LEC 2 | MW 12:30 - 15:15 | CHF 202 | Outline | |||
Notes: Music in contemporary film today represents the most important point of contact for many people with the great symphonic musical traditions that underpin Western musical culture and also (for good and bad) serves as a primary point of contact for the music and culture of non-Western peoples. Films are also filled with popular music, and the intersection of music and image does important work in creating our image of ourselves as a people, giving us common references that are essential for a vibrant culture. The great irony of film music is that, for a long time and still in many cases, film scores were designed to be almost unheard. Music slips in and out of the narrative, usually without drawing our attention. It is for this reason that the early film composers were much maligned by their art music contemporaries. Even now, when the scholarly study of film music is relatively common, many people simply do not hear the wonderful things going on in the score. Therefore, we will begin by re-learning how to listen to film, how to hear what in places has been artfully concealed. Our focus will be on the music of Hollywood film, since its richness could never be exhausted by a single course. If you have interests in European cinema, Bollywood or other filmic traditions, you will get some exposure to them in this course and hopefully will feel inspired to look and listen to these films in a new and rewarding way. |