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6AAQS336
6
Spring
15
Music has since the inception of narrative film always been an important element of the cinema experience, from live accompaniment in the silent era through to the synergies which today find the two industries inextricably entwined. Moving beyond a conception of film music as merely a formal dimension of cinematic language, this module will acknowledge popular music's commercial and artistic heritages in order to enrich the ways in which Film Studies typically discusses movie music. Focusing on the last 70 years of film and popular music, we will be seeking to understand how film music is manufactured and consumed-as film and as music-through an exploration of various industrial, economic, historical, theoretical, and aesthetic factors. But the module also distinguishes music and cinema as something much larger than simply a film's soundtrack-popular music has developed to become an integral part of cinema on an array of fronts, particularly in the areas of stardom, performance, liveness, and genre. The module will start with the introduction of rock 'n' roll into American film via the so-called "jukebox musicals" of the late 1950s, with our focus in the first two weeks being on Elvis Presley and The Beatles on film. From there we will proceed to cover several types of Anglo-American popular music and film interchange, including: the concert film and the access-all-areas documentary; the compilation soundtrack (e.g. "41Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti") and the soul performer soundtrack (of the Blaxploitation cycle); punk music and punk film; films representing and documenting youth music (sub)cultures; music stars as actors and/or film stars as musicians; and the director-as-DJ from Martin Scorsese through Wes Anderson. In all, we will examine in detail the myriad ways in which these two powerful entertainment industries have become so interwoven.
King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.
Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.
Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.