The music in Malcolm X was essential to the movie. The music did a good job of setting up the time and place of the scenes. For example, in the first scene the music has a jazzy feel. It sounds like the jazz music that one would hear during this time period. The thing about the music that is different than alot of music heard in movies thus far is that the music is song by African American singers for the most part. In this first scene, an African American singer is singing. This helps fit with the movie as a whole, since it revolved around Malcolm X and African American struggles at the time. Towards the end of the movie, during Malcolm journy to Mecca sounds exotic and Middle Eastern, also setting the place of the scene. As he write letters to his wife during his journey, the music has a pipe instrument playing, which again represents the exotic feeling of Malcolm being in Mecca.
One important element was the use of diagetic music, which was usually jazz music. The first time the diagetic music showed up was during the barbershop scene. the music in the background comes from a radio in the shop. The radio music also sets up the time and place of the scene, since it is music one would expect to hear in a barbershop at the time. Whoever, I struggled determining the diagetic from the underscoring in the movie. While most of the music sounded like it was coming from the radio (usually jazz music), it was hard to tell if it was truely coming from a radio or not. For example, when Malcolm first tried cocaine, it is hard to tell if them music is underscoring, or if the music is coming from a radio in the house.
The music also adds to the mood/feeling of a scene. For example, when Malcolm X narrates about his family and the story about the KKK, the music is sad, eerie wailing, fighting the scary, sad emotions of the story. Also, the music played at the dance club is soft, romantic jazz when Malcolm dances with Sophia for the first time.
An important shift in the music takes place once Malcolm is arrested and sent to jail. The music changes from typically diagetic jazz, to more mature music. This change in music represents Malcolm's change in character, to more mature and "spiritual." For example, when Brother Baines starts to talk to Malcolm about Mohammad, the music becomes soft, inspirational, and hopeful underscoring. In a sence, the music has a power to it that represents the "power/feeling" Malcolm feels about Allah and Mohammad. And when Malcolm and his followers go to visit Brother Johnson in the hopsital, the music has a powerful feeling to it to match the power that Malcolm and the crowd have. This powerful feeling is created by instruments like the horn and repetitive drums beats. As the groupd of Brother and Malcolm march to the hospital, the music increases in pace and excitement as more people join the crowd and become interested in it.
The shift is very intrugal to the change in Malcolm and is important to propelling the movie forward!
3 comments:
I really agree with the emphasis on how important the shift in music is in this film. Once Malcolm goes to jail we see a dramatic change in the mood of the music. This is used to mirror the emotions of the characters on screen and is an extremely important aspect in trying to evoke a response from the audience.
I also noticed how the music helps to set the mood of the scenes. I thought it was expecially helpful in showing the audience how different Malcom's moods are for the very different scenes that are shown one after another. Such as how sad he is talking about his father and the Klan portrayed by the slow eerie music, then transitioning directly to how much his is enjoying himself portrayed by the upbeat jazz music when dancing at the club.
I agree with how the music establishes a sense of time and place. This is especially noticeable with the use of "other" music when Malcolm is in the Middle East.
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