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University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol
Thursday 12th and Friday 13th July 2007
> Click here to view the detailed programme overview (online)
> Click here to download the detailed programme overview (pdf)
Conference Programme - Abstracts
Panel 17: Uses of Music and Sound in Film
Chair: Prof Michael Chanan
Radiofreccia: A New Direction for Italian Film Music?
Elena Boschi, University of Liverpool
music, film, Italy, popular song
Italian film music still constitutes a relatively unexplored world, especially by the English-speaking academy. There are few noteworthy exceptions, yet none of them respond to the growing use of popular songs which has entered the film music practices of contemporary Italian cinema. Radiofreccia (1998)represents a fascinating example of a new wave of films featuring prominent rock soundtracks which envelop the spectator in the world of the protagonists and, in this particular case, of director Luciano Ligabue who, after several years spent in the limelight of the Italian rock scene, decided to put his book Fuori e dentro il borgo (1997) on the silver screen. The soundtrack has a special place in the film and the large use of English-language songs in a non-English-language film where music plays a crucial – and undoubtedly audible – role poses several challenging questions regarding the negotiation of the protagonists’ cultural identity. I shall examine the way the soundtrack is carefully woven in the narrative, reflecting on the broader questions of cultural identity which inevitably arise. Radiofreccia is not the first Italian film featuring a rock soundtrack. Nonetheless, it treads new film music paths for contemporary Italian cinema.
A body of sound: a phenomenological consideration of the social role and meanings of music
Gerry Moorey, University of the West of England, Bristol
music, memory, representation, the body, phenomenology
As the exemplar of an art form which refuses the Cartesian separation of mind and body, music implies an explicitly embodied mode of perception. This raises awkward questions about what music ‘means’, particularly when one considers the fact that much of what constitutes musical experience occurs at a non-cognitive or pre-rational level, frequently evading semiotic analysis. If music is to be understood as a language, then it is a ‘gestural language’, articulated, in the first instance, by, upon, and within the human body and the social body of which every human is a part. Quite literally, music moves us, and it is from this fact that its social power derives.
In the 'know': talking to audiences about popular music film soundtracks
Lauren Anderson, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
film soundtracks, popular music, audience reception, romantic comedy
Popular music is used in many contemporary film soundtracks, and a growing field of study reflects its increasing presence. Within this body of work, authors such as Jeff Smith (1998, 2001) and Anahid Kassabian (2001) argue that popular music has specific consequences for how audiences receive the films in which it is used.
To date, there has been no empirical research to explore these claims, and so I am currently undertaking an audience reception study that will investigate what it means for people to hear and relate to popular music in ‘rom-com’ soundtracks. While developing the project’s fieldwork, I have had to confront some limitations in Smith’s and Kassabian’s work (among others) in terms of how one conceives of talking to actual audiences about their experiences of popular music in films. Both authors make the welcome move of bringing the audience into their discussion of popular soundtracks, but neither entirely decentres the text as focus for analysis.
My presentation will outline key issues I have encountered in moving beyond
text-centred analyses to find a useful way of talking to audiences about their experiences of
rom-com soundtracks. The presentation will include preliminary results of focus group interviews that begin to provide a more detailed picture of audiences’ reception of popular music in film.
Lost Spirits: Musical Representation of 'Race' and Gender in Ghost World
Tim McNelis, University of Liverpool
popular music, film, race, gender
Representations of ‘race’, ethnicity, and gender in film are constructed and circulated in ways that may not be readily evident to audiences, as film studies has shown. However, there has been very little writing on character representation through popular music. The use of music to establish identity is crucial in films with prominent teen roles, as teenage years are a time of identity formation. In this paper I will analyse representation and character development through music in the film Ghost World (directed by Terry
Zwigoff, 2001). Musical choices give characters certain attributes familiar to audiences by drawing on cultural codes of ‘race’ and gender associated with different genres of popular music. Enid, a recent high school graduate, uses music to try to establish a stable identity and find her entry into some adult world that actually suits her but fails to find answers in the masculine world of record collection. In addition, early 20th century jazz and blues are utilised in to lend qualities of authenticity, masculinity, and a certain racial coding to Seymour, a lonely music aficionado. In Ghost World, as in other films, representation and character development are highly dependent on music – an element which is all too often ignored in film studies.
Panel 1: Imperialism and Globalisation
Panel 2: Online Citizens and Democracy
Panel 3: Television Audiences
Panel 4: Mediating Identity 1
Panel 5: Reporting the Conflict
Panel 6: Journalism and Social Responsibility
Panel 7: Sexual Representations in Cinema
Panel 8: Popular Culture
Panel 9: Still Image
Panel 10: Branding, Advertising and Corporate Cultures
Panel 11: Film and Theatre
Panel 12: Alternative Film
Panel 13: Feminism, Gender and Identity
Panel 14: Fan Culture and Online Audiences
Panel 15: Public Service Broadcasting and Radio
Panel 16: Design for Screen
Panel 17: Uses of Music and Sound in Film
Panel 18: Mediating Identity 2
Panel 19: Citizens, Interaction and the Public Interest
Note: Please be aware that the programme might be subject to changes. Please refer back to this page for a final programme overview nearer the conference. The final programme will also be communicated to delegates via email.
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