Week 3

There were two favorite things from the reading for this week. One was continuing to read the biographical information that is included on the composers. The other is reading the synopses regarding the music from some of my favorite films. I really admire the work of Thomas Newman and John Williams, so it was interesting to read the little blurbs about their lives and the music they have composed. I also enjoyed reading about the story behind the music of The Godfather because Nino Rota was denied the Oscar for Best Score in 1972, but went on to win it in 1974 for The Godfather Part II. Rota's love theme from the movie is one of my favorite pieces of music from film. The author also wrote about one of my favorite scenes from the original movie which depicts the baptism of Connie's child, of which Michael is becoming godfather, and the brutal murder of several men. The music is key in this scene because it heightens the emotion of this climatic moment. It also helps to illustrate the irony of the situation because it contrasts the sacred with the sinful and made it one of the most powerful scenes in the film.

Among the movies and topics we discussed this week in class were jazz as underscore and the use of popular songs. Though I really love the use of the symphony orchestra in film, I thought it was refreshing to hear that style of music more heavily employed. My favorite examples of this trend was in A Streetcar Named Desire, where it increased the sensuality and gave a sense of setting, and Man with the Golden Arm, which added to the frenetic and tense scenes depicting drug usage and withdrawal.

I also thought about the question that you posed last week about history and why people choose to study it or not. It's somewhat hard to articulate, but I think the main reason why I love history so much is not only because it provides the people living in the present with a link or connection to the people of the past, but also because I think it's how I have chosen to explore truth. I had a conversation with a former Converse graduate a few years ago that has really stuck with me and ultimately helped me to decide what I wanted to choose for my college major. She said that whatever each of us chooses to be passionate about, whether that be biology, music or poetry, is how we prefer to explore and analyze the world around us. This idea really makes sense to me. History is my way of relating the world in which I live to the people, ideas, movements, and causes that came before. It helps me to see purpose and depth in the world. That might be a really complicated answer to a really simple question, but I think that, and the fact that I think history is just plain cool, is what is at the core of the real reason.

I must begin by saying that the western film genre is not exactly among my favorites, however, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed watching High Noon this week. Not only did the story line grab my interest, but I also felt that the music was a crucial element in the movie. Tiomkin's use of the recurrent musical theme introduced in the beginning by Tex Ritter's 'Do Not Forsake Me' was a really clever and unique way of tying the movie together-- even if it did signal the sad end of the beloved Studio Era. I loved To Kill A Mockingbird! Although I had seen it before, it seemed different now that I knew to focus my attention on the film score. I definitely noticed elements of Aaron Copland's Americana style, which made sense when I read that Elmer Bernstein was greatly inspired by his work. I think it was the perfect complement to the moving story. Although American Graffiti was released in the 1970s, I thought Lucas and Coppola did an excellent job of selecting music that recreated the vibe of the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was also a lot of fun to sing along with the songs while watching the work of what are virtually baby versions of some of today's most famous and respected actors/directors.