Music, a universal language
It's amazing how music is used as a way to express emotions that can be understood by many people. Whether it be playing upbeat music at a party or playing music in a cafe, music is able to create an ambiance that people are able to understand.
During class, some of the clips that Dr. A used did not have subtitles and she told us many times that we didn't need the subtitles to understand what's going on. Instead, we should listen to the music and the type of atmosphere it creates, then we will be able to understand what's going on, and she was right. In sad scenes, the music will be in a minor key and it'll be at a slower pace. While in happy scenes, the music will be in a major key and it'll be more upbeat. For an intense scene, the music will be upbeat, but in a minor key, making it more serious and urgent.
For example, in La Reina del Sur, when Teresa, the main character, is running away from people chasing her, the music would be louder and there would be added beats to the bass line, making the scene more intense and severe. Another example would be when the characters are discussing routes to collecting hashish, the music would be intense as well, as this is a very serious situation. On the other hand, when Teresa is reflecting on the moments she had with her husband, there is "nostalgic" music playing in the background. Compared to the "intense" music, the "nostalgic" music is calmer is more relaxed, yet there is a certain sadness to it.
Just like many languages, music is able to connect many people around the world. No matter what language you speak, music is able to convey an emotion that can be easily understood by many.
Hi Annabel! It's crazy to see how music can universally connect everyone. We may not understand the lyrics, but the music's tone can set any mood intended. Watching clips of different songs from telenovelas helped us conclude a little about the plot. Major and minor keys play a significant role in an ambiance. For example, I remember listening to one video in class and immediately recognizing it as the "Jaws" theme. How the volume and dramatic tone gradually built up indicated suspense. Music in productions can help connect us to what the characters feel.
ReplyDeleteIn general, like outside of telenoveals and tv as a whole, music plays such a important role in so many lives and forms endless connections through endless amounts of people, but it plays an even more important part in making a tv show feel the way it's supposed to feel. The dialogue and actions of characters can only set the mood of a scene so much and music fills in the rest where other mood setting aspects like tone of voice, actual dialogue, actions, lighting, etc. Music selection is obviously very important to making a proper scene, which is why I'm sure it proves to be one of the hardest jobs on a movie set. I'm sure it isn't terribly difficult to pick a decent enough song to match a scene, but I cannot imagine the challenge it proves to be to find the perfect song for a certain scene.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of music being able to really help you understand what's going on in a show without needing subtitles is quite extravagant to me. While reading your discussion all I could think about was that one song that played every time Teresa was with Santiago in La Reina del Sur. After hearing it the first couple of times, I could automatically recognize soon after the song came on, that the moment between the two characters represented passion and love. Also like you said, the music when they were talking about transporting Hashish really helped you understand the importance and severity of the moment. While watching La Reina del Sur, I really had to focus in on what was happening as it was in another language and I needed to keep up. Understanding when music was used to intensify a scene made me realize it happens more often than we might think. It made me think back to watching Grey's Anatomy and realizing anytime the song "Chasing Cars" was played, it signified a sad and vulnerable moment. I had never really connected the dots until watching this show and hearing Dr.A explain the importance of music being used throughout a show. Anyways, great discussion and I hope midterms are going well for you!
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