The end-point of that part of the lecture (which turned out to be the whole lecture, because, as usual, I didn't rein in the discussion) used the TV show 24 to demonstrate how subtly music in film and television not only represents ethnic groups, but dictates how the narratives want us to feel about them. I noodled about on the piano to show how, in one scene from the fourth season, the heroic "Jack Bauer" theme very quietly transforms into an ominous "arabic" theme--showing us that Bauer will, ultimately, end up in conflict with a group of people, despite the fact that we don't yet know that they are "bad guys." I think it's actually a pretty sophisticated musical passage, at least in its capacity to play on cultural stereotypes to manipulate people's emotional responses to visual images. It's disgusting, of course, but clever.
It occurred to me, however, that prefacing what seems to me to be a subtle practice with such a massively blatant satire of it might make it clearer. After all, the satire of Trey Parker and Matt Stone is based entirely on magnifying cultural practices and representations. I think it worked. It's not hard to see how, in the opening sequence of Team America, the supposedly "value-free" cinematic musical backdrop highlights the "serene," "innocent" French music's conflict with the "scary" "Arab" music--paralleled by the little French kid singing "Frère Jacques" running into the very angry-looking terrorist.
The only problem is that I fear I might have duplicated the very process I was trying to critique. Using the satire may well have dictated how the students responded to 24. I don't think I'm obligated to eliminate my viewpoints from the class, but I hope I didn't compel anyone not to speak. The discussion was excellent, regardless, and didn't just amount to a series of repetitions of what I had said, which can sometimes happen with touchy subjects.
I'll use Team America again. I just might need to rethink how I frame it.
4 comments:
On Star Trek the Next Generation, many of the species align stereotypically with races of humans. I wonder if this is also reflected in the music. Might the music in STNG give us more insights into how the creators intended the alien species to be received? I wouldn't be surprised...
I haven't spent any time thinking about music in STNG, though your observation about "racialized" aliens is certainly true. I'm sure some of those musical processes happen in that show, too. I think it's just too tempting for composers.
Kevin,
I'm an ENFP and you have me reading all night again!
Class sounds good, but your links your links are great.
From the INFP, the funniest thing I've read in a long time.
"I’m an introvert.
If you’re an introvert too, you may have wondered what it’s like to be an extrovert. Well, I can tell you. When I was young, I briefly took a medication that, as a side effect, turned me into an extrovert."
When you see me laughing as soon as I see you you'll know who it is.
See you soon.............
Dude, are you not allowing pingbacks? (Edit this post and see if there's a box you can check to allow/deny pingbacks.) I totally linked to this post and it should show up in the comments...unless you're averse to that.
Doesn't really matter, but...
:-)
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