Music Is Action

I once purported to be a connoisseur of foreign films, believing that they broke the mold of predictably plaguing most modern U.S. films. But, they don't. My attitude toward foreign flicks really smacked of what Edward Said would call "Orientalism," the attitude that anything from a culture distinctly different from our own is better in some way.

After watching enough foreign flicks, I figured out that weren't as free from formula as initially thought. No, they all start the same way, some long pan in on an individual, where the actor brushes their teeth, makes coffee, rides their bike down an empty country lane. Well after the opening credits roll, the camera follows the character as they do something entirely mundane for the first ten minutes of the movie.

This technique drags out through the movie, and supposedly mimics real life and allows us to learn who the character is by watching every detail about their actions. Sometimes, this technique works. But, not every vegetable chopping scene or shower tells us anything useful about the character. But, it resembles real life, and as the tritest claim, "Art imitates Life."

During the 1990s, a whole sect of filmmakers chose to imitate their foreign counterparts. Films like Fargo and Rushmore took the cinematic scene, but they retained one of the most significant aspects of American filmmmaking: music as mood.

Rarely do you watch a movie where the music doesn't create the tension or humor. We are guided by the movie soundtracks. Mahler styling brings our emotions up and down so much, that it doesn't really matter who plays what role. Some of us buy soundtracks to movies, and I'm not talking about compilations of old 50's tunes here, I'm talking about John Williams and Danny Elfman stuff. We listen to the music and it tells us the story. As a child, I used to play the soundtrack to Return of the Jedi while I read some book and suddenly the tame children's story turned to high adventure.

I still put on certain types of music when I read, types chosen dependent on the mood I'm trying to evoke. I also use music while I write. I've come to favor some smooth piano jazz, classical, trance, or Mediterranean music when I write. Music with too many lyrics distracts and reshapes my stories. Sometimes, silence is required. Always the outside world shapes my writing endeavors, and music is an integral part of that world.

Do you need music to create, does it result in action? If so, how do you choose what music to play? What do you listen to when you read or write?