The document summarizes Caryl Flinn's book "Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music". It discusses how the romantic ideals and aesthetics prevalent in film music of the 1930s-1940s Hollywood era contributed to a sense of utopian pleasure for viewers. However, Flinn situates this utopian ideal within the actual conditions of studio production and reception, critiquing the nostalgic tendencies while exposing inherent dystopic pressures. Two of Flinn's compelling ideas are exploring how music can undermine the visual narrative in film, and how music has potential to rupture or disturb the image narrative.
The document summarizes Caryl Flinn's book "Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music". It discusses how the romantic ideals and aesthetics prevalent in film music of the 1930s-1940s Hollywood era contributed to a sense of utopian pleasure for viewers. However, Flinn situates this utopian ideal within the actual conditions of studio production and reception, critiquing the nostalgic tendencies while exposing inherent dystopic pressures. Two of Flinn's compelling ideas are exploring how music can undermine the visual narrative in film, and how music has potential to rupture or disturb the image narrative.
The document summarizes Caryl Flinn's book "Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music". It discusses how the romantic ideals and aesthetics prevalent in film music of the 1930s-1940s Hollywood era contributed to a sense of utopian pleasure for viewers. However, Flinn situates this utopian ideal within the actual conditions of studio production and reception, critiquing the nostalgic tendencies while exposing inherent dystopic pressures. Two of Flinn's compelling ideas are exploring how music can undermine the visual narrative in film, and how music has potential to rupture or disturb the image narrative.
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Noles, Second Sevies, VoI. 50, No. 4 |Jun., 1994), pp. 1420-1422 FuIIisIed I Music LiIvav Associalion SlaIIe UBL http://www.jstor.org/stable/898328 . Accessed 31/01/2014 1236 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . Music Library Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.205.57.218 on Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:36:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions NOTES, June 1994 NOTES, June 1994 such speculation) that Norma's music does not contain" (p. 170). Well, of course, a man certainly may not risk such a specu- lation, and neither may a woman these days. Littlejohn goes on to cite Maria Callas as the embodiment of the "supreme and independent difference of gender." Strange attributions for a critic who spends paragraphs of his introduction denying commonality of affect. Unfortunately, Lit- tlejohn has missed entirely Clement's point that Norma and other operas with such characters inscribe the "dangerous woman" as an icon, and then annihilate her. Clem- ent does not seek representation of "sis- terhood" or "defiant independence of men" in either Norma the character nor in Norma the work, but in her own subversive response to the composer's and librettist's creation, their "imitation dead women" (Clement, 177). Littlejohn treads a delicate line between curiosity shop and the truly informative. His obvious and deep love of opera in the end makes up for most of the book's short- comings. Don't miss the preface and the suggestions for further reading: in these, he explains the genesis of the essays and apologizes for the lack of consistency in footnotes (since the essays were originally written as liner notes for a program, foot- notes were not needed, and it was impos- sible to recreate some of the sources). His offer to the reader to contact him for fur- ther information is generous, but probably won't be of much use to the scholar. In any case, this book is not geared to the scholar, but to a sort of generalized operagoer: someone who is familiar with the repertory, not too adventuresome in taste, but neither ignorant nor fixated on ten or twelve stan- dards. Someone such as Littlejohn himself. A more thoughtful harmony between pic- tures and prose, and color photographs instead of black-and-white, would have greatly enhanced the volume. RENEE COLWELL Hunter College, City University of New York Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music. By Caryl Flinn. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. [195 p. ISBN 0-691- 04801-0. $39.50.] such speculation) that Norma's music does not contain" (p. 170). Well, of course, a man certainly may not risk such a specu- lation, and neither may a woman these days. Littlejohn goes on to cite Maria Callas as the embodiment of the "supreme and independent difference of gender." Strange attributions for a critic who spends paragraphs of his introduction denying commonality of affect. Unfortunately, Lit- tlejohn has missed entirely Clement's point that Norma and other operas with such characters inscribe the "dangerous woman" as an icon, and then annihilate her. Clem- ent does not seek representation of "sis- terhood" or "defiant independence of men" in either Norma the character nor in Norma the work, but in her own subversive response to the composer's and librettist's creation, their "imitation dead women" (Clement, 177). Littlejohn treads a delicate line between curiosity shop and the truly informative. His obvious and deep love of opera in the end makes up for most of the book's short- comings. Don't miss the preface and the suggestions for further reading: in these, he explains the genesis of the essays and apologizes for the lack of consistency in footnotes (since the essays were originally written as liner notes for a program, foot- notes were not needed, and it was impos- sible to recreate some of the sources). His offer to the reader to contact him for fur- ther information is generous, but probably won't be of much use to the scholar. In any case, this book is not geared to the scholar, but to a sort of generalized operagoer: someone who is familiar with the repertory, not too adventuresome in taste, but neither ignorant nor fixated on ten or twelve stan- dards. Someone such as Littlejohn himself. A more thoughtful harmony between pic- tures and prose, and color photographs instead of black-and-white, would have greatly enhanced the volume. RENEE COLWELL Hunter College, City University of New York Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music. By Caryl Flinn. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. [195 p. ISBN 0-691- 04801-0. $39.50.] The romantic ideals and aesthetic prev- alent in film music of the classical Holly- wood era (1930s and 1940s), as well as in the critical discourse surrounding it, con- tributed to a sense of utopian plenitude for the viewer-auditor. In Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music, Caryl Flinn situates this utopian ideal and the romantic aesthetic used to create it within the actual conditions of studio work and production procedures, and within the conditions of reception and subjectivity in- herent in the process of upholding such an ideal. In so doing, she critiques the nos- talgic, utopian tendencies of the music and its critical discourse, while exposing the dystopic pressures inherent in the support- ing ideological systems and processes of production and consumption. Thus the word "strains" in the title can be under- stood to refer not only to the strains of music and the accompanying strain of dis- course used to create utopian ideals, but also to the inherent strain (in the sense of force or pressure) that threatens the co- hesion and stability strived for in creating such ideals. Flinn presents two of her most compel- ling ideas in the introduction. Using Jean- Louis Comolli's concept of the "ideology of the visual" she exposes the epistemological privileges accorded to sight at the expense of hearing (pp. 6-7). In film, as in Western culture, sound functions as sight's "other"; the visual is associated with knowledge and rationality ("I see" = "I understand"), while sound is associated with the irrational and emotional ("I hear you" = "I empa- thize"). In film, music can serve to under- mine the semiotic processes of the narrative provided by image, thus acting as the "ruin of representation" (p. 7). This brings us to the second important point, which is the potential of music to rupture or otherwise disturb the narrative of the image-track. This concept provides an important basis for Flinn's examination of music as social surfeit or excess, which she develops in her discussion of Julia Kristeva and Roland Barthes in chapter 2 and Ernst Bloch in chapter 4; and in chapter 5 she incorpo- rates this idea into her analyses of classical genres. Chapter 1 serves not only to outline the history of the use of music in film and the concurrent history of music's place in The romantic ideals and aesthetic prev- alent in film music of the classical Holly- wood era (1930s and 1940s), as well as in the critical discourse surrounding it, con- tributed to a sense of utopian plenitude for the viewer-auditor. In Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music, Caryl Flinn situates this utopian ideal and the romantic aesthetic used to create it within the actual conditions of studio work and production procedures, and within the conditions of reception and subjectivity in- herent in the process of upholding such an ideal. In so doing, she critiques the nos- talgic, utopian tendencies of the music and its critical discourse, while exposing the dystopic pressures inherent in the support- ing ideological systems and processes of production and consumption. Thus the word "strains" in the title can be under- stood to refer not only to the strains of music and the accompanying strain of dis- course used to create utopian ideals, but also to the inherent strain (in the sense of force or pressure) that threatens the co- hesion and stability strived for in creating such ideals. Flinn presents two of her most compel- ling ideas in the introduction. Using Jean- Louis Comolli's concept of the "ideology of the visual" she exposes the epistemological privileges accorded to sight at the expense of hearing (pp. 6-7). In film, as in Western culture, sound functions as sight's "other"; the visual is associated with knowledge and rationality ("I see" = "I understand"), while sound is associated with the irrational and emotional ("I hear you" = "I empa- thize"). In film, music can serve to under- mine the semiotic processes of the narrative provided by image, thus acting as the "ruin of representation" (p. 7). This brings us to the second important point, which is the potential of music to rupture or otherwise disturb the narrative of the image-track. This concept provides an important basis for Flinn's examination of music as social surfeit or excess, which she develops in her discussion of Julia Kristeva and Roland Barthes in chapter 2 and Ernst Bloch in chapter 4; and in chapter 5 she incorpo- rates this idea into her analyses of classical genres. Chapter 1 serves not only to outline the history of the use of music in film and the concurrent history of music's place in 1420 1420 This content downloaded from 128.205.57.218 on Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:36:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Book Reviews the critical discourse on film; it also pre- sents readers with one of the essential par- adoxes of classical film music and its con- temporary critical discourse: while music was considered subservient to the narrative presented by the image-track, it was also acknowledged to provide a sense of con- tinuity, uniformity, and (ironically) realism that the film image ontologically lacked; music restored a sense of the human which had been obliterated in the technological processes of film production. Thus the film score carried meaning only inasmuch as it compensated for lacunae within the text, the filming apparatus, or the moment of consumption. According to Flinn, this com- pensatory function "suggests that what ul- timately preoccupies the classical tradition is not so much the representational defi- ciencies of film music but the deficiencies and inadequacies of human subjectivity and the cinema more generally" (p. 40). The enlarged subjectivity perceived in the late romantic style of music used in classical film held great importance for all aspects of film production and consumption. This first chapter highlights both the strong points and the more problematic as- pects of Flinn's project. The comparison of the romantic aesthetic used in classical film music with the contemporary critical dis- course is at times rather confusing, al- though in the end it is the interface be- tween the two which reveals the most interesting relationships. For instance, Flinn asserts that the sense of completion and synthesis evoked by the interaction of music with other cinematic elements is "an effect produced by a vast array of support- ing discourses and technologies" (p. 48). While she devotes a fair amount of space to exploring the technological construction of completion and synthesis, she does not adequately explain what role the critical discourse plays to that end for the average moviegoer: surely film theory books were not sold at the counter along with the pop- corn; presumably the less viewers-auditors knew about how the illusions were con- structed, the more convincing the construc- tion would be. Flinn's views on the importance of gen- der issues in film music crystallize in chap- ter 2, when she examines, from the point of view of psychoanalysis, Barthes's and Kristeva's discussions of music; other gen- der and music issues, however, seem to jump off the page but go seemingly un- noticed by Flinn. The chapter on Barthes and Kristeva is essential in establishing the aspect of anteriority granted music by psychoanalytic and contemporary critical theory, which understand music as being related to the lost maternal object, to an irretrievable sense of plenitude linked to the sounds and the sense of unity expe- rienced by an infant during the pre- Oedipal, preverbal stage of development. Thus anteriority becomes feminized, and the desire for the lost maternal object is partially fulfilled in the plenitude and unity of music; but because the coherence of mu- sic is constructed, a sense of loss still pre- vails. Flinn's exploration of Kristeva raises important issues with regard to the poten- tial for feminine subjectivity in narrative, issues which are taken up by Flinn in her analysis of the maternal melodrama Penny Serenade (pp. 137-50). However, Flinn could have pursued more explicitly the common association- particularly marked in the romantic aes- thetic and ideals of the classical film-of both women and music with passivity, in- completion, non-self-sufficiency, irrational- ity, the subconscious, and subservience to and contingency upon the typically male, privileged position of narrative and dis- course. Perhaps, understandably, Flinn has no desire to reinscribe these associations. Still, the subject merits further exploration in the context of film production, con- sumption, and critical discourse. By far the weakest element of Flinn's book is her poor understanding of and consequent generalizations concerning the technical aspects of music. While she does explain in the introduction that she does not have musical training, this does not prevent her from making statements which, although perhaps easily accessible to the general reader, persistently detract from her arguments. Furthermore, her technically limited grasp of music weakens her discussion of Theodor Adorno in chap- ter 3. Although she does try to account for Adorno's ambiguous feelings of loss and nostalgia and consequent desire for unity in music, she does not fully elucidate Adorno's concept of unity as a dialectic reconciliation of opposites, and thereby misses a crucial dimension of his thought 1421 This content downloaded from 128.205.57.218 on Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:36:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions NOTES, June 1994 NOTES, June 1994 -a dimension that she could have devel- oped in her own analyses. Still, despite problems of technical terminology and pre- cision, Flinn is one of the few scholars to attempt to discuss some of the most in- teresting and important issues underlying the roles of music in film. Given her limited ability to discuss music qua music, it is appropriate that in her de- tailed analyses of film noir and the ma- ternal melodrama, Flinn focuses on films in which music functions both diegetically (that is, as part of the narrative, for in- stance, when a character actually plays an instrument or a record), and nondiegeti- cally (that is, music composed to "accom- pany" the image-track). Just as the inter- -a dimension that she could have devel- oped in her own analyses. Still, despite problems of technical terminology and pre- cision, Flinn is one of the few scholars to attempt to discuss some of the most in- teresting and important issues underlying the roles of music in film. Given her limited ability to discuss music qua music, it is appropriate that in her de- tailed analyses of film noir and the ma- ternal melodrama, Flinn focuses on films in which music functions both diegetically (that is, as part of the narrative, for in- stance, when a character actually plays an instrument or a record), and nondiegeti- cally (that is, music composed to "accom- pany" the image-track). Just as the inter- face between music and criticism sheds new light on the production of meaning, so too the interface between diegetic and nondi- egetic music in both these films exposes various levels of meaning and narrative functions fulfilled by the music. The most successful aspect of her anal- yses, and of the book in general, is Flinn's ability to show how both music and critical discourse can serve potentially dystopic functions, straining the idealized notions of utopia that dominated the classical film, and exposing them for what she claims they were: nostalgic constructions of false unity. NANCY BERMAN McGill University face between music and criticism sheds new light on the production of meaning, so too the interface between diegetic and nondi- egetic music in both these films exposes various levels of meaning and narrative functions fulfilled by the music. The most successful aspect of her anal- yses, and of the book in general, is Flinn's ability to show how both music and critical discourse can serve potentially dystopic functions, straining the idealized notions of utopia that dominated the classical film, and exposing them for what she claims they were: nostalgic constructions of false unity. NANCY BERMAN McGill University THEORY, ANALYSIS THEORY, ANALYSIS The Harmony of the Spheres: A Sourcebook of the Pythagorean Tra- dition in Music. Edited by Joscelyn Godwin. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Tradi- tions International, 1993. [xiii, 495 p. ISBN 0-89281-265-6. $29.95.] Mathematical Models of Musical Scales: A New Approach. By Mark Lindley and Ronald Turner-Smith. (Orpheus-Schriftenreihe zu Grund- fragen der Musik, 66.) Bonn: Verlag fur systematische Musikwissenschaft, 1993. [308 p. ISBN 3-922626-66-1. DM72.00.] Joscelyn Godwin's Sourcebook of the Pythagorean Tradition is an anthology of fifty-two excerpts from Greek, Latin, Ara- bic, Hebrew, Italian, French, German, and English treatises, from the 5th century B.C.E. to the nineteenth century C.E., con- taining music-theoretic interpretations of the structure of the universe, the move- ments of the planets, and the geometry of the zodiac. Most of the excerpts are elab- orations of Timaeus's description, in Plato's famous dialogue, of the demiurge's musical plan for the cosmos. The treatises excerpted range from the inevitable (Plato, Ptolemy, Boethius, Marsilio Ficino, Henricus Glareanus, Rob- ert Fludd, Johannes Kepler, Athanasius Kircher) through the unexpected (St. Atha- The Harmony of the Spheres: A Sourcebook of the Pythagorean Tra- dition in Music. Edited by Joscelyn Godwin. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Tradi- tions International, 1993. [xiii, 495 p. ISBN 0-89281-265-6. $29.95.] Mathematical Models of Musical Scales: A New Approach. By Mark Lindley and Ronald Turner-Smith. (Orpheus-Schriftenreihe zu Grund- fragen der Musik, 66.) Bonn: Verlag fur systematische Musikwissenschaft, 1993. [308 p. ISBN 3-922626-66-1. DM72.00.] Joscelyn Godwin's Sourcebook of the Pythagorean Tradition is an anthology of fifty-two excerpts from Greek, Latin, Ara- bic, Hebrew, Italian, French, German, and English treatises, from the 5th century B.C.E. to the nineteenth century C.E., con- taining music-theoretic interpretations of the structure of the universe, the move- ments of the planets, and the geometry of the zodiac. Most of the excerpts are elab- orations of Timaeus's description, in Plato's famous dialogue, of the demiurge's musical plan for the cosmos. The treatises excerpted range from the inevitable (Plato, Ptolemy, Boethius, Marsilio Ficino, Henricus Glareanus, Rob- ert Fludd, Johannes Kepler, Athanasius Kircher) through the unexpected (St. Atha- nasius, Gioseffo Zarlino, Isaac Newton, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Giuseppe Tartini, Arthur Schopenhauer) to the obscure (Cal- cidius, Isaac ben Haim, Alphonse Tous- senel, Peter Singer). Their quality ranges from Proclus's provocative commentary on Timaeus's plan to Censorinus's supersti- tious speculation on birthdays. Taken to- gether, they make the case for close study of a tradition whose polythetic richness is compensation for its monothetic improb- ability. The greater number of the translations are the editor's (four, however, apparently made from French and German versions of the Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew originals). Godwin's consistent style is evidence of his knowledge of, and conviction about, the tradition. As for the other translations, the decision to use Thomas Taylor's of Plato and Proclus (and not to use Charles Wallis's of Kepler) is evidence of his good taste. Godwin's modest notes are intended to get nonspecialist readers over the rough spots; for a more systematic account of the tradition, see his monograph Harmonies of Heaven and Earth (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions International, 1987). His fre- quent references here to that work and to another anthology (Godwin's Music, Mysti- cism and Magic: A Sourcebook [London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986]), together with the fact that these excerpts suffer from lack of context, point up the non- divisibility of esoteric traditions into parts assimilable by conventional disciplines. nasius, Gioseffo Zarlino, Isaac Newton, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Giuseppe Tartini, Arthur Schopenhauer) to the obscure (Cal- cidius, Isaac ben Haim, Alphonse Tous- senel, Peter Singer). Their quality ranges from Proclus's provocative commentary on Timaeus's plan to Censorinus's supersti- tious speculation on birthdays. Taken to- gether, they make the case for close study of a tradition whose polythetic richness is compensation for its monothetic improb- ability. The greater number of the translations are the editor's (four, however, apparently made from French and German versions of the Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew originals). Godwin's consistent style is evidence of his knowledge of, and conviction about, the tradition. As for the other translations, the decision to use Thomas Taylor's of Plato and Proclus (and not to use Charles Wallis's of Kepler) is evidence of his good taste. Godwin's modest notes are intended to get nonspecialist readers over the rough spots; for a more systematic account of the tradition, see his monograph Harmonies of Heaven and Earth (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions International, 1987). His fre- quent references here to that work and to another anthology (Godwin's Music, Mysti- cism and Magic: A Sourcebook [London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986]), together with the fact that these excerpts suffer from lack of context, point up the non- divisibility of esoteric traditions into parts assimilable by conventional disciplines. 1422 1422 This content downloaded from 128.205.57.218 on Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:36:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions