into the film to see what happened. It was incredibly jarring. Had there been music there, the effect wouldn't have been as strong. Another good example of the abscence of music(and sound altogether for that matter) comes from the movie "Jarhead," which everyone but me seems to hate. In the middle of a bombing scene, the sound disappears. We watch Jake Gyllenhaal's character stand there, unprotected and seemingly oblivious to what's going on around him as things around him explode and his fellow soldiers yell to him to get down. He watches them lazily. This shows how emotionally numb war has made him, how unattached from the real world he has become. It's a pretty intense moment. Once again, if there had been sound there, the effect would have been severely lessened. Pretty interesting.

I have one final thing to share about music in movies. Last night I saw the movie "Amazing Grace," about the slave trade in Britain. It was an OK movie, a bit cheesy and dull at times, but overall a decent film. At the end of the movie, while the credits rolled, a traditional band played "Amazing Grace," the way they would at the funeral of an important person. My friends and I got up, not thinking much about it, but no one else moved. We ended up standing in the back of the theater. No one moved until the band stopped playing. Then they all applauded. It was fascinating, something I've never seen at a movie theater before. I guess this shows how strongly certain songs effect us in such strong ways. Pretty cool.