Sound and fury? Film score and the geopolitics of instrumental music

Abstract

2016). Of less concern is music. Where music has been addressed, accounts generally consider lyrical rather than instrumental, treating music as another kind of meaning-rich text (Boulton, 2008;Street, 2013;Liu, An & Zhu, 2015). What is sometimes acknowledged in these analyses, but largely unexplored, is the conceptualisation of instrumental music as a mode of communication in itself -able to convey emotion, feeling, and certain understandings of space and place. In this article, an initial sounding of this area is made, focusing on instrumental, diegetic film score (music without lyrics composed to accompany film, which the audience can hear, but the film's characters cannot). 1 Drawing from wider work in human geography that has considered sound from non-representational perspectives, and film music studies, the discussion here broadens understandings of how geopolitical knowledges are produced and communicated.Film score is paradoxical. At one extreme, it is considered a method of supplementing the slower parts of a movie's narrative: "no one notices it, except that something would be missing if it were not there" (Scheurer, 1998, p. 172). At the other extreme, score is seen as central to filmmakingrequired for a great film to be great, and with the ability to save a film that might otherwise fail (Scheurer, 1998). An award for Best Score has been presented at the Oscars since 1935. More popular amongst many audiences than the classical canon, film score has been integrated into the repertoires of many international orchestras, helping to keep orchestras solvent (Kalinak, 2010). The world's leading film composers -such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfmancommand salaries of up to $2 million per picture, making them competitive with leading actors and directors. In this article, the focus is on Western film score, but scores for non-Hollywood productions, including Bollywood, are becoming increasingly popular globally. Composers such as the Indian, A. R. Rahman, have blurred these divides, scoring productions around the world.Like language, music is built on units, grammars, forms of expression. For Timothy Scheurer, from the perspective of film music studies, these are "aural building blocks that, due to a host of

Geography and film music: Musicology, gender, and the spatiality of instrumental music

“…This is a notable omission, given that, beyond its ability to accompany and accentuate what is seen on‐screen, “[film] music can express what the image in itself cannot, especially characters’ moods and feelings” (Buhler, 2019, p. 23). In this paper, the small amount of geographical work that has addressed film music is foregrounded (Brownrigg, 2007; Kirby, 2019). Given that the majority of composed scores are instrumental, this research has highlighted the importance of music’s non‐lyrical dimensions in the communication of geographical knowledge – including exterior aspects like style, and interior aspects like pitch, beat/rhythm/tempo, duration, dynamics, texture, timbre, tonality, and harmony.…”

“…2 | MUSICOLOGY, ACOUSTIC GENDERING, AND FILM MUSIC 2.1 | Gender, neo-romanticism, and the classical tradition in Hollywood scores Geographical work on gender in film and music mirrors broader geographical work on these mediagenerally, there has been more concern with film than with music. In the sub-fields of political geography and critical geopolitics, film has been explored as a key site in the creation of gendered norms (e.g., Dittmer & Bos, 2019;Funnell & Dodds, 2017;Glynn & Cupples, 2015;Kirby, 2015Kirby, , 2019. This has built on Laura Mulvey's (1975) path-breaking work on women's subordinate position in classic Hollywood film, and the many contributions that followed (e.g., Brown, 2011;Jeffords, 1994;Kennedy, 2018;Lindner, 2017;Richardson, 2019).…”

“…5 "Classic Hollywood film music" in this paper refers to film music during the period of "classic Hollywood" (1910s-1960s), rather than 'classical music' for films.6 More complex typologies of film music have been proposed elsewhere (e.g.,Kalinak, 1992;Copland, 2010).7 Romantic music incorporates a multiplicity of sub-movements and styles(Plantinga, 1984). In analysis of film music, "Romantic music" is generally employed as shorthand for musical features that achieved prominence during the Romantic period.8 For further reflection on these registers, seeKirby (2019).9 For selections from these four scores, seeNorey (2016). Where specific musical passages are discussed, the official track title from the published soundtrack is provided.…”

“…During this period, Horner's work attained a peak of commercial achievement (Davison, 2004), complementing celebratory perspectives on the American project prominent in popular culture immediately after the Cold War. explored as a key site in the creation of gendered norms (e.g., Dittmer & Bos, 2019;Funnell & Dodds, 2017;Glynn & Cupples, 2015;Kirby, 2015Kirby, , 2019. This has built on Laura Mulvey's (1975) path-breaking work on women's subordinate position in classic Hollywood film, and the many contributions that followed (e.g., Brown, 2011;Jeffords, 1994;Kennedy, 2018;Lindner, 2017;Richardson, 2019).…”

Musical Geopolitics: Masculinity, Nationhood, and the Scoring of Superman (1978–2006)

“…This characterises the majority of references in popular geopolitics, too, where film music is usually referenced tangentially (Carter and McCormack 2006;Pinkerton 2008), if at all. These brief references are built upon here, alongside emerging work on this topic (Brownrigg 2007;Kirby 2019Kirby , 2021, to examine how instrumental film music communicates a rich array of geopolitical information to audiences. Previous research has generally considered film music in the aggregate or the oeuvres of particular composers, this article undertakes a close reading of a single case study, the Superman film franchise, focusing on the era in which the composer John Williams' music chiefly represented this character.…”