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    Jeff Smith

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    marianoferrari

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    ———————___ G © seven # Movie Music as Moving Music: motion, Cognition, and the Film Score JEFF SMITH LY Inco ene atthe endl of David Lyncis flim The Elephant Man (180) fa eels to moveme.n thisscene John Mertick John Hurt) thesia, re ccigured tile character, decides to end his own fe trough aor ple ture that most of us take for granted, After an evening sojourn tothe te, ry pea body ultimately precludes that acceptance is beautifully layed out by both director Lynch and actor John Hurt, and no matter hewy ‘many times {see the film, it brings a lump to my throat, “Yet while the guleless spectator in me reaches forthe tissues, the analyst in me asks why this scene produces such an emotional response, Can my re- tick’ plight, by the plaintive strains of Samuel Bar by some combination of the two? Does Barber's Ene emotional features or does it provide an afective charge alte ror a ree be reconciled with contrasting responses from ather spec. ‘ators, such as indifference or derision? suit questions ate raised by a famous scene from Stanley Kubrick's Jeveckwork Orange (1971).As Alex (Malcolm McDowell) undergoes the i dovico treatment, he watches a film assembled out of nauseating footage from pomo films and newsreels. Although Alex witnesses filmic representa tions of rape, genocide, and nuclear destruction, he is most horrified by the Hace ecthoven to accompany this film. Alex protests this desecration this beloved “Ludwig van,” but is told that the music acts as an emotional en- lar Movie Music as Moving Music John Merrick (ohn Hurt) in David Lynch's The Elephant Mon (1960). ithin-the-film may not share Alex’s trol etic cine he ny ones wy mo scene from A Clockwork Orange described above not ea a Western culture might be implica al es itis often assumed that its most ir 4 at Tania is as a signifier of emotion. As a number of oe tates =e zest the prevailing mood of a scene, and promptan ps9 me cate ¢ from spectators. The latter would seem especially sig ee Se using thoven in the first place. eee film music and emotion remains somewhat mysterious. 148 tha thes le ropertes ona nn a eels can best be underwood within acon ates and motivist theories of muisea i tie ener hate a se ast Conti jonal meanings asian of cognitivist_ orev of masala torlisteners, ei dips of al look at two, Processes ata a ee music: Polarization and affective cor = = ch he pectic atte ry and psy- ur emotional ce. The ist of character of the Produced by the music or visual tra Why propose ac Ro one rather simpler eat fl msicand Movie Music as Moving Music 149 cither explicitly or implicitly adopts a cognitive slant to questions of mm reception. Although I do not wish to overstate the case, the unifying ele- tment of this diverse body of literature isthe basic assumption that listeners ‘mentally model musical structures and “chunk” musical information in their processing of any musical soundstream. OF course, the predominance of any theoretical school is no guarantee of its validity or explanatory power. After ail if popularity was the only criterion for the validity of a hypothesis, then this same argument could easily be used to support psychoanalytic theories of cinema at the expense of cognitive accounts. Rather, I simply note the prevalence of cognitive music theory to suggest it is both a natural place to begin one’s research and a tradition of music scholarship that is well worth engaging. ‘Yet while cognitivist assumptions have guided much of the work done in music theory and analysis, they have had very little purchase in the study of film music. As I have pointed out elsewhere, much of this current work ‘on film mesic is more clearly situated within the doctrinal confines of post- structuralist and psychoanalytic theories of cinema. In laying out discus- sions of the film score’s dramatic functions, many of these scholars adopt kind of folk model of musical affect rooted in the widespread association of music and emotional expression. ‘As Murray Smith notes, however, folk models of emotional engagement ‘may be widely used and understood, but they generally lack the comprehen- siveness and systematicity associated with a full-blown theory.*To illustrate the pertinence of Smith's rematks to the study of film music, | propose that we take a doser look at a typical instance of this school of criticism. Samuel Chel’s analysis of The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) provides a useful refer~ ence point for this discussion insofar as it explicitly adopts the assumptions of poststructuralist and psychoanalytic film criticism, but ultimately uses an analytical approach much closer to the folk model” CChell kegins his essay by situating film music within the context of Met- // sian and Gudartian concepts of subject positioning, For Chell, music serves as one of many means of “suturing” the spectator into the fictive world, al beit one that works at an entirely emotional level. By creating an emotional _ bond among film, character, and spectator, the film score authorizes the spec- {att “ea the emotion depicted on scree as is wn this waprihe score serves to bind Viewers to fictions, it not only represents the characters’ ‘@iiattons; but it also reproduces this emotional response in spectators. In Chel’ account, music operates as a kind of textual inscription of the spec- tator’s response insofar as the emotional curve of the film's music aurally re- flects the emotional experience of the spectator. ‘Yet when Chel finally gets around to analyzing the music for The Best Years of Our Lives, he finds very few examples that function exactly in this 130 Jel Smieh way: The one instance cited by Chel! occurs tance cited by Chill occursin the scene where ‘Wilma (Cathy "Donel dears erlve for ee old Russell, Chell writes: Ta cert Wn ten ay as ing the embr of wl siete More commonly, Chell will describe a ha hts “somber” bright” or eerie” andl then van impute that partic. motional qualities ofa scene, br gone tn ne anno ut dos no ec ep a In fact, oneof Cells most crucial i . ‘ost crucial examples, the climactic seenei rt one ic sane in wha tonsaaiay (Dana Andrews) rexperiencesthewar ina eee ya oa warplane ge rant of an "emotional bond In sacs ed oe into warplane about to be scrapped for hosing rhea ts ofth plane Fre arin faunas oe Hein the sims the film, come rushing backtohim. This issih alate dene HOU the sounds ofplneenginesand mines ane ad ert of mchne pe ha commana only tel us what Fred remembers as he ste thoes SSrimunicaes the emotional tuoi ecasionea by a Nee wilig to grant that Triedhofers score wens ‘wn wartime experience, then thine Te Fat the extet that they can specifpand ‘catalog the it score’saffec- Sate amely musi’ ability to enhance the ertionat resp Spectatorss10 sighity the emotional nai Stal6F characters and to convey tne Movie Music as Moving Music a ‘overall mood or tone of a scene. As we will seein the next section, this range of functions depends on a crucial distinction between communicating an, affective component and evoking it. Cognitive theories of film music are not only beter equipped to make that distinction, but they are also betters {o expleining the correspondence Between film music’ affective functions andthe evels of emotionat engagement that are op tatorialresponse, Emotion and Music: Cognitivist Theories versus Emotivist Theories There is perhaps no more contentious issue in the study of music than the {question of how it expresses emotion. Generations of philosophers, aestheti- cians, and theorists have debated this subject and the literature on itis voli ‘minous.Although a complete review of this literature is beyond the scope of this chapter, it may be useful nonetheless to indicate the diverse range of views or this subject. Some theorists, such as Susanne Langer, suggest that ‘music attains semantic significance through its symbolization of emotion Such symbolization, however, dlfers from that of language in that music lacks anything resembling a vocabulary. For Langer, music reflects only the ‘morphology of a general feeling state, butit daes not express more partict- larized emotions, such as anger or melancholy. On this view, certain effects ‘of masicare so similar to emotions in their shape or form that some listen xs naively mistake them for the latter Others, ike Diane Raffiman, modify Langer’s arguments by asserting that emotion in music is “ineffable” in that itis expressed in musical rather than linguistic discourse. For Raflman, mu sic’ expressiveness arises from a delimited class of peculiarly musical feel- ings, such as beat strength, metrical stress, and prolongational tension, Since ‘these musical feelings can only be approximated in language, the affective components of them which elude description are by definition considered ineffable. Stil others, such as Eduard Hanslick and Igor Stravinsky, deny ‘that there is any meaningful relationship between music and emotion. !2 | AtTeaC initially, then, there appears to he a group of theories that ques: tion the validity of my project from the very outset. According to these the- ‘ries, the notion that music is emotionally expressive is either (a) erroneous or (b) understood solely in terms of musical structures that lie outside the realm of verbal or written language. If we take these theorists at their word, then music’s emotional expressiveness would be fundamentally different from that of cinematic narratives. While we might assert that films like Dark Victory (1939) or Terms of Endearment (1983) make us sad, such sentiments ‘would not hold true for the music that accompanies these films, Yet while these theoretical position lie at the heart ofthe debate regard- {ng musical affect, they prove to be largely irrelevant to the notion of film. 152 Jest smith sical alec, For one thing, ‘music and emotion is a brute 4 furly high degree of consistency and int side the realm of, F Most objections to the linkas on a notion of “pure” music ‘aesthetic or ana- age between music other words, 'ytic philosophy. For another, and emotion are premised Moreover, for similar tional object alo falls by the wae eaten that 1c wayside. According to this ving eee ee emotions typ- nally directed, and heroine's embrace at thee tative enables the flm score wo sity, much aba text or tite do ‘onaisa representational an, e mmusical accompaniment the iment toa film can prod weaning, but eater what th dca a ig contributes ire oak epPed the cbjecionofformalsisand'inchebiere Orie Pete other candidates fora theory of flm-inisiah ee tive that remain, the two most significant are the sen ee he in are the cognitivist and emo adiocaicatihe oa ‘ion. Over the} fi thestrongest ter Kivy* In developing his Movie Music as Moving Music 153 theory of musical expressiveness, Kivy draws a crucial distinction between expressing something and being expressive ofthat thing, Using the photograph ‘of a ad-faced Saint Bernard, Kivy argues that the dog in the picture does not feel sadness nor do we in looking at it, but its face is nevertheless expressive ‘of sadness, and we typically recognize this emotional quality in our descrip- tions ofthe photograph, Music, according to Kivy,operatesin much the same ‘way. Although it might be theoretically possible for music to expressthe emo- tional states of composer or listener, Kvy suggests that music does not ordi- narily do so and is more accurately described as being expressive of a partic- ular affective quality. For Kivy, music realizes its emotional expressiveness through particular formal elements, sch as melodic contour, modality, tempo, or dynamics. in mentally processing this musical information, the listener's response is not so mech affective as itis cognitive in that musical expressiveness les in out recognition of emotions rather than Our affective experience of them. "Thus, when we ascribe sadness to apiece of music, weafe not aroused to sad- ness, but instead are applying a set of intersubjective, public criteria for par- ticular musical conventions that are recognized as expressive of sedness, Moreover as Kivy points out,a musical work’ text and ttl often help t car ify these criteria by offering important contextual cues toa piece’s expressive character!” Kivy's theory of musical expressiveness should have obvious appeal for _film-musc scholars insofar as it provides a commonsense approach to the foblem of how film music communicates affect to spectators. By distin Uy x iy ishing between recognizing musical affect and experiencing it, Kiyy’s work ‘oflea sound explanatory framework for two of film music's most impor- {ant dramatic functions. Since spectatorsare able to discern emotional qual~ fron specific musical elements, they can then use that information to ‘evaluate the emotional states of characters or the overall mood of a scene. But what of those spectators who demonstrably share a characters emo- tional staic? And what of my own experience of sadness during the last scene of The E-phant Man? Even if one grants that my own response to The Ele- phant Man is anomalous, one cannot overlook the shared response audiences have to sich emotionally powerful films as Stella Dallas (1937), Breakfast at ‘Tiffany's 's961), Feld of Drearas (1989), and Sckindler’s List (1992). Since Kivy cusses music rather than sad scenes in films, one can only speculate about hhow'he might treat instances such as these.'8 However, if we apply Kivy’s cog nitivist model to such instances, it would appear that film music plays no role in arousing emotions in spectators. Rather the arousal function would seem to depend on other factors, such as our involvement in the narrative situa- tion or our engagement with characters. ‘Such a position, however, seems both counterintuitive and inconsistent may at the very least havea tendency we case for an arousal component of cach of these counterarguments in a lit to arose emotion tn der film-music audition, let sure tle more detail. a Fist ofl lm mae woo iId appear to i insofar as it shares certain t eee ere si ih ther noted earlier, one °s aaa oe me o of Kivy’s chief objections to cae ote lack en intentional object at which the eoton nected. is ecer ak = ae either film or film music. On the contrary, vie orca ee “esse runt sttons ihr indmiigeoe ches ee Rey Kinelsreunion with his father, or Stella Dallas's a 5 —— ng. Here again, the question of whethe cal to the music or the narrative Seas Sacee iis aintconite situation is a moot point since ey » in Claudia Gorbman’s words, as “a combinatoire of Second, a Colin Radford points out in mnustnot co al nanthcobjes tate sasinot cone thas of national eal nh he abjet msises it dos not naa weve Fecal abt tat yl hge. Accrngio adr msconcae enna stnhloga , music operates in a similar cnc at oy tenes may experience the feng of edn i rosea Seyng thy are sad shout the mui In this ep, Bah her cing adsl sere stale cn "eae conditions Just as gry, dll wether tends to depres peopl, ¢ Sapte lee of musi wilted to make listeners fel somber by being beth jaime of hat emotional quality and helping to induce that quit st ri nado arin often oad he: tha rc cause relationship, There i no Kivy and Radford positions ifwe gre tht meats ee, pay arousal rather tion betwee Movie Music as Moving Music 155 to arouse emotion is relatively strong for listeners like Radford and weak for listeners like Kivy. “More important, what the strict cognitivist position overlooks i the ex: ‘to which all emotions are composed of both affective and ‘cognitive ‘components, that is ¥0"Say, a somatic state ‘OF physiological arousal and a” judgment about the state of affairs in the world.# Not coincidentally, each of itiese components corresponds with an element of musical experience that cognitivist and emotivist theorists seek to describe. Thus, rather than see these two positions as mutually exclusive, it might be better to view them as complementary theories accounting for different aspects of the same phe= nomenological experience. Judgment and arousal, thus, would comprise to levels of musics emotional engagement with listeners,.the former being @ ‘necessary aspect of understanding musical affect and the latter a level of en- agement that may or may not be activated depending on the specifics of the listening situation. ‘we accept these as different levels of engagement, then something cru- cial to our interpretation of the scene becomes almost immediately appat- tent: the emotions evoked by the scene are different from those communi ‘ated by thescene. Viewed as an expression of Merrick’ point of view, Samuel Barber's music conveys the character’ felings of resignation and muted regret, However, the mood the scene evokes, atleast in. me,is sadness. This ‘may seem like a subtle distinction, but it arise from a jucgment that my oven smbination of film musi artis eachof hich wll hvets ownindidual emotional a Tus, although judgment and affect enter into all ae : forms of hou adgmen of emotional e flo nd film muse, each may ake precedence over the oe Emotion and the Film Score’ ic ’s Dramatic Functions: Playit ae Mood of the Scene versus the Mood of the Censege nape eis section, I sought to demonstrate the roles played by both Spectator’s emotional response to film music, slightly different ways by a number of scholars, variety of musical and narrative interactions: Fill of continuity (2) reinforces formal and narat see tesco a) underlines the psychological states of characters, shes an overall emotional tone or mood, Whil fonctions may i ope ed = involve aetve element, the last thee ar expecially imps ‘ant in the film score's overall capacity as an emotional signifies they typically encompass a Im music (1) provides a sense ive unity, (3) communicates Movie Music as Moving Music 157 a referentialty that it inherently lacks, In Carroll’s Guriga Din example, the ‘music, which by itself we might describe as bouncy, light, and comic, adds an inexplict layer of emotive significance tothe filmic text, Other cinematic clements, aowever, help to specify and particularize that expressiveness, and asa result the music, narrative, and visual elements together signify the mas- cline, devil-may-care bravado of the film's characters and narrative.2» ‘One might object here thatthe film score merely amplifies affective ele- ‘ments within the scene or contrarly thatthe visual component of cinema is expressive of these more particularized emotional shacings in and of itself. Such objestions, however, prove groundless for two reasons. First ofall, the complementarity inherent in this relation produces a level of meaning and emotive significance that is qualitatively different from the meanings ofthe ‘visual ané music tracks themselves. Second, as Joseph Anderson suggests, spectatorsperceive sound and image information as being generated by sin- sle event, According to Anderson, this perception is the result of cross-modal confirmation by which spectators seek invariant properties of an eventacross ‘modalities. The spectator’s propensity to search for patternsleads him to seek congruence between the emotion of the music and the events unfolding on- screen. While the question of whether the emotions arise out of the music or the narrative might be pertinent to an aesthetician, its moot with respect. to the spectator's cognitive experience of this relation. Yet while Carroll’ theory of modifying music is a compelling application ‘of Kivy’s cognitivist account, itis incomplete. Establishing an overall mood is but one function of the typical film score. Another function is the use of music to signify the emotional state of a character. A recent guide to film scoting refers to this as playing the character’s point of view. To illustrate this idea, the authors cite a scene from Blake Edwards's That's Life (1986) in which Julie Andrews's character, Gillian, sits pensively during a family din- net. To highlight the emotional subtext of the scene, Edwards lowers the vol- ‘ume of the dialogue and sound effects and lets Henry Mancini’s underscore take over. The music in the scene highlights Gillian’s anxiety and communi- cates that state to the audience, even as her family members remain oblivi- ous to it In some instances, composers may be forced to choose between playing the chara:ter’s point of view or the overall mood of the scene. Composer ‘Charles Fax faced just such a decision while scoring Nine zo Five (1980). In ‘one scene, Violet (Lily Tomlin) steals a cadaver from a hospital thinking itis the body of the boss whom she believes she has killed. In scoring the scene, Fox had to choose between playing the character's fear of discovery or high- lighting the overall comic tone of the scene. Fox's dilemma was, in fact, an outgrowth of the film’s narration; Violet believes she isin serious trouble, but the audience knows that she is not. Fox’s music initially played the emo- se Jeff Smith Htiggel te scene a liede broadly, but he was persuaded by director Colin jt to tone down the comic elements and emphasize the protagontae fear of being caught.24 Brad Fiedel’s music for Th Ple of this kind of dramatic function in far sto be a classic example of playing the characters point of view snd cy fact appears to function much lke the music in the Thaye Lifeexample cited Sener During the rape, director Jonathan Kaplan gradually fades soa dlalogue and sound effets and lets Fede!’s music take over. The ae quite

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