The Musicals Use of Narrative and Spectacle - Essay Example

Explore the musical’s use of narrative and spectacle, considering the extent to which they remain structurally distinct and create alternative worldsfor the film’s concerns. Musical films are entertaining bodies of work that integrate song and dance into the narrative of the story. Such numbers usually enhance the plot and develop the characters of the film, but there are also times when it simply serves as a breather or a break from the verbalizations of the narratives. This paper explores the musical’s two registers of narrative and spectacle and how each complements each other by both being structurally distinct at the same time, creating alternative worlds in the portrayal of the film’s story. The cinema, which showcases films of various genres, continues to deliver unparalleled entertainment to its audience or spectators. Roland Barthes describes his affair with cinema as enthrallment resulting from the cinematographic hypnosis and the fascination of being in the company of others in the shared space of film viewing (cited in Poe, 1990). Similarly, Elsaesser called it engulfment with spectacular visual effects that demand awe and wonder from the audience as well as the state of being disoriented, emotionally confused and shocked (cited in Poe, 1990). This just proves how powerful films can be in evoking strong emotions from the audience who keep coming back for more. An example provided by Babington & Evans (1985) is the movie Easter Parade (1948) starred in by Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Ann Miller, Peter Lawford and Jules Munshin. It features songs by the great Irving Berlin and fantastic choreography and nostalgic costumes and set design. The musical film entrances the audience with its relatable storyline of a love story between a veteran dancer and his protégé. The narrative can stand alone because of the plot’s appeal to the spectators, but the spectacle of song and dance peppered throughout the film further enhances the musical film’s magnificence. The narrative may tell the basic story but not the details such as where a character is from, however, it is revealed through the spectacle performed by the character herself (Babington & Evans, 1985). The spectacle actually has its own strategies of adding more meaning to the story as the character explicitly sings it out or implicitly expresses it through dance and movement. In this way, the song goes to another level or dimension that will not be reached if only the narrative is relied upon to provide information about the characters or the plot. Classical narrative films are analysed on the tension between the story plot of the movie or the narrative dimension and the visual dimension of the movie. The audience or spectators are caught between identifying with the plight of the characters in the movie and being lured into a fictional world by following the plot and the pleasure of being able to look at images and how the characters play out their roles in the film without being found out by the characters. There is a feeling of satisfaction and power when one is able to look in, unobserved, in someone’s life or being visually close to him or her even to the extend of knowing their perspectives by seeing through their eyes, but they remain unaware. Mulvey (1975) describes narrative films as characterized by spectatorial passivity as well as spectatorial’s vouyeristic isolation and also being explicitly ideological. This argument about passivity was countered by Prakash (2010) by saying that spectators are not passive while watching the spectacle in musical films because of their absorption, identification and willing suspension of disbelief. This entails the active use of their imagination in entering an alternative world created by the performance viewed. Gunning (in Strauven, 2006) defended cinema as exhibitionistic instead of causing spectatorial voyeurism. He claims that it is a cinema of attractions and it has presentational, exhibitionist confrontation and “what is seen on the screen is manifestly shown.” (p.79). Regarding Mulvey’s argument that films are ideological, Gunning also counters that exhibitionistic cinema involves spectators in a social aggregate, hence with the audience being in a heterogenous group does not make films explicitly ideological as it is appreciated by spectators from varied belief systems (Strauven, 2006). According to Poe (1990), the musical film is capable of transforming essence into appearance. This means the essence of music appears within the plot of the film. The film articulates two spheres, namely, the realm of the real, or the narrative, and the realm of the ideal, or the musical sequence or the spectacle. The musical justifies itself by the power of its essence, which is the spectacle that builds up the narrative. Poe points out that the breaking of the spectacle into the existence of the story is likened to liberation from the ordinary. The musical film reserves in some story frames the appearance of spectacle, which breaks into and disrupts the narrative. Mulvey (in Strauven, 2006) agrees and suggests that the spectacle is “an aberration within a primarily narrative system” (p. 72). These arguments may be viewed both as positive, in saying it makes the film unique and special, and at the same time, it can be viewed as negative, because it can bring regular and humdrum films out of its comfort zone, pushed beyond what is normally expected of it. Of course this comes with the risk of failure if spectators are not pleased with the effect. Narrative in films, is not only a tool that produces coherence throughout the story but it is also a tool that creates and evokes emotions such as hope, fear, happiness, content, delight, sadness and despair. Keating (2006) recommends that instead of breaking the narrative down into unity-producing causes and effects, it may be more effective to engage spectators with the narrative being broken down into emotion-producing sections based on the success or failure of the protagonists in the plot. On its own, these components of the narrative can be incorporated with several attractions such as the use of a certain star associated with particular emotion (such as a character actor known for suspense films); an act of grave violence done by an actor may earn him the ire of the spectators usually reserved for a villain; a dangerous stunt performed by an actor may elevate the audience’s fear and anxiety for his safety especially if he is the hero of the movie; or a slight comedic spin may allow the protagonist to overcome a challenge in an unexpected manner. Mostly songs to intensify emotions of the scene are also considered attractions of the film and spectators who like attractions are bound to enjoy the film as much as the spectator who is content with the narrative (Keating, 2006). Spectacle comes from the Latin root word spectare meaning to view, to watch and specere meaning to look at. However, this has shifted and evolved in more contemporary times to encompass a more visual and affective definition. Spectacle entails a more complex understanding of a film register in relation to the spectator. More than a mere recipient of affect resulting from the viewing of the spectacle, the spectator has more power in confronting new approaches in socio-economic production and technology in film and in many cases, becomes the modern or post-modern subject himself (Prakash, 2010). The use of spectacle that may only exist for its own sake rather than becoming integrated into the narrative may be considered cinematic excess, which goes against the mission of cinema to produce homogeneity (King, n.d.). However, beyond the production of a unified, balanced, coherent and well-made film, the main goal of movie production is profitability. Hence, it is the preferences of the mass market that is of utmost priority. Still, the spectacle should not be underestimated as it adds to the value of films in general. Prakash (2010) defines spectacle as “ a specially arranged display of a somewhat public nature usually on a large scale that is an impressive show for those viewing it. It is also used to mean a person or a thing exhibited to the public either as an object of curiosity or condemnation or an object of miracle or admiration” (para.4). Contrary to the concept that the spectacle is merely an intrusion into the flow of the narrative, King (n.d.) argues that it is as much a core aspect of Hollywood films as coherent narrative is. “The coherence or drive towards coherence often ascribed to classical Hollywood films can be a product of a particular kind of critical reading rather than a quality of the text itself” (para. 4). This implies that spectacle supplements in the quality of the narrative and helps in the moving forward of the narrative, thus enhancing plot development (King, n.d.). The spectacle in musical film, usually, a song and dance number involving carefully planned out choreography, initiates a break with the space and time dimension of the narrative at the same time, engaging in a new space and time relationship between the spectator and the film’s text (Poe, 1990). For example, the classic Gene Kelly number, Singing in the Rain from the musical movie of the same title first showed him engaged in a narrative conversation with his leading lady, then, to express his joy at bidding her good night with a kiss, launched into the unforgettable song and dance routine bringing the spectators to another dimension where they suspend their disbelief. However, the musical number is carefully integrated into the narrative so that there is no awkward break in the flow in the film (Mueller, 1984). The characters around the dancing character (Gene Kelly) stare at him incredulously as he moves about in his musical space, and yet the two spaces acknowledge one another. Still, the characters outside the musical space seem to be confused as to what he is doing, dancing in the rain. The director uses the interplay between this two spaces to introduce a comic effect wherein one register interacts with the other and thus, the boundaries between the two are explored and exploited (Pattullo, 2007) Poe (1990) explains that the spectacle appears as an expanded space as well as expanded time. The realistic time that ran during the narrative segment has been suspended for the idealized time of the musical number. The apt alias of this musical number (e.g. Singing in the Rain) is a show-stopper because by its very nature, stops the show of the more basic narrative to offer the audience a spectacle break. When the musical number is done, then the realistic time, which was suspended in the duration of the musical performance, resumes. In relation to the choreography of Gene Kelly, which plays a significant attraction in the musical film, Pattullo (2007) points out the emphasis of the integration of dance into the narrative of the story, as Kelly uses it as a tool for character development while he draws from a range of styles in dance to incorporate in his spectacle. Another prominent movie personality that has greatly impacted the musical film industry is Busby Berkeley, a director who effectively experimented with various camera angles and movements even during musical numbers. He was very open to playing with some scenes, often relying on elaborate sets and bizarre effects resulting in erotic, vulgar or any strong odd emotion in the audience just so to distract them from the Great Depression in the 1930’s.His backstage musicals exhibited show within a show structures which separated the treatment of narrative and spectacle in different worlds (Pattullo, 2007). The production of spectacle deliberately halts and disrupts narrative flow to draw attention to the image being played up. For example, in musicals directed by Busby Berkeley, dancers may be shown in a kaleidoscopic mise-en-scène of an ostentatiously choreographed dance. Musicals provide the opportunities to showcase scenes with grandly designed costumes and sets. Other common but less lavish examples are the use of differential lighting also known as film noir or the artificially coloured styling of some frames like in the movie Written on the Wind (1956). The Great Depression in the 30’s that was sandwiched between the roaring twenties and the second World War left many people unemployed and in dire states. Hence, the significance of movies became even greater to help ease the depression of the people and provide a temporary escape from their plight. Movie producers responded to the needs of the consumers and tailored their movie plots in accordance to their preferences: “Depression films took on the responsibility of reinstating the mythical American values of individualism, classlessness, and progress. Americans might have come to these films in search of escape from their arduous and hopeless lives but that isnt to say the themes and motifs of these films appeared out of reach. Hollywood, while upholding American institutions such as government and family, also created characters and plot lines that stayed within the realm of possibilities”.  (Hollywood in the Depression, 2000, para. 3). The reigning stars at the time of the Great Depression were Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple, and Fred Astaire. To them were ascribed the ideals of courage, positivity and triumph as they were hailed as role models who lifted the spirits of disheartened spectators. Fred Astaire’s musical films such as Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936) Shall We Dance (1937), among others, kept spectators in awe of his great talent as his leading ladies swooned to his melodious voice and gracefully obliged to his masterful dancing. To illustrate the interplay of narrative and spectacle in his movies, an example of his movie, Top Hat is briefly analyzed. This movie is about a complicated love story of an American revue star, Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) and his friend’s neighbor, Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers). Their first meeting was not very pleasant because Dale confronted him because she found it difficult to sleep with all his tap dancing above her apartment unit. Her show of annoyance attracted Jerry and made him instantly fall in love with her. Dale, on the other hand, also got attracted to him but tried her best not to fall for him because all the while she thought he was married to her friend. It was a clear case of mistaken identity. The whole movie’s twists and turns, adding more people to complicate the love story made it even more exciting to the audience. The musical number No Strings begins with the narrative of Jerry Travers and his friend, Horace Hardwick talking about Madge, Horace’s wife, setting up Jerry with one of her friends. The narrative transitions into the spectacle of the song and dance number, No Strings initiated by Jerry. He sings about enjoying the life of a bachelor with no strings attached to him and he is free to do whatever he wants. He then begins tap dancing all around the living room to further emphasize his glee at being unattached and free. In the middle of the spectacle, narrative inserts itself with Dale calling the manager to complain about the noise upstairs that is keeping her from sleeping. Meanwhile, Jerry keeps dancing as Horace attends to the call of the manager and leaving Jerry alone in the room. That is when Dale comes in to see Jerry dancing and the music stops to give way to their first conversation. In this scene, the transition from the narrative to the spectacle was very smooth, as music was first initiated to play while the two actors were conversing. The music grew louder as Jerry began to sing and later on, went full force as he began tap dancing. The narrative and the spectacle worked well together in a seamless order, taking turns in dominating the scene. Narrative was interspersed with spectacle, fusing and separating while maintaining each own independent identities. Another scene from this movie includes the musical number Cheek to Cheek. It shows Jerry and Dale dancing together while Jerry unabashedly sings about how he feels about her. It begins with a slow dance and intensifies into a faster pace showing the graceful partners in their suave dance routine accompanied by big band music. The musical number enchants the spectators, making them transcend into a different dimension because of the hypnotic movements of the actors on screen. The experience of watching the spectacle makes one forget about present realities, even the movie’s own narrative reality, as one concentrates on the movements, the costumes and the set where the dance is happening. The spectacle may be interpreted in various ways. Some may see the dance as the couple advancing in their relationship level. Others may see the dance as a free expression of feelings of the performers. The spectators are free to choose how the spectacle affects them. The same may be said of other musical films. It allows the imagination of the viewers to take flight and provide temporary escape which hopefully lasts even for a while to keep them relaxed. This is likened to Barthe’s enthrallment and Elsaesser’s engulfment, which, in the Great Depression, was sought after in entertainment. It helps them become ready for their everyday struggles outside their movie-watching time. The role of the narrative and the spectacle in musical films cannot be underestimated. It heightens the spectator’s viewing experience if both are planned out well, either to keep them independent from each other or incorporate them in an effective flow. Movie producers should consider the needs of the viewers, much like how the musical films of the 1930’s responded to the clamour of the people to help them rise from their depression even for just the duration of the movie. This gives movies a huge justification to be created and enjoyed. References Babington, B. and Evans, P.W. 1948. ‘Reading a Musical – Easter Parade’ in B. Babington & P.W. Evans, (1985) Blue skies and silver linings: Aspects of the Hollywood Musical. Manchester and Dover, NH: Manchester University Press, 1985), pp. 12-43. Hollywood in the Depression. 2000 Retrieved from: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/film/hollywooddepression.html Keating, P. 2006. Emotional curves and linear narratives, The Velvet Light Trap, 58, Fall issue. University of Texas Press. King, G. n.d. Spectacular Narratives: Twister, Independence Day, and Frontier Mythology in Contemporary Hollywood, Retrieved from: http://www.academia.edu/596195/Spectacular_Narratives_Twister_Independence_Day_and_Frontier_Mythology_in_Contemporary_Hollywood Mueller, J. 1984. Fred Astaire and the integrated musical, Cinema Journal 24:1, pp. 28-40. Mulvey, L. 1975. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Screen 16.3, pp. 6-18. Pattullo, L. 2007. Narrative and Spectacle in the Hollywood musical: contrasting the choreography of Busby Berkeley and Gene Kelly, Research in Dance Education, 8 (1), 73-85. Poe, G.T. 1990. Beyond the pleasures of the Hollywood Musical Film: A re viewing of Martin Scorseses New York, New York, Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Spring issue. Prakash, V. 2010. Spectacle vs. Narrative, Retrieved from http://vasundharaprakash.blogspot.com/2010/06/spectacle-vs-narrative.html Strauven, W. (ed.) 2006. The Cinema of Attractions Reloaded. Amsterdam University Press. Read More