HNC Photography, IFC - Coursework, Introduction to Film Culture Blog, Part five - Suspension of disbelief, Research & Reflection IFC
The auditory senses along with the sense of smell are the most powerful at helping trigger an emotional response in humans – either good or bad. A particular food smell, for example, could evoke reminders of school, the lunches, served there, which then can the release a torrent of memories and emotions, lost friendships, exam tension may be bullying. Although it doesn’t always have to bad a bad memory, the fresh smell of lavender and lemon could evoke memories of a summer in the south of France.
The same is true with sounds, with a simple click, through the bird song to orchestral overtures and the mumble pop song the can all conjure up a multitude of emotions and because there has never been any serious development in supplement the cinema experience with the smell it is with the soundtrack filmmakers enhance their movies.
In her article on the BBC Website “How do filmmakers manipulate our emotions with music?” Helen Stewart cites several examples of how music and in lack of it has been used to sway the audience’s emotion in certain ways. For example, Bette Davis knew that her role in Dark Victory was potentially Oscar material playing a dying heiress; however, she knew that the material was going greatly advanced as the movie was to be scored by Max Steiner who had previously written one of the cinemas first bespoke scores for King Kong. That score which had given so much emotion to the film that audiences were sympathetic to a giant ape.(Stewart, 2013)
There are other examples over the years of use that have brought extra tension to a scene, the shower scene in Hitchcock’s Psycho with its stabbing jarring violin now which combined with the inspired editing leaves the audience in no doubt as to what is happening. However, the scene in The Godfather where Michael shoots his father’s enemies it not music that toys with our emotions but the rattle of a passing train which adds to Michaels panic and urgency.
The addition of a score as we have discussed above and earlier in the course plays with the audience’s emotions and guides them as they watch the narrative unfold; however they also become part of the audiences memories and total viewing experience – because like the food smells mentioned above they bring back memories. I personally cannot hear the opening fanfare from Star Wars without being immediately being thrown back to being a seven-year-old in the cinema seeing it for the first time or hear iconic theme from The Magnificent Seven and again I’m around eleven on a Sunday afternoon suddenly realising that there was more to cinema than World War Two films. This emotional touchstone to culture has had it boundaries pushed over last 30 years or so with the pop song soundtrack.
As mentioned in the course notes, The Graduate was the first film to fully utilise existing songs in the soundtrack of the film to help drive the narrative, however, these songs (in the case of The Graduate all by Simon & Garfunkel) became inseparable from the film. This is a trend that has grown and over the years with more and more film using these as touchstones to our emotions. In some lesser known songs are picked up and given a who new lease of life “Little Green Bag” by George Baker Selection is inseparable from the open segment of Reservoir Dogs
Others play on our memories outside of the cinema and bring is closer to the character for example the jukebox soundtrack of Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy. The solitary cassette of an eclectic mix of 70’s and 80’s music is main protagonist Peter Quills only link to his mother, but the songs chosen are “cheesy pop classics” which draw on our own emotions and memories and bring is closer to Peter and also forever links these songs with the movie.
To wrap up this post I want to share a moment in a film that I think perfectly show a what would be a great set piece is elevated by the perfect choice of soundtrack and believe it speaks for itself.
Bibliography
Stewart, H. (2013). How film music manipulates emotions. [online] BBC Arts & Culture. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/0/24083243 [Accessed 18 Jul. 2017].
YouTube. (2014). X Men Days Of the Future Past QuickSilver Scene HD. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NnyVc8r2SM&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 18 Jul. 2017].
YouTube. (2011). Reservoir Dogs Opening Titles [Full HD]. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Xi3ioasik&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 18 Jul. 2017].
YouTube. (2015). Guardians of the Galaxy – Come and get your love – dance scene [HQ]. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_jRQBGKPaA&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 18 Jul. 2017].